Extract from ST Forum

Feb 19, 2011    ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE

Acupuncture is a genuine treatment

DR ANDY Ho cited a clinical study which concluded that acupuncture is a placebo (‘Pinning down acupuncture: It’s a placebo’; Feb 12).

We think it is inappropriate to compare acupuncture with other forms of treatment.

Any two patients, even with the same diagnosis, may receive different treatments and each treatment may vary from the previous one.

Due to the complexity of treatment, clinical trials cannot conclusively determine the validity of the results. Singapore hospitals have acupuncture clinics to help patients because they know acupuncture’s benefits. Scientific studies prove that acupuncture can ease pain and treat ailments ranging from migraine to gastrointestinal disorders. A research paper on scientific bases of acupuncture analgesia by the Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University proved its effectiveness and benefits to patients.

The World Health Organisation has listed diseases which acupuncture could treat, based on clinical experiences, and not necessarily on controlled clinical research. They are not meant to indicate the extent of acupuncture’s efficacy in treating them.

Any medical care system, including evidence- based medicine, cannot guarantee that all diseases can be treated effectively. Like all sciences too, acupuncture requires further research and, like all therapies, it requires knowledge, training, experience and practice.

Today, a student of acupuncture must enrol in approved institutions for the full course of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which includes the learning of anatomy, microbiology, pathology and modern internal medicine.

There is no astrology in TCM. Students must sit the registration examination after their graduation before they can qualify as physicians.

The philosophy of yin and yang and qi in TCM is a biological condition, rather than a religious affiliation. To equate acupuncture, as Dr Ho’s article did, with shamanism and blood-letting reflects ignorance.

In TCM, a differentiation of syndromes is applied because every individual has a different physical condition, thus requiring individual treatment.

Finally, Dr Ho may be pleased to know that TCM practitioners do not use horoscopes to diagnose patients.

Chew Say Yeow
President
Singapore Acupuncture Association

FATTY liver has become a common problem and it is usually associated with obesity, excessive intake of too much oily food and alcohol. When fat makes up about 5-10 percent of liver weight, it can be very serious. However, fatty liver can be reversed by proper and scheduled exercise together with a healthy eating habbit.

The number of people with fatty liver has increased sharply in the recent years, especially among young or middle-aged men, according to research, fatty liver is a problem of insufficient fat metabolism in the liver. It’s often linked to high blood fat, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. Non-alcoholic fatty liver may also be linked to pregnancy, bacteria, inflammation, viral hepatitis, medications, immune problems and other factors.

Heavy drinkers are at especially high risk and alcoholic fatty liver disease is more dangerous than non-alcoholic. When the liver is forced to work harder to metabolize excessive alcohol, it metabolizes less fat. In serious cases, fat can form large vacuoles inside liver cells, pushing the nucleus to the side, damaging cells and impairing function; fatty cysts can form irreversible lesions. “Malnutrition can also trigger fatty liver.” In the case of malnutrition, since the body cannot get enough energy from food, it moves fat and protein stored elsewhere in the body to the liver for storage and conversion to energy as needed. That’s why some people who are on diet and eat only vegetables can develop fatty liver.

In general, fat accounts for only 3-4 percent of liver weight; when it’s over 5 percent, there’s a problem. In severe cases, fat can represent 40-50 percent of liver weight. Since most patients feel nothing in early stages, the problem is not identified and gets worse. “Early diagnosis and treatment is important since fatty liver can be easily cured by adjusting lifestyle,” however, if liver cells are damaged and the liver becomes inflamed and the problem can be more complicated. Without intervention and change in habits, fatty liver can develop into fibrosis, cirrhosis or cancer. TCM regards fatty liver as a problem of accumulated “pathogenic damp” and stagnating blood and energy. Practitioners prescribe herbs to dispel damp and activate energy circulation – in addition to healthier diet and regular exercise.