Interest in acupuncture by health care consumers and providers alike has grown dramatically in the past decade. The increased use of acupuncture is attributed to its medical effectiveness, cost effectiveness and credibility provided by clinical trials and physiological research. Acupuncture is rapidly moving out of the arena of "alternative" medicine, in large part again because it is grounded more firmly than other alternative treatments in research. This book provides an up-to-date understanding of the scientific basis of clinical acupuncture for researchers, health care practitioners, administrators and patients. From the contents :

• Review of Neurophysiological Research
  
• Assessing Clinical Efficacy of Acupuncture
• Proposed Standards of Acupuncture Treatment for Clinical Studies
• Considerations for Designing Future Acupuncture Trials
• Future Directions in Physiological Research