[Exploration of JI Laixi's academic thought of acupuncture and moxibustion in clinical practice].

The paper summarizes Professor JI Laixi's academic thought on acupuncture and moxibustion. Professor JI Laixi inherits and carries forward the theory and technical system of Shanxi "new nine needles", deepens its academic connotation, and promotes clinical practice. He advocates the integration of Chinese and western medicine, and the inclusion of multiple disciplines, e.g. acupuncture and moxibustion of Chinese medicine and modern anatomy. He takes the lead in proposing a new approach to the treatment of meridian diseases of limbs, "treating the neck region for the diseases of head, treating the abdominal region for the diseases of the lumbar region, and treating the lumbar region for the disease of knees". He proposes the acupoint prescription being standardized and simplified, explores the system of acupoint prescription and establishes the prescriptions for gastric diseases, intestinal diseases and antihypertension.

[Integration and development of acupuncture and neurology: interviewing Professor SUN Shentian, Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine].

The semi-structured interview was adopted to in-depth interview Professor SUN Shentian, a Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine, on the integration and development of acupuncture and neurology. In the interview, we traced the first "ward of acupuncture and neurology" in China, established by Professor SUN Shentian and the origin of his proposal, "transcranial repeated needling stimulation therapy", aiming at advancing the development of acupuncture discipline. Professor SUN Shentian explained that the ward of acupuncture and neurology was established under specific historical conditions, on account of the relationship between acupuncture and nerves and the characteristics of the neurological diseases, as well as the personal practical knowledge and his unique clinical experience. In order to specify the point selection of scalp acupuncture and further expound its mechanism, he innovated "transcranial repeated needling stimulation therapy" that is advantageous at preciser operation, clearer theoretic foundation and better therapeutic effect of scalp acupuncture. Professor SUN Shentian pointed out that the deepening development of acupuncture is firmly based on "inheritance, practice and innovation", and constant exploration practice along with inheriting the experience of predecessors to propel the innovation and development of acupuncture and move towards a new historical stage.

[Approach to acupuncture teaching with the integration of the cases of famous and veteran TCM doctors in the perspective].

In the context of curriculum ideological and political education reform, ideological and political education entering acupuncture professional courses has great advantages and development prospects. By introducing the cases of famous and veteran traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctors and their life stories into acupuncture teaching, the ideological and political elements related to caring for patients, loving the country, innovation and development, cultural confidence etc. were deeply explored. Through optimizing the course design in acupuncture teaching, the integration of acupuncture teaching and ideological and political education is better achieved. While interpreting the life stories and superb medical skills of famous TCM experts, students are encouraged to establish good medical ethics and values, build their cultural confidence and innovation consciousness, and achieve the teaching goal of educating students through the course.

Acupuncture indication knowledge bases: meridian entity recognition and classification based on ACUBERT.

In acupuncture diagnosis and treatment, non-quantitative clinical descriptions have limited the development of standardized treatment methods. This study explores the effectiveness and the reasons for discrepancies in the entity recognition and classification of meridians in acupuncture indication using the Acupuncture Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (ACUBERT) model. During the research process, we selected 54 593 different entities from 82 acupuncture medical books as the pretraining corpus for medical literature, conducting classification research on Chinese medical literature using the BERT model. Additionally, we employed the support vector machine and Random Forest models as comparative benchmarks and optimized them through parameter tuning, ultimately leading to the development of the ACUBERT model. The results show that the ACUBERT model outperforms other baseline models in classification effectiveness, achieving the best performance at Epoch = 5. The model's "precision," "recall," and F1 scores reached above 0.8. Moreover, our study has a unique feature: it trains the meridian differentiation model based on the eight principles of differentiation and zang-fu differentiation as foundational labels. It establishes an acupuncture-indication knowledge base (ACU-IKD) and ACUBERT model with traditional Chinese medicine characteristics. In summary, the ACUBERT model significantly enhances the classification effectiveness of meridian attribution in the acupuncture indication database and also demonstrates the classification advantages of deep learning methods based on BERT in multi-category, large-scale training sets. Database URL: http://acuai.njucm.edu.cn:8081/#/user/login?tenantUrl=default.

ELECTROACUPUNCTURE - a practical manual and resource

The ELECTROACUPUNCTURE - a practical manual and resource is a database present the clinical studies that have been carried out on electroacupuncture (EA) and other nontraditional acupuncture-based interventions in a succinct and accessible form. Clinical studies that have been carried out on electroacupuncture and other nontraditional acupuncture-based interventions in a succinct and accessible form.

