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PUBLIC RELEASE: 12-SEP-1997 NIH Consensus Development Conference On Acupuncture NIH/NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH A consensus panel convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) today concluded there is clear evidence that needle acupuncture treatment is effective for postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting, nausea of pregnancy, and postoperative dental pain. The 12-member panel also concluded in their consensus statement that there are a number of other pain-related conditions for which acupuncture may be effective as an adjunct therapy, an acceptable alternative, or as part of a comprehensive treatment program. but for which there is less convincing scientific data. These conditions include but are not limited to addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia (general muscle pain), low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma. "We need more high quality research to validate what appears to be useful for the millions of Americans that have used acupuncture in this country. 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 care arena," said panel chairman David J. Ramsay, D.M., D. Phil., president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Acupuncture is a family of procedures, the most well known of which involves penetration of specific anatomic locations on the skin, called acupuncture points, by thin, solid, generally metallic needles. Acupuncture is one of the oldest and most commonly used forms of traditional medicine in the world--dating back for at least 2,500 years. The general theory of acupuncture is based on the premise that there are patterns of energy flow called Qi (pronounced "Chee") throughout the body that are essential for optimal health. Public awareness and use of acupuncture increased in the United States following President Nixon's visit to China in 1972 and New York Times reporter James Reston's account of how physicians in Beijing eased his post-surgery abdominal pain with needles. Adverse side effects of acupuncture are extremely low and often lower than conventional treatments.