Tom Harkin: “earlier this week an expert scientific panel at the National Institutes of Health strongly endorsed acupuncture as an…”

“earlier this week an expert scientific panel at the National Institutes of Health strongly endorsed acupuncture as an effective treatment for certain conditions. This is the first time that the NIH has endorsed a major alternative therapy. It is truly a breakthrough, and is just the type of advance that I envisioned when I worked to establish the Office of Alternative Medicine at the NIH. The consensus conference held by NIH involved top scientists from around the Nation, including those with expertise in acupuncture and experts in research evaluation and design. These scientists, led by Dr. David Ramsey, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, objectively evaluated the evidence of acupuncture's efficacy and came to a consensus that this therapy is safe and provides significant help for a number of health problems. They found that acupuncture is an effective treatment for postoperative dental pain, postoperative and chemotherapy-induced nausea, nausea during pregnancy, and other conditions.”