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The NESA Acupuncture Research
Collaborative: As a Developmental Center for Research in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (DCRC), the New England School of Acupuncture (NESA) Acupuncture Research Collaborative brings 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 strengthens and builds 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 supports three developmental/exploratory studies and two infrastructure cores (Administrative and Clinical Cores) that are synergistically integrated by three themes. The first theme centers around diversifying OM research to evaluate the plurality of approaches employed in clinical practice which are 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 is developing, validating, and testing 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 are studying 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 gynecological cancers, and chronic pelvic pain in adolescent and young women with endometriosis. A number of academic and administrative mentoring programs are integral to our DCRC. Faculty and staff from Harvard Medical School 's Osher Institute have been assisting NESA in developing its clinical research infrastructure. The ultimate goal of the DCRC is to establish NESA as an independent, productive research program that combines the highest standards of science and the integrity of traditional OM practices. This project is supported by Grant Number 5 U19 AT002022-03 from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NCCAM, or the National Institutes of Health. Principal Investigator: Peter Wayne, PhD (NESA) See individual studies for more details regarding
research, personnel and collaborating institutions: Funding Agency - NCCAM---Grant # 5 U19 AT002022-03 Research Faculty and Staff
Other Research Activities:
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New England School of Acupuncture
150 California Street, 3rd Floor
Newton, MA 02458
617-558-1788