NIH Consensus Development Conference on
Acupuncture

November 3-5, 1997

• Conference Overview
• Registration
• Travel
• Lodging
• Continuing Education Credit
• Preliminary Conference Agenda

OVERVIEW

The National Institutes of Health will sponsor a Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture on November 3-5, 1997.

Acupuncture is a family of procedures involving penetration of specific superficial anatomic locations on the skin called acupuncture points with thin, solid, generally metallic, needles. Closely related to and often practiced with acupuncture is moxibustion, the local and focused application of heat to acupuncture points using a compressed, powdered combustible substance (moxa), which is burned at or near the points to be stimulated. Acupuncture and moxibustion are the two best known aspects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the U.S. and are used by many Americans.

There are a variety of approaches to functional diagnosis and treatment in American acupuncture that incorporate medical traditions from China, Japan, Korea, France, and other countries. Because an acupuncture treatment is a procedure like a psychotherapy session or surgery (rather than a drug), it has been very difficult to study using the gold standard of randomized double-blind trials. Nevertheless, acupuncture is used by millions of American patients and performed by thousands of physicians, dentists, masters-degree level acupuncturists, and other practitioners for relief or prevention of pain and a variety of health problems. The FDA, after years of deliberation, recently removed acupuncture needles from the category of Òexperimental medical devicesÓ and now regulates them just as it does other devices such as surgical scalpels and hypodermic syringes, under good manufacturing practices and single-use standards of sterility.

Over the years, NIH has funded a variety of research on acupuncture, including studies on the mechanisms by which acupuncture may have its effects as well as clinical trials and other studies. There is also a considerable body of international literature on the risks and benefits of acupuncture, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has listed a variety of medical conditions that may benefit from the use of acupuncture and/or moxibustion. Such applications may include prevention and treatment of nausea and vomiting; treatment of pain and addictions to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; prevention of pulmonary problems such as asthma and bronchitis; and stroke rehabilitation from neurological damage.

To address the most important issues regarding the American use of acupuncture, the NIH has organized this 2¹/₂ day conference to evaluate the scientific and medical data on the uses, risks, and benefits of acupuncture procedures for a variety of conditions. The conference will bring together national and international experts in the fields of fields of acupuncture, pain, psychology, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, drug abuse, pulmonology, health policy, epidemiology, statistics, physiology, and biophysics as well as representatives from the public.

After 1¹/₂ days of presentations and audience discussion, an independent, non-Federal consensus panel chaired by Dr. David Ramsay, president of the University of Maryland Medical Center, will weigh the scientific evidence and write a draft statement that it will present to the audience on the third day. The consensus statement will address the following key questions:

• What is the efficacy of acupuncture, compared with placebo or sham acupuncture, in the conditions for which sufficient data are available to evaluate?

• What is the place of acupuncture in the treatment of various conditions (for which sufficient data are available), in comparison with or in combination with other interventions (including no intervention)?

• What is known about the biological effects of acupuncture that helps us understand how it works?

• What issues need to be addressed so that acupuncture may be appropriately incorporated into today's health care system?

• What are the directions for future research?

The primary sponsors of this meeting are the NIH Office of Alternative Medicine and the NIH Office of Medical Applications of Research. The conference is cosponsored by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health.

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• NIH Campus Map & Visitor Parking
• NIH Campus Shuttle Schedule
• Bethesda Area Map
• Capital Beltway Map
• Washington Metrorail System Map

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CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT

American Medical Association

The purpose of this Consensus Development Conference is to review the current state of knowledge regarding the use of acupuncture and identify directions for future research.

The conference will (1) present in open, public sessions state-of-the-art information regarding genetic testing for cystic fibrosis, (2) prepare a statement in response to the five specific questions, and (3) inform the biomedical research and clinical practice communities and the general public of the conclusions and recommendations of the panel.

The NIH/FAES is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians.

The NIH/FAES designates this educational activity for a maximum of 14 credit hours in Category I of the Physician's Recognition Award of the American Medical Association. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit that he/she actually spent in the educational activity.

American Academy of Family Physicians

The Commission on Continuing Medical Ecuation of the American Academy of Family Physicians has approved this program for a maximum of 13.50 Prescribed Credit Hours

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PRELIMINARY AGENDA

Monday, November 3

I. Introduction: History and Status of Acupuncture Treatment

II. Issues Affecting Incorporation of Acupuncture Into Today's Health Care System

III. Efficacy of Acupuncture in Treating Various Conditions

Tuesday, November 4

IV. New Horizons for Acupuncture

Wednesday, November 5

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