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Dr Peter Baldry

Dr Peter Baldry In this issue doi:10.1136/aim.2009.001503 Adrian White, editor This is the journal’s first issue since the the proposed methods of measuring sali- Vickers and Maschino have developed a publication of the National Institute for vary production proved useless. method of getting more subtle informa- Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Moving now to research into the tion out of the existing study results. report on back pain, which is a landmark mechanisms of acupuncture, Scardina and They describe the Acupuncture Trialists as the first NICE report to recommend colleagues run a department that makes Collaboration and how this will combine acupuncture for the UK’s national health extensive use of video-capillaroscopy to the individual patient data to enable more service. NICE reports are an example of study blood flow. They also have an subtle and far-reaching analysis of the how evidence is translated into practice interest in acupuncture, so they combined patient’s response to acupuncture. ‘‘from bench to bedside’’. In contrast to the two specialties to produce some inter- NICE included acupuncture in its pharmaceutical research, acupuncture esting data on the circulatory changes that recommendations for NHS treatment for research starts at the bedside and moves can be seen with acupuncture. chronic back pain—but only by a whisker, to the bench, and the papers in this issue it seems. Cummings describes how small reflect this direction of progress, first with differences in evidence make substantial original papers then with the editorials. differences to health service policy. The The clinical trial run by Glazov and his evidence on cost-effectiveness of acupunc- GP colleagues found that the symptoms ture for back pain comes from the UK; and function of chronic low back pain but a similar study on osteoarthritis of the patients improved when treated with knee was conducted in Germany. The laser acupuncture, though no more than NICE report on knee pain chose to rely on they did with sham laser—but Baxter’s economic modelling—and ended up mak- commentary points out that a higher dose ing the highly controversial and counter- may have produced different results. intuitive recommendation against the use Borud’s group have already reported electroacupuncture, even though clinical their large randomised controlled trial of trials suggest it is more effective than Figure 1 Capillary tortuosity induced by traditional acupuncture for menopausal manual stimulation for knee pain. acupuncture. hot flushes; in this further analysis pub- Finally, Kottow discusses the principles lished here, patients with any particular of the provision of acupuncture in an Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnosis did The final original paper is on research insightful editorial, suggesting five princi- not respond any better than those with any methodology: Tough and colleagues ples for investigation. Once the evidence other one. In fact, the most used eight found it more difficult than they expected has accumulated, then it becomes ‘‘ethi- points were common to all the traditional to blunt acupuncture needles as a control cally improper’’ to withhold acupuncture diagnoses, which is what one would device. They developed a special techni- from the health service. anticipate if one used a modern, neurophy- que, and report here its validation in a Our letters section carries some germs siological approach to acupuncture. clinical trial. Park’s commentary adds an of ideas for future studies: Errington- Simcock and colleagues report a feasi- interesting note of caution. Evans used group acupuncture for bility study of acupuncture for xerosto- For our first editorial, we invited patients who were ‘‘stuck’’ in their mia—the acupuncture was given in group Caroline Smith to summarise the current chronic anxiety; and Cakmak speculates format, for the sake of efficiency. This situation on acupuncture for obstetric on possible mechanisms of action of journal welcomes reports of feasibility problems. Her review shows the potential acupuncture treatment for infantile colic. studies; they should be read not as evidence clearly, and points out that many women of effectiveness, but as guidance on how to are seeking non-pharmacological interven- organise a definitive study. In this case, the tions—though we still need more evidence Provenance and peer review: not commissioned; not study provided crucial information: one of on the best way acupuncture can help them. externally peer reviewed. The Editorial Board of Acupuncture in Medicine wish to express their deep gratitude to Peter Baldry, who has decided to retire from the Board after 21 years of service. He has contributed tirelessly to discussions on the development of the journal and has provided many detailed peer reviewed many papers over the years, often also spending his time subediting in order to make the text precise and clear in his own style, which is well recognised by his readership. He also contributed more than a dozen articles and letters to the journal over this period, including the flagship article: The integration of acupuncture within medicine in the UK—the British Medical Acupuncture Society’s 25th anniversary (Acupunct Med, 2005;23:2–12). We wish him well in his retirement. Acupunct Med 2009;27:91. doi:10.1136/aim.2009.001545 Acupunct Med September 2009 Vol 27 No 3 91 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Acupuncture in Medicine SAGE

