Two papers by members of the OCOM Research Department have been published in peer-reviewed journals since our last newsletter edition:

The first article, written by Ben Marx, Ryan Milley, Dara Cantor, Deborah Ackerman and Richard Hammerschlag, is entitled "AcuTrials®: An Online Database of Randomized Controlled Trials and Systematic Reviews of Acupuncture." Published in the July 2013 issue of BMC Complementary & Alternative Medicine, it details the development of AcuTrials®, a unique bibliographic database of randomized clinical trials and systematic reviews. It was created and maintained by members of the OCOM Research Department to streamline literature searches in the field of acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM). AcuTrials® went live in January 2010 and currently contains nearly 1,400 abstracts from over 300 medical journals. The department is continually working to source and add new articles to the database to keep it current. AcuTrials® provides multiple acupuncture-specific search options which are currently unavailable in PubMed or any other database of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) research. Included among these is an innovative keyword catalogue which allows users to search by such categories as treatment protocol, control type, and style of acupuncture. Prior to the release of AcuTrials®, literature searches for acupuncture studies could only be conducted across multiple databases, none of which were cataloged with acupuncture-specific language. The authors hope that AcuTrials® will continue to grow and realize its potential to improve the accessibility and quality of acupuncture research.

The second article ---- "Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Traditional Chinese Medicine" ---- was authored by Lee Hullender Rubin, Dara Cantor, and Ben Marx. It was published in the June 2013 issue of Medical Acupuncture. This paper presents a case report of a 42-year-old woman with the diagnoses of recurrent pregnancy loss and diminished ovarian reserve. The patient was tracked from six months prior to conception through the delivery of a healthy baby boy while receiving acupuncture treatments and Chinese herbal therapy from Dr. Hullender Rubin.

Case studies are an important component of the AOM evidence base, as they allow clinicians to share a richness of clinical detail that isn't possible in other types of evidence. Often, slight modifications to the acupuncture protocol or an herbal formula, are the keys to clinical success. Case studies permit a more detailed description of these modifications, and allow practitioners to share their work with colleagues without having to adhere to a restrictive study design.

Congratulations to all of these authors for their fine work! 

AcuTrials® Update

Since the publication of the July 2013 AcuTrials® article in BMC Complementary & Alternative Medicine, we have seen usage of the database rise dramatically. The number of users accessing the site spiked in September with 371 users, a more than five-fold increase in the average number of monthly hits. Individuals from 48 different countries have visited the AcuTrials® website, including the UK, Brazil, Russia and South Korea! We are excited to see that a large and growing community is utilizing AcuTrials® and, as its usage expands, we are working to streamline the database as much as possible. We continue to add new and previously overlooked trials and reviews of acupuncture, while improving the search indexes to make them more user-friendly and efficient. Future plans for AcuTrials® include developing a new software platform that will allow for a better user interface.

It has been rewarding to receive individual feedback about the database as well. An acupuncturist and researcher at the Indiana University School of Medicine wrote to us after discovering AcuTrials®, remarking, "I'm really impressed. It's a great resource for AOM researchers." An East Asian Medicine Practitioner in Washington state wrote us about using the database to investigate low back pain studies that include traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) diagnoses as part of their study design. She commented: "The AcuTrials® database is an awesome service. Thank you so much!" Our hope is that a growing number of AOM practitioners will find AcuTrials® helpful in their clinical work, and researchers will use the database to greater streamline their literature searches.

Check out AcuTrials® at acutrials.ocom.edu. Direct any questions or comments to Ben Marx at bmarx@ocom.edu or Dara Cantor at dara.cantor@ocom.edu. 

New Research Associate

The OCOM Research Department is pleased to announce the hiring of a new Research Associate, Dara Cantor, MAcOM, LAc. Ms. Cantor graduated in August 2013 from OCOM's Master of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine program and began work at the department in September. She has a background in ecological research, and worked for OCOM's Research Department as a work-study student throughout her four years in school. Her extensive research background and on-the-job experience with the department's ongoing projects and needs made her an ideal candidate for this position. She is working to further develop the AcuTrials® database and is contributing her expertise to departmental publications and grant applications. In addition to working as part of OCOM's research team, Ms. Cantor maintains a part-time acupuncture practice in Milwaukie, Oregon. 

