German researchers recently stated that acupuncture therapy, as one of the most popular complementary treatments, can have the same effect as medications used to treat migraines.

German scientists compared the effects of acupuncture therapy, sham acupuncture therapy, and drug treatments for migraines and found that all three were equally effective.

Regarding this, Hans-Christoph Diener, a neurology expert at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany, recently said: "Our main finding is that Chinese acupuncture therapy is as effective as drug treatment in alleviating migraine symptoms. Secondly, sham acupuncture therapy is also as effective as traditional Chinese acupuncture therapy."

During the research process, over 900 migraine patients were randomly divided into three groups, receiving either traditional Chinese acupuncture therapy, sham acupuncture therapy, or drug treatment. Researchers found that the symptoms of these patients improved to a similar extent. Diener said: "This tells us that Chinese acupuncture therapy is not a very special treatment method."

The report states that traditional acupuncture therapy involves inserting thin silver needles into the body's meridian points to alleviate migraines. In sham acupuncture therapy, the needles are inserted into non-traditional acupuncture points.

This traditional Chinese treatment method can alleviate nausea, stress, joint pain, and pelvic pain during pregnancy. Regarding this, Diener said: "We found that acupuncture is an effective treatment method, but we need to conduct more research to uncover the biological effects hidden within."

The report states that this research was published in the latest issue of the British journal "The Lancet."

(Xinhua News Agency)

Source: http://www. most. gov. cn/ gnwkjdt/ t20060314_29552. htm