NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Laser acupuncture does not lessen exercise-induced constriction of the airways in children or adolescents with asthma, Austrian researchers have found.

For some people with asthma, exercising can trigger a number of symptoms, including tightness in the chest, wheezing and difficulty breathing. This reaction, called exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, occurs in 40% to 90% of pediatric asthma patients, according to lead investigator Professor M. S. Zach of the University of Graz, Austria, and colleagues.

Their study, which included 44 patients aged 7 to 17, showed that laser acupuncture to six sites commonly used in the treatment of asthma did not offer any protection against exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. Laser acupuncture uses a laser beam instead of the traditional acupuncture needles.

An ancient therapy that arose in China more than 2,000 years ago, acupuncture involves placing fine needles in specific points on the body's surface. Traditional theory holds that these points connect with energy pathways that run through the body, and acupuncture helps keep this natural energy flow running smoothly.

There is some scientific evidence that acupuncture can be helpful in a range of medical conditions, from arthritis pain and migraine to morning sickness. But researchers are still trying to understand why it works.

In the new study, the patients were split into two groups. One group received laser acupuncture at six sites associated with asthma, while the other patients had laser acupuncture that targeted six non-asthma-related sites. The laser was used to stimulate each site for 60 seconds and the entire procedure was repeated after 12 minutes "to obtain the maximum effect," according to the report published in the March issue of the medical journal Thorax.

All of the patients underwent lung evaluation tests before, and at 3 and 15 minutes after breathing cold, dry air, which is known to trigger exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.

"Our results suggest that a single laser acupuncture treatment of children and adolescents with exercise-induced asthma is ineffective in the prevention of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction," Zach and colleagues conclude.

SOURCE: Thorax 2002;57:222-225.

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