Emilija Nikolic is a full Professor in the Medical Faculty at University of Montenegro, for teaching classes in Physiotherapy in Pulmology, Cardiopulmonological Physiotherapy and Health Education and Hygiene, Physiology of neural system at the Faculty of Philosophy, department of psychology in Niksic. She was part of the Scientific Activity Team of the Lomonosov University, Department of Chemical Enzymology, for research related to the application of immunoassays and molecular diagnostics in gene and viral diseases. She has published more than 15 papers in reputed journals. She was hired as an Expert Associate at the Center for Pulmonary Diseases and Tuberculosis at the Health Center, Herceg Novi.

Asthma leads to physical, emotional and social limitations for patients and impairs their quality of life. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of acupuncture the psychological condition and the quality of life in asthma patients. In total, 120 patients with asthma who were treated at the Mediterranean Health Centre, Igalo, Montenegro were included in this study. The experimental group (n=60) included patients who received acupuncture in addition to medication and physical therapy, while the control group (n=60) included patients who received only medication and physical therapy. Scores for the Asthma Control Test (ACT), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS) and Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQOLQ) were evaluated immediately and two weeks after treatment completion, and compared between groups. The mean age of the patients was 46.4 years. Improvements in ACT, HADS and AQOLQ scores for the experimental group were evident 2 weeks after treatment initiation, and were significantly greater than the changes observed in the control group. Our findings suggest that acupuncture improves the quality of life of patients with asthma and eliminated cough, insomnia and anxiety.