[Understanding and enlightenment of theoretical construction of Huatuo Jiaji (EX-B 2)].

The theory of Huatuo Jiaji (EX-B 2) is the representative of the knowledge construction of ancient anatomy, reflecting the academic thought of Huatuo's school. Through deeply analyzing the classic theory of acupuncture and its cultural and historical materials, it is believed that the five-body constituents are the structural basis of Huatuo Jiaji (EX-B 2), qi and blood are the material one, while biaoben (the sites where meridian qi gathers and diffuses) and qijie (the common pathways through which meridian qi gathers) indicate its functions. Huatuo Jiaji (EX-B 2) reveals the rules of the transverse distribution of meridian points and the relevant indications, providing the theoretic foundation for acupuncture treatment. It highlights the importance of the anatomical knowledge in acupuncture effect and proposes a new idea for establishing an effective classification system of meridian points.

Distribution of licensed acupuncturists and educational institutions in the United States at the start of 2023, during the late stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study was conducted to identify the number and density of active licensed acupuncturists (LAcs), as well as the number of accredited schools in acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM), as of January 1, 2023, in the United States (U.S.). The number of active LAcs as of January 1, 2023 was 34,524, potentially 33,364 after removing license duplication in multiple states, among which the largest three states were California (with 7317 LAcs [21.19% of the total]), New York (5024 [14.55%]) and Florida (2644 [7.66%]). The total number of LAcs decreased by 8.87% from 2018, and fell short of our projected number of LAcs in 2023 by 9037, or 20.75%. The overall LAc density in the U.S.-measured as the number of LAcs per 100,000 population-was 10.36, less than in 2018. There were 56 active, accredited AOM schools which offered a total of 147 programs (121 at the level necessary for licensing [entry-level], 12 for an advanced practicing degree [advanced-level], and 14 for certifications). Broken down further, offerings included 50 master's degrees in acupuncture, 40 master's degrees in Oriental medicine, 31 entry-level doctorate degrees (10 in acupuncture and 21 in acupuncture plus Chinese herbal medicine), and 12 advanced-level doctorate degrees in AOM. The certification programs included one in East-Asian Medical Bodywork and 13 in CHM. Among these schools in 2023, institutions in the West and East Coast states comprised 67.86% (decreased from 77.42% in 2018) of the national total. California, Florida and Illinois represented 39.29%. There were 48 jurisdictions with acupuncture practice laws in place. The data suggests that the acupuncture profession in the U.S. has been significantly impacted during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Please cite this article as: Fan AY, He DG, Sangraula A, Alemi SF, Matecki A. Distribution of licensed acupuncturists and educational institutions in the United States at the start of 2023, during the late stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. J Integr Med. 2024; 22(4): 379-384.

Barriers and future improvements of workplace-based learning in Korean medicine clinical clerkship: perspectives of graduates.

BACKGROUND: Workplace-based learning (WPBL) has emerged as an essential practice in healthcare education. However, WPBL is rarely implemented in Korean medicine (KM) due to the passive attitude of teachers and possible violation of medical laws that limit the participation of trainees in medical treatment. In this study, we implemented WPBL in the clinical clerkship of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medicine at a single College of KM and explored the barriers and future improvements of WPBL. METHODS: The WPBL was implemented from January to July 2019. During the clerkship, each senior student was assigned an inpatient at the university hospital. WPBL was conducted as follows: patient presentation by the supervisor, interaction with the patient at the bedside, preparation of medical records, oral case presentation, and discussion with feedback. The student performed a physical examination and review of systems as a clinical task. In addition, six doctors of KM who are currently practicing after three years of WPBL were interviewed in September 2022 to investigate the real-world effects and unmet needs of WPBL in their workplaces. RESULTS: Two major themes identified from the interview were: "the experience of novice doctors of KM with KM practice" and "Current state of KM clinical education." The five subcategories were: "Clinical competency priorities vary according to the KM workplace," "Difficulties faced by doctors of KM immediately after graduation," "WPBL experience of the interviewees," "Necessary but difficult to implement real patient learning," and "Unmet needs for clinical clerkship in KM." CONCLUSION: It is essential to consider the unique characteristics of KM practice and the duties required in various workplaces for successful WPBL. We anticipate our study to be a starting point for improving the WPBL and addressing the unmet needs in KM clinical education.

[Acupuncture theory in Huangdi Neijing and launching the natural history of body].

