AKUPRESSUR, NEUROPHARMAKOLOGIE UND PSYCHISCHE GESUNDHEIT

Acupressure is a non-pharmacological technique that has the potential to relieve various diseases. This mini review deals with facts of scientific acupressure studies and summarizes some of important aspects. Scientific articles from the PubMed, Google Scholar and CNKI databases served as research documents. In addition, the research of acupressure versus pharmacologic interventions in mental diseases has included own material already published in scientific articles. A total of 9 listed papers were identified, 8 of which were considered relevant. The author checked the content for accuracy, and discussed limitations of the non-pharmacologic treatment modality critically. The evidence available that acupressure can be used as an additional non-pharmacological method of intervention in mental illness has been sparse. One could not identify any evidence-based high-level trial comparing acupressure with pharmacologic intervention in mental health care. Although considerable progress has been made in evaluating this ancient traditional method of acupressure, further research like large and well-designed randomized controlled trials will still be needed in the coming years.