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An article in the December 19, 1997, issue quotes the chair of the NIH consensus panel on acupuncture, David Ramsey, as saying, "The challenge in studying acupuncture is to integrate the theory of Chinese medicine into the conventional Western biomedical research model and into the conventional health area." This statement indicates how badly the panel missed the mark, overlooking existing scientific evidence.
The scientific practice of evidence-based acupuncture can no longer be classed as alternative medicine. The fact is that, as practiced by a few of us, it is already a part of conventional medical practice and has nothing to do with the prescientific theories of traditional Chinese medicine. The traditional Chinese method of acupuncture has become obsolete. It postulates that illness is caused by blockages of a mysterious energy knows as "Qi," which travels in never demonstrated "meridians." Needles are used supposedly to cure by removing such blockages.
Completely ignored by the panel were the scientific presentations at the meeting by Dr. Pomeranz of Canada and Professor JiSheng Han of Beijing Medical University in China. Dr. Han demonstrated by serial samples of human CSF that specific frequencies of electrical stimulation caused the gene expression of endorphins and other neuropeptides. Needles are no longer necessary, as conducting polymer pads suffice. He reported that 30 minutes of stimulation with his HANS stimulator reduced by 50 percent the amount of gas anesthetic required for surgery. He showed a cross-tolerance between acupuncture and morphine, thus explaining why electrical stimulation of body points was effective in relieving symptoms of drug withdrawal. In my practice this method has been helpful not only for pain and addiction but also for PTSD and other psychiatric conditions.
Evidence-based acupuncture is a technique that should be available to any physician and taught in all medical schools. I have been teaching this technique in a single four-hour session. There are 10,000 so-called "acupuncturists," most with no medical training. They must take hundreds of hours of Chinese metaphysics for their certification in 34 states. They should be correctly labeled as "Oriental medical doctors."
It is significant that as China has moved into the 20th century, it is seeking to suppress these superstitious and pseudo-medical practices that are now becoming obsolete. The blessing of NIH should not be so carelessly given.
George A. Ulett, M.D., Ph.D.
St. Louis, Mo.