Chinese traditional medicine is long in the natural history, which focuses on herbal medicine, but has less discussion on acupuncture. On the basis of exploring the body knowledge in Huangdi Neijing (The Yellow Emperor 's Inner Canon) from the perspective of the natural history, especially through the investigation of the evolution of acupoint knowledge, the route of the natural history of body in Huangdi Neijing have been detected in the aspects of observation, record, nomination and classification. In Huangdi Neijing, the natural history of body is characterized by the object annotation, the interaction between the nature and things, and the practicability. Launching the natural history of body is of great significance to understanding the generation of classical body knowledge and constructing acupuncture theory.

Research trends on acupuncture for neuropathic pain: A bibliometric analysis from 1979 to 2023.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture has drawn increasing attention as a complementary and alternative therapy for neuropathic pain (NP). The present study aimed to summarize the current status and research trends on acupuncture for NP over the past several decades. METHODS: The publications on acupuncture for NP in the database of Web of Science Core Collection from 1979 to 2023 were searched. VOSviewer (1.6.15) and CiteSpace software (5.5.R2) were applied to identify active authors, journals, countries and institutions, co-cited references and hot keywords. RESULTS: A total of 642 publications were finally included, and the quantitative trend of annual publications on acupuncture for NP have shown overall upward from 1979 to 2023. Peoples R China was the most productive and influential country, while Kyung Hee University from South Korea was both the first in publications and citations. Fang JQ ranked the first productive author and Han JS was the first 1 among the co-cited authors. The first productive journal was Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, while the first co-cited journal was Pain. The high-frequency keywords were divided into 9 clusters, and the frontier topic focused on "Chronic pain". CONCLUSION: This present study visually showed the research status and trends of acupuncture for NP from 1979 to 2023 on the basis of bibliometric analysis, which may in some way help researcher discovery and explore some new research directions and ideas in the future.

Brief discussion of the differences in the acupoint location between Meridians and Acupoints and Acupuncture and Moxibustion. / æµ è®®ã€Šç»ç»œè §ç©´å­¦ã€‹å’Œã€Šé’ˆç¸å­¦ã€‹"十四五"规划教材经穴定位差异.

There are the differences in the location of some acupoints between textbooks Meridians and Acupoints and Acupuncture and Moxibustion. Both of the textbooks are in the category of the "14th Five-Year Plan". The differences in acupoint location have brought some confusion for students, full-time teachers and researchers in the field of traditional Chinese medicine. In the paper, based on GB/T 12346-2021： Nomenclature and Location of Meridian Points, published in2021, and in reference with GB/T 12346-2006： Nomenclature and Location of Acupuncture Points, published in 2006, the discrepancy in the acupoint location was systematically collated in the aspects of the expression style and layout, text expression and potential difference of location between these two textbooks, published by China Press of Traditional Chinese Medicine, People's Medical Publishing House and China Science Publishing. Based on the historical evolution and the academic controversy of acupoint positioning, the reasons of the differences in acupoint location were analyzed, the potential influences on the teaching, examination, competition and research of Chinese medicine acupuncture were explored, and the suggestions for solution were proposed.

Disease spectrum and strategy of acupuncture and moxibustion in treatment of encephalopathy. / è„‘ç— é’ˆç¸æ²»ç–—çš„ç— è°±ä¸Žç­–ç•¥æ€è€ƒ.

The paper presents the summary of the spectrum of encephalopathy treated with acupuncture and moxibustion and the analysis on the existing questions in its clinical research, and proposes the potential strategies on treatment of encephalopathy with acupuncture and moxibustion. The spectrum of encephalopathy includes 23 diseases of central nervous system (superspinal center) and 33 kinds of mental and behavioral disorders. There are three problems in clinical research of acupuncture and moxibustion for encephalopathy, i.e. lack of high-quality clinical evidences, inadequate support from theoretic study of TCM and limited study on the rules of treatment. Hence, the author proposes five strategies on the treatment of encephalopathy with acupuncture and moxibustion, i.e. ① stimulating the peripheral nerve trunk associated with brain dysfunction, triggering the interaction between peripheral and central nerves and emphasizing the autonomic rehabilitation training to promote the reorganization of brain function; ② improving the cerebral circulation and metabolism by stimulating the trigeminal nerve and sphenopalatine ganglion; ③ stimulating the sites with high-dense distribution of peripheral nerve endings and the large projection area in the somatosensory region of the brain to induce strong brain responses, which may adjust the abnormal operation of the default mode network in the resting state; ④ stimulating the vagus nerve to improve the mood, suppressing the abnormal firing of brain neurons and stimulating the sites with the stellate ganglion distributed to modulate the hypothalamic function; ⑤ delivering the therapeutic regimens in association with the specific conditions and symptoms, and the classification of the physical signs on the base of the treatment of encephalopathy.

