A study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology (2006; 41(9): 1056-63) examined the effects of acupuncture and moxibustion in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The study included 29 subjects between the ages of 18 and 65 with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis.
Disease activity was assessed using the Colitis Activity Index (CAI), which evaluates eight components: hemoglobin levels, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (a marker of inflammation), fever related to colitis, abdominal pain, number of soft or liquid stools, presence of blood in the stool, and extra-intestinal manifestations.
Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group received acupuncture treatment, while the control group received “sham” acupuncture consisting of superficial needling at non-acupuncture points. Treatments were administered ten times over a five-week period. Five subjects in the acupuncture group also received moxibustion, a technique involving the application of heat from a smoldering herbal preparation over acupuncture points.
Both groups showed improvement in CAI scores over the course of the study. However, the group receiving acupuncture experienced greater overall improvement than the control group. The acupuncture group also demonstrated modest improvements in general well-being and quality of life compared to the sham-treated group.
