By Brenda Tilke

A state-of-the-art imaging tool may help prove the clinical usefulness of the ancient Chinese medical practice of acupuncture, according to research presented at the RSNA meeting on Wednesday morning.

A group of radiologists at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) used fMRI to assess brain activity in volunteers who had acupuncture treatments for pain relief. The preliminary study tested both manual and electro-acupuncture.

"We're using a new technology to understand how this 2500-year-old technique works," said Dr. Huey-Jen Lee, chief of neuroradiology at UMDNJ. The fMRI scans showed that both types of acupuncture prompted significant changes in brain activation, he said.

The team measured 12 volunteers' pain thresholds before acupuncture by inducing light pain with a filament touching the inside or outside of the upper lip. In all 12 subjects, fMRI showed marked amounts of brain activity, most notably in the parietal area and the brain stem. Seven patients then had manual acupuncture and five underwent electro-acupuncture. The team continued obtaining fMRI scans during the 30-minute acupuncture treatments. During this period, the subjects rated their pain on a scale of one to 10 every five minutes. Brain activity seen on the fMRI scans corresponded with the decreased levels of pain the volunteers reported.

"We found activity subsided in 60% to 70% of the entire brain," said Dr. Wen-Ching Liu, an assistant professor of radiology at UMDNJ.

Because many patients who undergo acupuncture experience chronic pain, the team is interested in scanning for longer intervals.

"This is a preliminary study," Lee said. "So many people with pain, whether from cancer, headache, or a chronic, unexplained condition, rely on medications such as morphine, which can become addicting."