The research-group from Austria and China "compared two different acupuncture methods in two patient groups, both with the diagnosis burnout. One method was invasive manual needle acupuncture and the other noninvasive laser needle acupuncture. Neurovegtative parameters like heart rate and heart rate variability were chosen as evaluation parameters. Developing a new parameter, the so called ´dynamic acupuncture treatment score´ (DATS), we were able to quantitatively describe treatment effects on the different neurovegtative responses immediately and five minutes after the acupuncture sessions.
DATS is a simple ratio which reflects the dynamic alterations within different treatment sessions. It shows how the body (neurovegetative system) reacts to a stimulation. The values from the first and last sessions were compared so that one can compare changes and thus effects of the acupuncture treatment sessions. It was interesting that our new score shows stronger effects of laser needle acupuncture than of manual needle acupuncture after six treatment sessions. However, both groups had a very small sample size (ten patients each), and therefore more investigations are necessary."