Guidelines for clinical research in acupuncture
Summary
The guidelines aim to encourage the use of systemic laboratory and clinical studies as a way of validating acupuncture, improving its acceptability to modern medicine, and thus extending its use as a simple, inexpensive, and effective therapeutic option. It sets out guidelines that incorporate the established methods and procedures of scientific investigation, yet reflect the special nature of acupuncture as a discipline. The guidelines respond to both growing interest in the therapeutic applications of acupuncture and the need to validate these applications through the compilation of reliable and comparable clinical data.