Contribution and influence of "Ningbo oriental acupuncture-moxibustion society". / 宁波东方针灸学社的贡献及影响.

"Ningbo oriental acupuncture-moxibustion society" was founded in 1930 by ZHANG Junyi. At that era, the enrollment conditions were flexible, the disciplines of warm moxibustion and acupuncture-moxibustion were set and taught by means of face-to-face class and correspondence one. The teaching content included the knowledge of western learning and traditional theory of acupuncture-moxibustion. The Society issued two periodicals, MedicalNewspaper of Warm Moxibustion and Oriental Acupuncture and Moxibustion, the staffs of the Society compiled teaching materials such as Warm Moxibustion and Advanced Acupuncture-Moxibustion, translated relevant books and improved the device and herbal medicine of warm moxibustion. The students trained in the Society worked all of the country and engaged in various professional fields. "Ningbo oriental acupuncture-moxibustion society" has cultivated a large number of excellent talents, adhering the teaching concept of integration of Chinese and western medicine, and has made the contribution to the preservation of precious literature, and promoting the innovation of acupuncture-moxibustion technology and the dissemination of warm moxibustion.

Development and current application status of acupuncture manipulation measuring instrument and operating instrument. / é’ˆåˆºæ‰‹æ³•æµ‹å®šä»ªå’Œæ“ä½œä»ªçš„ç ”åˆ¶åŠåº”ç”¨çŽ°çŠ¶.

Acupuncture manipulation, a crucial component of acupuncture procedures, significantly influences the therapeutic outcomes. Acupuncture manipulation measuring instrument and operating instrument have been developed based on modern technology to objectively characterize manipulation parameters, and achieve standardized and normalized output of acupuncture manipulation. This paper systematically reviews the development and current application status of in vivo acupuncture manipulation measuring instrument, ex vivo acupuncture manipulation measuring instrument, and acupuncture manipulation operating instrument worldwide, and explores key issues that acupuncture manipulation operating instruments need to address for clinical applications, and provides insights into the future prospect of acupuncture robots.

Acupuncture therapy for isolated ischemic oculomotor nerve palsy: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Isolated ischemic oculomotor nerve palsy as a type of ophthalmic disease is rarely observed in clinical practice. Quality of life is frequently impacted by isolated ischemic oculomotor nerve palsy due to its lack of treatment options and long-term visual impairment. We describe an acupuncture-treated instance of isolated ischemic oculomotor paralysis. METHODS: Acupoints including Jingming (BL 1), Chengqi (ST 1), Cuanzhu (BL 2), and Sizhukong (TE 23) on the right side, and bilateral Fengchi (GB 20), Waiguan (TE 5), Hegu (LI 4), and Zulinqi (GB 41) were selected for needling. Each treatment lasted for 30 minutes, once every other day. Acupuncture treatment was administered for a total of 11 times. RESULTS: Acupuncture is a promising treatment option for isolated ischemic oculomotor nerve palsy. CONCLUSIONS: Ischemic oculomotor nerve paralysis can affect the quality of life of patients. Acupuncture intervention can promote the recovery of the disease is a very effective treatment measure.

[The life and works of Li Shouxian, a medical doctor in the Qing Dynasty].

Li Shouxian, styled as Shanshu, was a medical doctor in the Qing Dynasty. His work Zhenjiu Yixue (Easy Study of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) has numerous versions, with the most refined one being the self-engraved edition from the third year of Jiaqing's reign, housed in the Jilin Province Library. While most content of the book was drawn from Zhenjiu Dacheng (Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion), Li's condensation and arrangement of the material achieved the purpose of making it simple and easy to learn. The book has been widely spread and holds certain academic and historical value. This paper makes a textual research on Li's life, family, and his works, clarifies the content, structure and origin of the version of Zhenjiu Yixue and corrects errors in the version records of this book in the General Catalogue of Chinese Ancient Medical Books.

Acupuncture in cancer care: recommendations for safe practice (peer-reviewed expert opinion).

