(U-WIRE) ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Several Albuquerque, N.M, doctors predict balancing one's chi, or life energy, through acupuncture therapy can have positive effects in treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder — and they're conducting a study to prove it.

The National Institute of Health funded the study, which began in May 2003, to the tune of $250,000 for two years. Two University of New Mexico doctors, Nityamo Lian and Michael Hollifield, are conducting the bulk of the research.

"This is the first study I'm aware of to look at acupuncture as a modality for PTSD," says Hollifield, an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry.

The disorder is one of the most difficult psychiatric conditions to diagnose, Hollifield says. About 85 percent of people who have the disorder don't seek treatment, he says, which compounds treatment difficulties.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is a psychiatric condition that occurs following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events such as military combat or violent personal assaults like rape. Symptoms include hyper-arousal of the nervous system, increased sensitivity of the startle reflex and sleep abnormalities.

Lian is a doctor of Oriental medicine and acupuncture.

She says the study is evaluating whether acupuncture treatment is acceptable to people with the disorder; if such an approach produces a reduction in symptoms that is comparable to standard treatments; and the diagnostic patterns for people who have the disorder, when considered in a Chinese medical context.

The study has "graduated" 11 patients so far, with at least 20 more still to finish, Lian says.

Patients, who spend 12 weeks in treatment, are separated into three groups. One group receives acupuncture therapy, the second receives standard cognitive behavior therapy and the third, a control group, receives no treatment, Lian says.

"Instead of having a generic design, we chose the patterns we wanted to discover," she says. "Everyone doesn't fit into the same pattern. This (study) is actually closer to clinical practice than a normal research study."

Lian inserts about 15 fine, hair-like needles into a patient's skin to elicit chi responses, she says. In balancing a person's chi, the organs associated with the disorder's symptoms — such as the heart, liver or lungs — are balanced too.

"We live in a very stressful society," Lian says. "Some of the cases I have seen have been quite heartbreaking."

Hollifield says he and Lian received funding because research has shown acupuncture is effective in treating anxiety, depression and some pain conditions.

Hollifield's treatments, he says, use standard cognitive behavior methods, but with a twist.

"We're adding imagery rehearsal," he says. "It doesn't ask you to relive any of the trauma. We're finding ways to minimize trauma."

The recent study isn't the two doctors' first collaboration. They studied the health effects of trauma on Vietnamese and Kurdish refugees a few years ago.

"After working with the Vietnamese community in this town, it seemed almost unethical not to offer treatment (to them)," Lian says.

Both doctors say preliminary results show the acupuncture treatments are working.

"My sense is it's going well," Lian says. "Somehow people keep coming, so they must be getting something out of it."

-Jeff Proctor