Do Japanese Style Acupuncture and Moxibustion Reduce Symptoms of the Common Cold?

Kenji Kawakita,Takashi Umeda,Hiroshi Kitakoji,Shigekatsu Aizawa,Shouhachi Tanzawa,Etsuko Inoue,Kaoru Okada,Atsushi Nishida,Tomoyuki Nabeta,Eiji Sumiya,Norihito Takahashi,Tadashi Yano,Nobuo Yamaguchi,Toshiyuki Shichidou

doi:10.1093/ecam/nem055

Abstract

We summarize the results from a series of investigations of Japanese style acupuncture and moxibustion therapies on symptoms of the common cold that have been conducted (FTLE 1999–03, supported by the Foundation for Training and Licensure Examination in Anma- Massage- Acupressure, Acupuncture and Moxibustion). We also discuss the various interventions and concerns that we faced during these investigations. The subjects were students and teachers. The pilot study (FTLE1999) of a two arm (real and non-treatment control) RCT at a Japanese acupuncture school showed that manual acupuncture to a specific needling point at the throat clearly reduced symptoms of the common cold. The first multi-center (five centers) RCT (FTLE 2000) revealed a significant reduction in cold symptoms, by general linear model analysis (between groups, P = 0.024). To reduce the technical variation, we employed indirect moxibustion to the neck points as a uniform intervention in the next project (FTLE 2001) without statistically significant results. Then we elongated the periods of treatment from 2 to a maximum of 12 weeks (FTLE 2002) with different interventions accompanied by 4 weeks follow-up. The results were still not statistically significant. As the final project, we tried to develop a new experimental design for individualized intervention by conducting n-of-1 trials using elderly subjects in a health care center but without detecting a clear effect. In conclusion, the safety of Japanese acupuncture or moxibustion was sufficiently demonstrated; however, a series of clinical trials could not offer convincing evidence to recommend the use of Japanese style acupuncture or moxibustion for preventing the common cold. Further studies are required as the present trials had several limitations.

Highlights

A frequently occurring minor illness, the common cold is a major cause of absence from work and school
When we started to develop a protocol for the clinical trials in 1999, we discovered that there had been very few clinical trials on this aspect of acupuncture
In FTLE 2001, a multi-center RCT of indirect moxibustion on common cold symptoms was conducted in five centers

Summary

Introduction

A frequently occurring minor illness, the common cold is a major cause of absence from work and school. Since the symptoms of the common cold are self-limited and usually recover spontaneously, the cold is not treated as a severe disease. Various procedures and therapeutic approaches for the common cold have been evaluated by rigorous clinical trials, there is still little concrete evidence for the establishment of a standard treatment [4,5,6,7,8]. Acupuncture and moxibustion on the common cold symptoms

Methods

Results

Conclusion