Acupuncture Techniques - Gold Bead Implantation

Gold bead implantation was developed by an American veterinary surgeon, Terry Durkes. He saw that many animals with chronic conditions benefited from acupuncture, but needed regular 'top-up' treatments to maintain the effect. He reasoned that if some method of providing constant point stimulation could be found, the improvement in the animal's condition could be maintained without these 'top-up' treatments.

Dr Durkes therefore developed a technique for implanting small gold beads at acupuncture points. The beads continuously stimulate the acupuncture points, but are not large enough to irritate the animal.

Gold is used as it is an inert metal and has no toxic effects on the body. The beads are very small (2-3mm, or less than a tenth of an inch), and so do not cause irritation or interfere with the movement of an animal.

The main conditions where gold bead implantation is used are:

- Epilepsy
- Degenerative joint conditions and arthritis

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Gold bead implantation is a surgical procedure, carried out under general anesthesia. There are therefore all the risks associated with a general anesthetic, however, for a healthy animal or an animal with a condition not affecting the major organs, the risks are minimal.

A small incision is made over the acupuncture point, and sterile, gold beads are precisely inserted. This is a minor surgical procedure, and animals recover very quickly.

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Pain from hip dysplasia and hip arthritis in dogs is one of the most common conditions treated with gold bead implantation. Gold beads are generally inserted into acupuncture points around the hip joints, although other locations may also be used.

Numerous studies have confirmed that gold bead implantation benefits dogs with hip dysplasia and hip arthritis. For example, Jaeger et al (2007) studied a group of 78 dogs in pain from hip dysplasia. 83% of dogs who received gold bead implantation improved, in contrast to 60% of those who had a placebo procedure. The improvement in the gold bead dogs' condition remained over the two years of the study.

Another study, on people with knee osteoarthritis, found that those who had gold beads implanted in their knees had greater improvement in knee function and stiffness (assessed by a surgeon and self-assessed) than a control group (Nejrup et al, 2008).

In canine epilepsy, gold bead implantation can be used to reduce seizure severity and frequency. There is limited published research on gold bead implantation for canine epilepsy, as it is still a relative new treatment. However, there are many studies that show that acupuncture has beneficial effects on epileptic dogs.

For example, Kilde et al studied epileptic dogs who had not responded to even high levels of anti-convulsant drugs. All the dogs treated with acupuncture had decreased numbers of seizures and the effect was maintained for at least 5 months.

Acupuncture and gold bead implantation are particularly useful in treatment of epileptic dogs as there is no perfect anticonvulsant drug. Dogs on anticonvulsants often need regular liver tests, as the drugs can be toxic, and drugs will also often not completely control the dog's seizures.

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