As a Developmental Center for Research in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (DCRC), the New England School of Acupuncture (NESA)-Harvard Acupuncture Research Collaborative will bring together leaders from the oriental medicine (OM) and conventional medicine communities to critically evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture, and develop sound methodologies and feasible study designs required for acupuncture research. Our DCRC will strengthen and build upon already ongoing collaborations between NESA, the Harvard Medical School's (HMS) Osher Institute, and two other HMS-affiliated institutions, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston. The DCRC will support three developmental/exploratory studies and two infrastructure cores (Administrative and Clinical Trials) that will be synergistically integrated by three themes. The first theme centers around diversifying OM research to evaluate the plurality of approaches employed in clinical practice which will be addressed through the evaluation of both Japanese- and Chinese-style acupuncture. The second theme emphasizes the development and implementation of novel research methods that are required to meet the unique challenges posed in clinical trials of acupuncture and OM. One of our three studies will develop, validate, and test the reliability of an instrument used to derive OM diagnoses in the context of clinical trials. Other methodological issues related to individualization of acupuncture treatments, appropriate controls in acupuncture trials, and the development of outcome measures that reflect the treatment philosophy of OM will also be addressed. The third theme addresses the benefits of acupuncture as an adjunct therapy in the treatment of women's health conditions. Specifically, we will study the application of acupuncture to two conditions for which the current evidence evaluating its efficacy and safety is limited-- chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in women with ovarian cancer, and chronic pelvic pain in adolescent and young women with endometriosis. Integral to our DCRC are a number of academic and administrative mentoring programs through which HMS faculty, staff, and training programs will assist NESA in developing its clinical research infrastructure and capacity to autonomously sustain a productive research program that combines the highest standards of science and the integrity of traditional OM practices. The ultimate goal of our DCRC will be for NESA to play the lead role in the future submission of R01 and R21 proposals that build upon our developmental studies.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
Type
Research Program--Cooperative Agreements (U19)
Project #
1U19AT002022-01
Application #
6743442
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAT1-DB (10))
Program Officer
Stoney, Catherine
Project Start
2003-09-25
Project End
2006-05-31
Budget Start
2003-09-25
Budget End
2004-05-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$972,333
Indirect Cost
Name
New England School of Acupuncture
Department
Type
Other Domestic Higher Education
DUNS #
062168539
City
Newton
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02458
Hsu, Kai-Yin; Dunn, Julie E; Bradshaw, Ylisabyth S et al. (2014) Lessons from an acupuncture teaching clinic: patient characteristics and pain management effectiveness. Explore (NY) 10:284-93
Wayne, Peter M; Kiel, Douglas P; Buring, Julie E et al. (2012) Impact of Tai Chi exercise on multiple fracture-related risk factors in post-menopausal osteopenic women: a pilot pragmatic, randomized trial. BMC Complement Altern Med 12:7
Yeh, Gloria Y; McCarthy, Ellen P; Wayne, Peter M et al. (2011) Tai chi exercise in patients with chronic heart failure: a randomized clinical trial. Arch Intern Med 171:750-7
Wayne, Peter M; Buring, Julie E; Davis, Roger B et al. (2010) Tai Chi for osteopenic women: design and rationale of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 11:40
Yeh, Gloria Y; Roberts, David H; Wayne, Peter M et al. (2010) Tai chi exercise for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a pilot study. Respir Care 55:1475-82
Wayne, Peter M; Hammerschlag, Richard; Savetsky-German, Jacqueline et al. (2010) Attitudes and interests toward research among students at two colleges of acupuncture and Oriental medicine. Explore (NY) 6:22-8
Pease, Marisa; Sollom, Richard; Wayne, Peter (2009) Acupuncture for refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder: initial experiences establishing a community clinic. Explore (NY) 5:51-4
Ahn, Andrew C; Schnyer, Rosa; Conboy, Lisa et al. (2009) Electrodermal measures of Jing-Well points and their clinical relevance in endometriosis-related chronic pelvic pain. J Altern Complement Med 15:1293-305
Lu, Weidong; Matulonis, Ursula A; Doherty-Gilman, Anne et al. (2009) Acupuncture for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in patients with gynecologic malignancies: a pilot randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial. J Altern Complement Med 15:745-53
Wayne, Peter M; Kaptchuk, Ted J (2008) Challenges inherent to t'ai chi research: part II-defining the intervention and optimal study design. J Altern Complement Med 14:191-7

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