Even Sham Acupuncture Eases Migraine

WEDNESDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- Acupuncture -- even sham acupuncture -- is as effective as standard drug therapy in preventing migraine, German researchers report.

The multi-center study found the number of days that patients suffered from migraine was significantly reduced after they were treated with either acupuncture or drugs.

This was true whether patients received "verum" acupuncture -- using obligatory needling points and additional points selected by doctors on the basis of traditional Chinese methods -- or sham acupuncture, in which needling is done on areas of the skin where there are no known traditional acupuncture points.

As reported online Wednesday in The Lancet Neurology, the German team said they were surprised by the findings, which are difficult to explain since the underlying mechanisms are unknown.

"Ultimately, one could argue that the efficacy of a treatment, especially a treatment with almost no adverse events or contraindications, is more important than the knowledge of the mechanism of action of this particular theory," study author Hans-Cristoph Diener, of the University of Duisburg-Essen, said in a prepared statement. "The decision whether acupuncture should be used in migraine prevention remains with the treating physician."