In recent decades, the Western world has begun to embrace Acupuncture and other forms of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Recent data indicates a huge increase in patient visits to Acupuncture in the last decade, from 5.4 million to 17.6 million (Nahin et al 2009 Natl Health). Part of the reason for this is the amount of research that has been done lately on the effectiveness of these types of therapies.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) created the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), an organization dedicated to spread education, awareness, and research about CAM. They host much of the research in the United States, and their website offers great explanation of the current topics and findings.