Wen-Long Hu is the Vice Director of the Department of Chinese Medicine at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Assistant Professor at Fooyin University, Kaohsiung Medical University, and Chang Gung University. He has the experiences of clinical practice in low level laser therapy (LLLT) for 20 years and in acupuncture for 25 years. He is invited speaker for lectures in LLLT at many symposiums held by some medical associations. Recently, he is invited to instruct physicians to practice LLLT in workshops. He is also involved in researches in LLLT and acupuncture, e.g. obesity, metabolic syndrome, stroke, dementia, Parkinsonism, myofascial pain, arthralgia, radiculopathy, autism, etc.

Objective: To investigate the clinical eff ects of laser acupuncture therapy for temporomandibular disorders (TMD) after ineffective previous treatments.

Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in 29 treatment-resistant TMD patients (25 women, 4 men; age range 17‒67 years). Subjects were treated 3 times per week for 4 weeks with the Handylaser Trion (GaAlAs laser diode, 810 nm, 150 mW, pulsed waves), which delivered 0.375 J of energy (5 s) to ST7, ST6, and LI4 and 3 J (40 s) to each Ashi point, 7.5‒26.25 J/cm2 in total. Th e visual analog scale (VAS) and maximal mouth opening (MMO) were evaluated before and aft er treatment.

Results: VAS analysis showed that the patients were free of pain at rest (endpoint) aft er 5.90±6.08 sessions of laser acupuncture for acute TMD and aft er 16.21±17.98 sessions for chronic TMD. Th e VAS score on palpation of the temporomandibular joint reduced to 0.30±0.67 for patients with acute TMD (p=0.005) and to 0.47±0.84 for those with chronic TMD (p<0.001). Th e MMO signifi cantly increased in patients with acute TMD (7.80±5.43 mm, p=0.008) and in patients with chronic TMD (15.58±7.87 mm, p<0.001).

Conclusions: Our patients suff ering from treatment-resistant TMD symptoms improved aft er laser acupuncture therapy. Long-term follow-up and further studies with a larger patient sample and an appropriate design are needed to examine the efficacy.

Zhang Zhang-Jin is a Tenured Professor and Associate Director of the School of Chinese Medicine, Honorary Professor of Psychiatry, Family Medicine and Primary Care and Anatomy in the University of Hong Kong (HKU). He serves as a Vice-President of the Hong Kong Association for Integration of Chinese-Western Medicine, Deputy Director of Specialty Committee of Mental Diseases of World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies (WFCMS), and Deputy Director of Sleep Medicine Specialty Committee of WFCMS. He received his Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture and Western Medicine training and earned his PhD in Neuroscience in China. During 1994-2006, he moved to USA to continue his research work in Psychopharmacology and Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University and then Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). His long-term research interest has focused on seeking novel psychotropic agents and developing effective treatment strategies from acupuncture and herbal medicine for neurological and psychiatric disorders, including pain, anxiety, mood disorders, dementia and schizophrenia. He is also interested in investigating neural mechanisms of acupuncture. He has directed numerous clinical studies. He has authored over 100 original papers, reviews and book chapters.

There have been numerous psychological and psychiatric terms recorded in ancient TCM bibliographies, developing a TCM specialty called mental-emotional diseases, in which symptomatology, etiology, psychopathology and various therapeutic approaches have been well established. In TCM practice, herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, scraping, massage, dietary therapy, psychological consultant, aromatic therapy, exercise therapy (such as tai-qi), meditation and mindfulness, humor therapy, and folk music therapy are oft en applied in the management of mental symptoms and wellbeing. Th ese TCM therapies also have been increasingly introduced into today’s clinical practice aimed to enhance the clinical effi cacy, reduce adverse eff ects caused by conventional treatment and comorbid symptoms. Th is fact is further refl ected in an increasing number of research publications, showing the potential benefi ts of herbal medicine, acupuncture and TCMbased exercise therapy in the treatment of various psychiatric symptoms, in particular sleep, anxiety, and mood disorders. Th is talk will provide an overview of the use of TCM in the management of mental-emotional symptoms and related research results.