We performed a randomized trial of acupuncture on a group of 54 hardcore alcoholic recidivists to determine if sobriety could be achieved and episodes of drinking and/or Detox Center admissions be decreased by this mode of therapy. Patients in the treatment group received acupuncture points specific for the treatment of substance abuse; control patients received nonspecific points. Significant differences in the two groups were noted at the end of the study. Patients in the treatment group expressed less need for alcohol ( p < 0.003), and had fewer drinking episodes ( p < 0.0076) and admissions to the Detox Center ( p < 0.03) during the study than did control patients. THe majority of treated patients felt that acupuncture had a definite impact on their desire to drink, whereas only a few control patients noted this effect ( p < 0.015). The results of this study suggest that acupuncture may be able to interdict the cycle of alcoholic recidivism. Further investigation is needed to define the role of acupuncture in the treatment of alcoholism more precisely. The authors wish to express their appreciation to Dr. Michael O. Smith for his encouragement and consultation during the course of this study, and to Drs. Alvin L. Schultz and Nicole Lurie for their critical review of the manuscript. Mary Kay Messner provided expert secretarial assistance.
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Bullock et al. (1987) studied this question.