Dr. Joe Coletto and Nancy Grotton Investigate Mind-Body Medicine

Thanks to the inspiration and dedication of Joe Coletto, ND, LAc, and Nancy Grotton, MAcOM, LAc, OCOM is home to an experiential program in mindfulness-based meditation. In 2011, Dr. Coletto attended the International Association of Medical Science Educators in Florida where he heard a plenary talk by Dr. Aviad Haramati about a mindfulness program for medical students at Georgetown University. Dr. Coletto was inspired to introduce the program at OCOM, and later that year, he and Ms. Grotton traveled to Maryland to receive intensive training in Dr. Haramati's mindfulness course.

At the Georgetown ICE-CIM, 2012: Dr. Aviad Haramati, far left; Nancy Grotton and Dr. Joe Coletto, fifth and sixth from left

The program, available primarily to groups of first-year students, has been ongoing since the winter of 2012 when it was offered as a pilot course. In response to the success and popularity of the program, it was introduced as a noncredit elective class in September 2013. The 11-week course introduces different techniques of mindfulness, including guided imagery, artwork, journaling, and seated meditation. The students also have an opportunity to check in with one another each week, in a supportive and non-judgmental setting. The course is currently limited to 10 randomly selected students each quarter until more resources are available; students not selected for the class are placed on a wait list.

At the beginning and end of each quarter, enrolled students and those on the wait list complete questionnaires measuring stress and mindfulness. Thus, the waitlisted students also act as a control group for those taking the class. This arrangement offers an exciting opportunity to study the effects of the program by comparing changes in stress and mindfulness between the students randomized to the class and those randomized to a waitlist. The results from the first year demonstrate significant reduction in stress for those enrolled in the course. This continuing research may help to garner more funding for an expanded Mind-Body Medicine program at OCOM in the future.

The program has received a hugely positive response, both from the participating students and from the instructors themselves. Dr. Coletto commented, "This is the most exciting thing I am doing" and related how gratifying it is to see real change in the individuals who participate. Ms. Grotton noted that as she sees students on a daily basis grappling with stress, it is deeply rewarding to impact a group of students with this work, as well as to have the opportunity to collaborate with her colleague, Dr. Coletto, and be vigilant with her own mindfulness work.

Master's Oriental Medicine Research Projects 2013-2014

For over twenty years, interns of the OCOM master's program have been required to complete a practicum project within the realm of AOM research. This project comprises Oriental Medicine Research III (OMR III), the final part of a three-phase course in research literacy which begins in their first year. In the past, OMR III students conducted literature reviews on a particular research topic and wrote thesis papers detailing the current biomedical research on that topic. Beginning in 2009-2010, OCOM introduced group research projects as a potential choice for interns to complete their OMR III requirements. Though some students still choose to pursue individual research projects, the group projects have become increasingly popular, with several projects ongoing over multiple years. Each project is supervised by a faculty member, doctoral student or OCOM graduate mentor who directs the work of group members throughout the year. The OMR III projects are an example of both the exemplary work put forth by OCOM faculty and students, and the college's efforts to weave research and research literacy into its master's curriculum.

Here are this year's group projects:

• Vulvodynia Acupuncture and Lidocaine Trial; mentored by Lee Hullender-Rubin, DAOM, LAc 
• Native American Acupuncture Project; mentored by Cathy Andrews, MAcOM, LAc
• Acupuncture and Overuse Injuries: An Exploratory Review; mentored by Ben Marx, MAcOM, LAc
• Acupuncture in Integrative Clinics for Chemo-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy; mentored by Zhaoxue Lu, DMed, PhD (PRC), LAc
• Kam Wah Chung Translation Project; mentored by Beth Howlett, MAcOM, LAc
• Literature Review of AOM and Fatigue; mentored by Deb Espesete, MAcOM, MPH, LAc
• TCM Herbs: Quality and Localism; mentored by Laura Rose Lambert, MAcOM, LAc
• Acupuncture Outcomes and Mindfulness-Based Interventions: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study Proposal; mentored by Michael McCarron, DAOM, LAc
• A Survey of Acupuncture Interest in Orthopedic Surgical Patients at Oregon Health and Science University; mentored by Sara Garoppolo, MAcOM, LAc
• AOM and Healthcare Public Policy; mentored by Shelley Stump, JD
• Clinic Data Assessment: Analysis of clinic data and chart review to evaluate treatments and outcomes for sciatica; mentored by Deb Ackerman, MS, PhD
• Auricular Acupuncture Education, and Shiatsu Education Graduate Survey; mentored by Ken Glowacki, MSTOM, LAc

For more information about a group research project, contact the group's mentor. We look forward to seeing the final work of this year's OMR III class, some of which will be presented at the next SPARC conference and other CAM conferences in the spring.

