Acupuncture for Irritable Bowel Disease: A Review

A research review of Acupuncture for Irritable Bowel Disease.  As is often the case, acupuncture was better than medication, but not much better than sham acupuncture.  The ongoing research dilemma for acupuncture. Click through for the whole abstract. University of Maryland is one of the great US acupuncture centers, and Berman and Lao their luminaries.

Acupuncture for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.
Manheimer E, Cheng K, Wieland LS, Min LS, Shen X, Berman BM, Lao L.
AUTHORS’ CONCLUSIONS:
Sham-controlled RCTs have found no benefits of acupuncture relative to a credible sham acupuncture control for IBS symptom severity or IBS-related quality of life. In comparative effectiveness Chinese trials, patients reported greater benefits from acupuncture than from two antispasmodic drugs (pinaverium bromide and trimebutine maleate), both of which have been shown to provide a modest benefit for IBS.