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Monday 19, February 2001 Acupuncture offers hope for brain disorders HONG KONG, Feb 14 (Reuters) - As unpleasant as it may sound, tongue acupuncture has attracted a dedicated following in Hong Kong. "Open wide, here we go. That's right, very good," said the founding father of tongue acupuncture, Sun Jieguang, as he took a patient through the nerve-wracking experience. All it takes is a few seconds and the treatment, which targets ailments ranging from cerebral palsy in young children to Parkinson's or Alzheimer's in old people, is over. "It feels like being pricked by toothpicks," said Ricky Chan, 18, who was being treated for uncontrollable trembling due to complications from encephalitis. The innovative technique uses the same principle as conventional acupuncture, an ancient medical cure which originated in China in which needles are used to stimulate pressure points on the body. Tongue acupuncture, available only in Hong Kong and mainland China, has proven to be so popular in the territory that 2,000 people are now on Sun's waiting list. MIRACULOUS CURE, MOTHER CLAIMS Four-year-old Lam Ngai-kong has trouble walking and writing due to a brain disorder that has weakened his limbs. But his mother Mrs Lam told Reuters she noticed an improvement in Ngai-kong after just five sessions. "His hands were too wobbly to write properly but they are much stronger now. He doesn't even need that much support when he walks," said Mrs. Lam. "It has been truly miraculous." While acupuncture has won recognition from the medical profession in many countries outside China, the idea of having needles dancing on tongues has, perhaps not surprisingly, yet to earn universal acceptance. Research carried out by Hong Kong University on some 100 children has shown tongue acupuncture to be an effective treatment for some cardiovascular diseases and illnesses associated with brain disorders. However, Professor Virginia Wong who specialises in child neurology at the University, told Reuters patients usually receive other forms of medication at the same time. It is, therefore, hard to isolate the impact of tongue acupuncture. Most of the children studied suffered from illnesses which have no known cures in Western medicine such as autism and cerebral palsy, which result in a loss of limb co-ordination. "We have seen remarkable improvements in the kids emotionally, in their ability to communicate, concentrate, write and learn," Sun told Reuters in an interview. Sun began his research more than two decades ago in China and says he has since discovered 49 acupuncture points on the tongue. In Hong Kong, local neurologists have successfully combined Western- style treatment with tongue acupuncture on patients with Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's and stroke victims. Despite the success and recognition he has earned, Sun has no intention of making the technique public knowledge and has so far taught it only to his son who lives on mainland China. "People have tried to copy me after my visit to the United States where I gave lectures about my work," Sun said. Sun sees around 80 patients a day but the backlog of patients is building. His clinic says the average wait for those seeking treatment is about three years. http://www.lanka.net/lakehouse/2001/02/19/for03.html *************