Research Grand Rounds

OCOM's Research Grand Rounds was initiated as an NIH grant-supported seminar series examining challenges in the design and implementation of research. While hospital-based Grand Rounds focus on clinical care, OCOM's Research Grand Rounds focus on issues of clinical research, particularly in the field of AOM.

In 2013, we were pleased to welcome the following speakers:

• Kim Tippens, ND, MSAOM, MPH, Assistant Professor at the Helfgott Research Institue at the National College of Natural Medicine. Her topic was "Practice-Based Research in CAM: Challenges and Opportunities." March 25, 2013.
• Tracy Thorne, MAOM, LAc, Adjunct Research Fellow at the National College of Natural Medicine. She presented "Direct Moxibustion to Treat Spleen Qi and Yang Deficiency Fatigue: A Pilot Study." September 23, 2013.
• Charles Elder, MD, MPH, FACP, Internist at Kaiser Permanente Northwest and Affiliate Investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research. He presented "Randomized Trial of Tapas Acupressure Technique for Weight Loss Maintenance: Results and Implications." December 13, 2013.

Kim Tippens	Tracey Thorne	Charles Elder	Jennifer A.M. Stone

We look forward to our 2014 Grand Rounds presentations, and welcomed our first speaker of the year this January ----

• Jennifer A.M. Stone, LAc, Editor-in-Chief of The American Acupuncturist, and research and clinic faculty at the Indiana University School of Medicine in the department of Radiation Oncology. She presented "Past and Current Acupuncture Research at Indiana University School of Medicine: Problems, Solutions and Working with the Team." January 13, 2014.

The authors conducted a randomized controlled trial of 150 patients with low back pain treated with either a standardized acupuncture protocol or individualized acupuncture treatments based on pulse, tongue, and TCM pattern differentiation. Both groups showed significant reduction in pain over the eight weeks that they were treated. Although there was no observed difference between the two groups, the study does highlight the importance of acknowledging traditional diagnosis-based treatment and point selection within TCM. Hopefully we will see more studies in the future examining the treatment of other conditions with individualized acupuncture protocols, or comparing individual and standardized treatments as this paper has done.

Garcia MK, et al. Acupuncture for Treatment of Uncontrolled Pain in Cancer Patients: A Pragmatic Pilot Study. Integrative Cancer Therapies. 2013 [Epub ahead of print]

Pain management is a difficult and ongoing issue in the treatment of cancer, and the authors looked at the feasibility and outcomes of using regular and electro-acupuncture as well as auricular acupuncture to minimize pain and improve quality of life for 52 individuals treated for cancer. The study results showed significant reduction in pain severity and interference, overwhelming patient satisfaction, and additionally many of the patients were able to reduce or discontinue their pain or mood-regulating medications. This study is a perfect example of how a single cohort study which allows for acupuncturists to practice unrestricted needling protocols and techniques can lend valuable and elucidative information to the acupuncture evidence base. Randomized placebo-controlled trials of acupuncture have their place, but studies such as this are often more clinically relevant and respectful of true practice in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Upcoming Research Conferences

Thank you for reading, and consider checking out one or more of these upcoming complementary and alternative medicine conferences taking place in the U.S. this year. Attending a research conference is a great way to be exposed to new developments in the field of integrative medicine!

Upcoming U.S. research conferences:

• Southwest Symposium 2014: The Heart of the Medicine ---- Austin, TX, February 14-16, 2014
• Integrative Health Care Symposium ---- New York, NY, USA, February 19-22, 2014
• International Research Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health (IRCIMH) ---- Miami, FL, May 13-16, 2014
• Traditional Roots Institute Herbal Conference ---- Portland, OR, May 16-18, 2014
• 15th Annual Science and Clinical Application of Integrative Holistic Medicine ---- San Diego, CA, October 25-30, 2014
• 11th International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology ---- Houston, TX, October 26-28, 2014
• 2014 4th Annual Integrative Cancer Medicine Symposium ---- Phoenix, AZ, USA, November 7-9, 2014

Lastly, for those able to travel abroad, consider the Society for Acupuncture Research (SAR) International Symposium for Acupuncture Research ---- Beijing, China, May 30-June 1, 2014.