An important new study has just been released showing acupuncture to be effective at treating the debilitating fatigue that often afflicts women following treatment for breast cancer. This is a large study published in a well regarded oncology journal.
What I particularly like about this study is that there is no attempt a placebo control. I do not believe you can have a true placebo in an acupuncture study. I hope to write more on this topic in a future blog.
From the Study:
Results Two hundred forty-six of 302 patients randomly assigned provided complete data at 6 weeks. The difference in the mean General Fatigue score, between those who received the intervention and those who did not, was −3.11 (95% CI, −3.97 to −2.25; P < .001). The intervention also improved all other fatigue aspects measured by MFI, including Physical Fatigue and Mental Fatigue (acupuncture effect, −2.36 and −1.94, respectively; both at P < .001), anxiety and depression (acupuncture effect, −1.83 and −2.13, respectively; both at P < .001), and quality of life (Physical Well-Being effect, 3.30; Functional Well-Being effect, 3.57; both at P < .001; Emotional Well-Being effect, 1.93; P = .001; and Social Functioning Well-Being effect, 1.05; P < .05).
Conclusion Acupuncture is an effective intervention for managing the symptom of CRF and improving patients' quality of life.
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