Forty cases of insomnia treated by multi-output electric pulsation and auricular plaster therapy

By: Weizhe, Liu

The author reports on the effectiveness of ear acupuncture in the treatment of 40 cases of insomnia. The age range was 18-51 years and the duration of disease was from 2 weeks--30 years. Those with organic brain disease or mental illness were excluded from the study. The main points used were Ear Shenmen, Heart, Mouth (experience point to promote sleep), Occiput, Anterior Lobe (Neurasthenia) and Subcortex. Additional points were given according to the differential diagnosis as follows: for deficiency of the Heart and Spleen, Ear Spleen; for disharmony between the Heart and Kidney, Ear Kidney; for Liver fire, Ear Liver; for deficiency of the Heart and Gallbladder, Ear Gallbladder; and for dysfunction of the Stomach, Ear Stomach. Electrodes from a self-made multi-electrode device were placed on the points and stimulated with a continuous wave to the patient's maximum tolerance for 20 minutes. Ear seeds were then applied on both ears and patients asked to press on alternate ears for 20 seconds 3x daily. Ten treatments constituted one course. Cure was defined as sleeping for more than six hours, remarkable effectiveness as more than four hours and effectiveness as intermittent sleep with a slight alleviation of symptoms (undefined). The cure rate was 50%, remarkable effectiveness was 27.5%, effectiveness was 12.5% and 10% had no result. A typical case history was given in which the patient required two courses of treatment (60 days) to be able to sleep 6-8 hours a night without medication. On follow-up a year later she was still sleeping well.