November 3, 2006 — Acupuncture plus routine care were effective in controlling the pain of knee and hip osteoarthritis (OA), and results were maintained for 6 months, according to the results of a randomized controlled trial reported in the October 30 Early View issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
"In routine care, a broad variety of acupuncture styles is used, and acupuncture is often administered in conjunction with other treatments," write Claudia M. Witt, MD, of the Charité University Medical Center in Berlin, Germany, and colleagues. "To date there has been little information about the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment provided as an adjunct to routine medical care.... Based in part on the results of the present study, the German Federal Committee of Physicians and Health Insurers proposed in April 2006 that acupuncture will be reimbursed by statutory health insurance funds."
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/547162
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ARTHRITIS: This drug causes stomach and heart problems, that one causes heart and stomach problems
Arthritis sufferers were traditionally prescribed an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) to help relieve the pain. But eventually researchers realised that NSAIDs such as Advil and Aleve caused gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, and also increased the risk of heart problems.
So the drug manufacturers went back to the shareholders, sorry, drawing board, and came up with a new family of painkillers known as the COX-2s. But researchers eventually realised that COX-2s such as Bextra and Celebrex increased the risk of heart problems - just as much as an NSAID.
And now researchers have discovered that the COX-2s also cause gastrointestinal bleeding - just as much as an NSAID.
This latest discovery comes after monitoring the progress of 34,701 arthritis sufferers who were given either an NSAID or a COX-2 for 18 months.
The researchers hope their discoveries will help doctors develop better treatment guidelines for arthritis. Such as not giving the patient an NSAID or a COX-2?
(Source: The Lancet, published online 13 November 2006).
