Most people in Australia who undergo acupuncture do so in combination with western medical treatments and/or other complementary therapies, but a small African study, conducted in 1995-96, looked at acupuncture as a treatment for HIV-related symptoms1. The 36 participants in this trial had few traditional or western medical services available, so their treatment options were severely restricted. Only very limited pathology tests could be done and even measurements of CD4s or viral load weren’t possible.
Many people in the trial also had chronic parasite infections, malnutrition, repeated bouts of malaria and other long-term, debilitating conditions.
Of the 36 participants, eight were generally well but had some symptoms associated with HIV, 25 were quite unwell and had multiple symptoms and three were seriously ill. They all had a combination of AIDS-related symptoms including fevers, severe weight loss, fatigue, night sweats, numbness and pain in the arms and legs and prolonged, swollen lymph glands.
Virtually everyone also low red and white blood cell counts and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESR), an indication of generalised inflammation in the body.
The patients received standard treatments based on which Chinese Medicine syndrome they presented with. Notably, acupuncture treatments were not individualised for each person, which is the preferred approach taken by acupuncturists.
Patients generally received one 15–30 minute treatment per day. People who were admitted to hospital had between three and 32 days’ treatment and outpatients had between ten and 89 days’ treatment.
After treatment, there was resolution of limb pain and numbness in 22 of 30 cases, of diarrhoea in 17 of 26 cases, of fever in 17 of 36 cases, of night sweats 12 of 33 cases and of cough 5 of 18 cases. Moderate improvements were seen in anaemia, white blood cell count and ESR.
While this study was very small and limited by the pathology tests available at the time, these results are very encouraging. Significant improvements in symptoms were achieved despite the background anaemia, immune suppression, inflammation and malnutrition. Presumably, results would have been better if acupuncture treatments had been specifically prescribed for each person instead of treatments being based on people’s general presentations, or if other treatments had been available to use in combination with the acupuncture.
More recently, acupuncturists from the AIDS Care Project in Boston (the largest HIV acupuncture clinic in America) presented to the Rio AIDS conference last year the results of their work using acupuncture to manage digestive side-effects of anti-HIV drugs2.
Nearly half the group of 50 HIV-positive persons had an AIDS diagnosis and all had at least two digestive problems that were judged to be due to their anti-HIV medications. Nearly 80 percent had flatulence, 50 percent had cramps, around 50 percent had appetite loss, more than 40 percent had bloating and 10 percent had lost weight.
The participants then received three weeks of acupuncture followed by another three weeks using four acupuncture points not noted for affecting digestive conditions.
After the first three weeks there was a clear improvement, with just 60 percent of people having two or more digestive symptoms. Acupuncture treatment was also associated with improved medication compliance.
Anxiety and depression are common among people with HIV in Australia and both these conditions can also respond well to acupuncture. A placebo-controlled German trial among 56 people with either minor depression or generalized anxiety disorders found that “acupuncture leads to a significant clinical improvement as well as to a remarkable reduction in anxiety symptoms in patients with minor depression or with generalized anxiety disorders”.
In this trial, 86 percent of people with anxiety significantly improved but more than five sessions of acupuncture were generally needed before positive changes began.
Acupuncture can treat a wide variety of conditions and symptoms. However, Alan Bensoussan, Head of the Research Unit for Complementary Medicine at the University of Western Sydney, cautions people about receiving acupuncture from medical doctors unless they have the same standards of training as non-medical acupuncturists.
“When we last surveyed medical practitioners in this area,” Bensoussan says, “approximately 72 percent of them stated that they had trained for less than two weeks in Chinese medicine or actually failed to answer that question at all” (4). Non-medical acupuncturists typically train for 3-4 years before becoming qualified.
Check your acupuncturist is registered with the Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association or other professional body.
Jim Arachne is the Complementary Therapy Treatment Officer for the Victorian AIDS Council.
Complementary therapies information published in Positive Living is intended for symptomatic relief only.
References:
1 Acupuncture ameliorates AIDS symptoms in 36 cases. Zhou Wenxue et al., Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 20 (2); 119-121, 2000.
2 Acupuncture trial: managing digestive side-effects of antiretroviral treatment. Sommers E. and Porter K. International AIDS Society 2005. 3rd IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment. Abstract WePe6.2.C01.
3 [Acupuncture in patients with minor depressive episodes and generalized anxiety. Results of an experimental study]. Eich H, et al., [paper in German] Fortschr Neurol Psychiatr. 2000 Mar;68(3):137-44.
4 “Risks associated with the practice of traditional Chinese medicine: an Australian study”. Bensoussan A, Myers SP, Carlton AL. Arch Fam Med., 2000 Nov-Dec;9(10):1071-8.
