德国研究人员日前表示，针灸疗法作为目前最流行的辅助治疗手段之一，可以起到和治疗偏头痛的药物相同的作用。

    据路透社3月2日报道，德国科学家们对针灸疗法、伪针灸疗法以及利用药物治疗偏头痛的效果进行了比较，结果发现这3者同样有效。

    对此，德国杜伊斯堡－埃森大学（University of Duisburg-Essen）的神经学专家汉斯-克里斯托弗·迪纳日前表示：“我们最主要的发现是，中国的针灸疗法在治疗偏头痛的症状上，和药物治疗一样有效。其次，伪针灸疗法和中国传统针灸疗法也一样有效。”

    在研究过程中，900多名偏头痛患者被随意分为3组，分别接受中国传统针灸疗法、伪针灸疗法或者药物治疗。研究人员发现，这些患者的症状得到了相似程度的改善。迪纳说：“这告诉我们，中国的针灸疗法并非一种非常特殊的治疗方法。”

    报道说，传统的针灸疗法是用细银针刺入患者身体上的经络穴位，以减轻偏头痛。而伪针灸疗法中，用银针刺入的地方并非传统的针灸穴位。

    这种中国传统的治疗方法可以减轻恶心、压力、关节疼痛以及怀孕时的骨盆疼痛等。对此，迪纳说：“我们发现，针灸是一种有效的治疗方法，但是我们需要进行更多的研究以发现隐藏在其中的生物效应。”

    报道说，这项研究被发表在英国新一期的《柳叶刀》杂志上。

    Acupuncture, one of the most popular complementary treatments, works as well as standard drugs for migraines, German researchers said on Thursday.

    They compared the effects of real and fake acupuncture with drug treatments for migraine and found all equally effective.

    "The main finding is that Chinese acupuncture is as effective as drug treatment for the prophylaxis of migraine," said Hans-Christoph Diener, a neurologist at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany.

    "Secondly, sham acupuncture is as effective as traditional Chinese acupuncture," he told Reuters.

    All of the more than 900 patients who had been randomly selected to receive Chinese acupuncture, sham acupuncture or drugs reported similar improvements and reductions in the number of migraine-free days.

    "This tells us that Chinese acupuncture is not a very specific treatment," said Diener.

    Traditional Chinese acupuncture involves inserting fine needles at specific energy meridians of the body to reduce pain. In the so-called sham procedure the needles were put in places that were not traditional acupuncture points.

    The ancient Chinese therapy has been shown to relieve nausea, stress, arthritis pain in the knee and pelvic pain during pregnancy.

    "What we showed is that acupuncture is effective but we need more research to find out the biological effect behind it," added Diener, who reported his findings in The Lancet Neurology journal.

    Migraine affects about 15 percent of people in Britain alone. Symptoms can include intense throbbing on one side of the head, distorted vision, nausea or vomiting and raised sensitivity to light, sounds and smells.

    An attack can last up to three days and prevent the sufferer from carrying out normal, everyday activities. Although anyone can get a migraine, it is most common between the ages of 20 and 50 and most sufferers are women.

    Over-the-counter and prescription drugs can help to relieve the pain and reduce inflammation. Many patients also try other therapies such as acupressure, homeopathy, osteopathy and physiotherapy.

    "The most important result is that all three treatments were effective and that improvement in the number of migraine days was closely similar in all treatment groups," Diener said in the study.

    "The decision whether acupuncture should be used in migraine prevention remains with the treating physician," he added.