BACKGROUND: Up-to-date recommendations for the safe practice of acupuncture in integrative oncology are overdue with new cancer treatments and an increase in survivors with late effects of disease; 17 years have elapsed since Filshie and Hester's 2006 guidelines. During 2022/2023 an expert panel assembled to produce updated recommendations aiming to facilitate safe and appropriate care by acupuncturists working with people with cancer. METHODS: A core development team comprising three integrative oncology professionals comprehensively updated pre-existing unpublished recommendations. Twelve invited international experts (senior acupuncturists with and without experience of working in oncology settings, oncologists, physicians and nurses trained in integrative oncology, researchers, academics, and professional body representatives) reviewed the recommendations. In multiple iterations, the core team harmonised comments for final ratification. To aid dissemination and uptake the panel represents national and international integrative oncology associations and major cancer treatment centres in Europe, USA, Australia, and the Middle East. RESULTS: These recommendations facilitate safe care by articulating contra-indications, cautions, and risks for patients both on and off treatment (surgery, SACT, radiotherapy). Situations where acupuncture may be contra-indicated or practices need adapting are identified. "Red and Amber Flags" highlight where urgent referral is essential. CONCLUSION: These are the first international, multidisciplinary peer-reviewed recommendations for safe acupuncture practice in integrative oncology. Concerns about safety remain a significant barrier to appropriate referral from oncology teams, to use by acupuncturists and to uptake by patients. Disseminating trustworthy, widely accessible guidance should facilitate informed, confident practice of acupuncture in and outside of oncology healthcare settings.

Progress of researches on mechanisms of acupuncture underlying improvement of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury by regulating calcium overload. / é’ˆåˆºè°ƒæŽ§è„‘ç¼ºè¡€å†çŒæ³¨æŸä¼¤åŽé’™è¶ è½½æœºåˆ¶ç ”ç©¶è¿›å±•.

Ischemic stroke is currently the most common type of stroke, and the key pathological link is cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI), while the key factor leading to apoptosis and necrosis of ischemic nerve cells is calcium overload. Current studies have confirmed that acupuncture therapy has a good modulating effect on calcium homeostasis and can reduce cerebral ischemia-reperfusion induced damage of neuronal cells by inhibiting calcium overload. After reviewing the relevant literature published in the past 15 years, we find that acupuncture plays a role in regulating the pathological mechanism of calcium overload after CIRI by inhibiting the opening of connexin 43 hemichannels, regulating the intracellular free calcium ion concentration, suppressing the expression of calmodulin, and blocking the function of L-type voltage-gated calcium channels, thereby inhibiting calcium overload, regulating calcium homeostasis and antagonizing neuronal damage resulted from cerebral ischemia-reperfusion, which may provide ideas for future research.

Understanding acupuncture anesthesia from a foreign perspective： reviewing Acupuncture Anesthesia in the People's Republic of China. / 异域视角下对针刺麻醉的理解：以《针刺麻醉在中国》为例.

"Acupuncture Anesthesia in the People's Republic of China： A Trip Report of the American Acupuncture Anesthesia Study Group" (Report for short) is the first extraterritorial systematic investigation and evaluation report in the history of acupuncture anesthesia in China. After Report was released to the public, it has not drawn much attention in China. At the moment when acupuncture anesthesia is extended to perioperative treatment, by reviewing the Report, the differences in understanding acupuncture anesthesia were analyzed from a foreign perspective. Report involves the clinical observation of surgery under acupuncture anesthesia, the analysis on the factors of acupuncture anesthesia in therapeutic effects and the relevant mechanisms, and the differences in the research methods and foci on the recognition of acupuncture anesthesia between China and foreign countries. In association with the development of acupuncture anesthesia during the past 65 years and the conclusion in Report, the paper briefly describes the development and perfection of acupuncture anesthesia, the historical verification to the conclusions in Report and the limitations in modern acupuncture anesthesia. It provides some inspiration for the development of acupuncture anesthesia, acupuncture-moxibustion medicine and life science in the future.

Process evaluation and its application in clinical research of acupuncture: preliminary considerations. / è¿‡ç¨‹è¯„ä»·åŠå ¶åœ¨é’ˆåˆºä¸´åºŠç ”ç©¶ä¸­åº”ç”¨çš„æ€è€ƒä¸Žå»ºè®®.

As an important supplementary approach to randomized controlled trial, process evaluation(PE) aims to evaluate implementation of complex intervention and contextual factors associated with variation in outcomes, in order to explain the observed results in a comprehensive manner. However, PE has not been well applied in the clinical research of acupuncture. Based on existing literature, this paper summarized the main methodological frameworks of PE, as well as the status-quo of its application in acupuncture research. Meanwhile, it explored the research perspectives and implementation factors that were potentially relevant to PE in parallel with acupuncture trials. In addition, the paper put forward preliminary considerations on key contents corresponding to each step during the development of PE for acupuncture trials, in order to provide useful reference and innovative pathway for future studies that strive for comprehensive evaluation of acupuncture's effect.