Evidence map›Paper›PMID 15349795›Full record

ReviewLasers in medical science2004

Laser acupuncture: past, present, and future.

Peter Whittaker

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Lasers in medical science, 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 92 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
92citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
17.3field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

92 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 220 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Acupuncture for neonatal abstinence syndrome in newborn infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
    Pooled it
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  6. Acupuncture for menopausal hot flushes.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013
    Pooled it
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32 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.

Peter WhittakerDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01655, USA.
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Laser acupuncture is defined as the stimulation of traditional acupuncture points with low-intensity, nonthermal laser irradiation. Although the therapeutic use of laser acupuncture is rapidly gaining in popularity, objective evaluation of its efficacy in published studies is difficult because treatment parameters such as wavelength, irradiance, and beam profile are seldom fully described. The depth of laser energy transmission, likely an important determinant of efficacy, is governed not only by these parameters, but also by skin properties such as thickness, age, and pigmentation-factors which have also received little consideration in laser acupuncture. Despite the frequently equivocal nature of the published laser studies, recent evidence of visual cortex activation by laser acupuncture of foot points, together with the known ability of laser irradiation to induce cellular effects at subthermal thresholds, provides impetus for further research.

Indexed as

Low-Level Light TherapyAcupunctureAnimalsHumansPainPlacebo EffectRadiotherapy Dosage

Identifiers

PMID15349795
OpenAlexW2010942694

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.