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                  • Acupuncture for hot flushes study
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                  • Spring hay fever study
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                  • Volunteers wanted for a clinical trial: acupuncture for reducing opioid medication use

Spring hay fever study

Volunteers are needed to test if acupuncture can reduce the severity of hay fever symptoms.

Runny nose? Sneezing?

Hay fever is one of the most common respiratory chronic conditions. Approximately 16% of Australian population suffer from hay fever. Being an allergic condition, hay fever is closely associated with asthma. It causes significant impact on patients’ quality of life and economic burden. Current medication may not provide complete symptom relief.

Acupuncture for hay fever: A randomised controlled trial

RMIT University researchers are investigating the benefits of acupuncture for spring hay fever in a three-year randomised controlled trial (2009 to 2011). This study is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC, Project Grant 555412).

Led by Professor Charlie Xue, Head of School of Health Sciences and Chair of the Chinese Medicine Registration Board of Australia, RMIT’s Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research Group has more than 15 years of collaboration in acupuncture and herbal medicine clinical research for chronic respiratory diseases.

Since starting research in 1995, researchers of this Group have successful completed clinical trials on acupuncture, acupressure and herbal medicines for hay fever. Previous studies have demonstrated that acupuncture was well tolerated by patients and that it was a safe and effective option for the symptomatic treatment of chronic hay fever.

In 2011, approximately 60 spring hay fever sufferers from Melbourne are needed for the trial that will run from late September to December. Eligible participants are adults aged between 18 and 70, with at least two years of seasonal hay fever symptoms (sneezing, congestion, runny nose and nasal itch).

The study will involve examination by a medical doctor and a skin allergy test. Trial participants will attend the trial clinic on the RMIT city campus and receive 12 sessions of acupuncture over a period of four-weeks with a four-week follow-up.

More information

For interviews or comment

Professor Charlie Xue, (03) 9925 7745 or 0488 060 218.

For more information about participation

Dr Claire Zhang (03) 9925 7002 or 0402 103 088, or email hayfever@rmit.edu.au.