Dr Peter Baldry

Acupuncture in Medicine , Volume 27 (3): 1 – Sep 1, 2009

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Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© 2009 British Medical Acupuncutre Society
ISSN
0964-5284
eISSN
1759-9873
DOI
10.1136/aim.2009.001545
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In this issue doi:10.1136/aim.2009.001503 Adrian White, editor This is the journal’s first issue since the the proposed methods of measuring sali- Vickers and Maschino have developed a publication of the National Institute for vary production proved useless. method of getting more subtle informa- Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Moving now to research into the tion out of the existing study results. report on back pain, which is a landmark mechanisms of acupuncture, Scardina and They describe the Acupuncture Trialists as the first NICE report to recommend colleagues run a department that makes Collaboration and how this will combine acupuncture for the UK’s national health extensive use of video-capillaroscopy to the individual patient data to enable more service. NICE reports are an example of study blood flow. They also have an subtle and far-reaching analysis of the how evidence is translated into practice interest in acupuncture, so they combined patient’s response to acupuncture. ‘‘from bench to bedside’’. In contrast to the two specialties to produce some inter- NICE included acupuncture in its pharmaceutical research, acupuncture esting data on the circulatory changes that recommendations for NHS treatment for research starts at the bedside and moves can be seen with acupuncture. chronic back pain—but only by a whisker, to the bench, and the papers in this issue it seems. Cummings describes how small reflect this direction of progress, first with differences in evidence make substantial original papers then with the editorials. differences to health service policy. The The clinical trial run by Glazov and his evidence on cost-effectiveness of acupunc- GP colleagues found that the symptoms ture for back pain comes from the UK; and function of chronic low back pain but a similar study on osteoarthritis of the patients improved when treated with knee was conducted in Germany. The laser acupuncture, though no more than NICE report on knee pain chose to rely on they did with sham laser—but Baxter’s economic modelling—and ended up mak- commentary points out that a higher dose ing the highly controversial and counter- may have produced different results. intuitive recommendation against the use Borud’s group have already reported electroacupuncture, even though clinical their large randomised controlled trial of trials suggest it is more effective than Figure 1 Capillary tortuosity induced by traditional acupuncture for menopausal manual stimulation for knee pain. acupuncture. hot flushes; in this further analysis pub- Finally, Kottow discusses the principles lished here, patients with any particular of the provision of acupuncture in an Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnosis did The final original paper is on research insightful editorial, suggesting five princi- not respond any better than those with any methodology: Tough and colleagues ples for investigation. Once the evidence other one. In fact, the most used eight found it more difficult than they expected has accumulated, then it becomes ‘‘ethi- points were common to all the traditional to blunt acupuncture needles as a control cally improper’’ to withhold acupuncture diagnoses, which is what one would device. They developed a special techni- from the health service. anticipate if one used a modern, neurophy- que, and report here its validation in a Our letters section carries some germs siological approach to acupuncture. clinical trial. Park’s commentary adds an of ideas for future studies: Errington- Simcock and colleagues report a feasi- interesting note of caution. Evans used group acupuncture for bility study of acupuncture for xerosto- For our first editorial, we invited patients who were ‘‘stuck’’ in their mia—the acupuncture was given in group Caroline Smith to summarise the current chronic anxiety; and Cakmak speculates format, for the sake of efficiency. This situation on acupuncture for obstetric on possible mechanisms of action of journal welcomes reports of feasibility problems. Her review shows the potential acupuncture treatment for infantile colic. studies; they should be read not as evidence clearly, and points out that many women of effectiveness, but as guidance on how to are seeking non-pharmacological interven- organise a definitive study. In this case, the tions—though we still need more evidence Provenance and peer review: not commissioned; not study provided crucial information: one of on the best way acupuncture can help them. externally peer reviewed. The Editorial Board of Acupuncture in Medicine wish to express their deep gratitude to Peter Baldry, who has decided to retire from the Board after 21 years of service. He has contributed tirelessly to discussions on the development of the journal and has provided many detailed peer reviewed many papers over the years, often also spending his time subediting in order to make the text precise and clear in his own style, which is well recognised by his readership. He also contributed more than a dozen articles and letters to the journal over this period, including the flagship article: The integration of acupuncture within medicine in the UK—the British Medical Acupuncture Society’s 25th anniversary (Acupunct Med, 2005;23:2–12). We wish him well in his retirement. Acupunct Med 2009;27:91. doi:10.1136/aim.2009.001545 Acupunct Med September 2009 Vol 27 No 3 91

Journal

Acupuncture in MedicineSAGE

Published: Sep 1, 2009

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