By Jennifer Nachbur Article published March 2, 2004
It’s not Lord of the Rings, but UVM has its own best picture, complete with special effects. Producers at the College of Medicine say the new “movie” is helping scientists find out what cells in connective tissue are doing during acupuncture needling.
In a study funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and conducted at the General Clinical Research Center, Dr. Helene Langevin and her study team use a technology called ultrasound elasticity imaging that, in effect, films what is happening in connective tissue cells during acupuncture.
Last year, Langevin, research assistant professor of neurology, began a separate study in which a biopsy is taken of each participant's connective tissue. The goal of that study, says Langevin, is to take a deeper look into the tissue and cells that respond when an acupuncture needle is inserted into the skin. However, after completing the new, ultrasound study, Langevin learned that she could find out some of this information more easily.
“The 12 healthy participants studied responded very consistently to the acupuncture needling,” Langevin said. “The results were so clear that we’re going to reduce the total number of participants we enroll in the biopsy study and test some of our hypotheses using ultrasound.”
Last October, Langevin presented her ultrasound movies at the Society for Acupuncture Research meeting at the Harvard School of Continuing Education and to attendees at the Second International Conference on Ultrasonic Measurement and Imaging of Tissue Elasticity, in Corpus Christi, Texas. “Acupuncturists were especially excited about the possibility that ultrasound could be used to visualize what is happening inside the tissue during the application of needling techniques that have been used for more than 2,000 years,” Langevin said.
Langevin and her team will begin recruiting for a second phase of the study this month. They also have a number of pilot projects in development that propose using a variety of modalities to look at the tissue in reaction to acupuncture needling, including a project targeting patients with myofascial pain syndrome.
Information: Debbie Stevens-Tuttle, neurology, 656-8974
