Tutkimusta akupunktiosta neurologisten ongelmien hoidossa

Akupunktiota tutkitaan paljon erilaisten neurologisten sairauksien hoidossa. Tutkimusten mukaan akupunktiolla voi olla vaikutusta erilaisissa neuropatioissa, aivohalvauksissa, erilaisissa dementian muodoissa ja muissa hermostoon liittyvissä rappeumasairauksissa.

Akupunktiota tehoa ja turvallisuutta tutkitaan erilaisten halvaustilojen hoidossa. Akupunktiota voidaan käyttää niin ääreishermostosta johtuvissa halvauksissa ja kiputiloissa kuin joidenkin tutkimusten mukaan myös aivoperäisissä halvaustiloissa. Halvaustiloissa, etenkin aivoperäisissä, akupunktiota tehdään aina hoitavan lääkärin kanssa yhteistyössä. Yhtenä tärkeänä tutkimuksen kohteena on ollut erilaiset aivohalvausten jälkeinen kuntoutus ja aivohalvauksiin liittyvän masennuksen hoito, jonka hoitamisella on merkitystä myös potilaan motivaatioon kuntouttaa itseään.

Neurologiaan liittyen akupunktiosta tehdään myös paljon yleistä tutkimusta akupunktion vaikutusmekanismeista. Useimmat nykyiset tutkimukset soveltavat erilaisia kuvannusmenetelmiä. Monet tutkijaryhmät ovat pyrkineet selvittämään, mitä aivoissa tapahtuu akupunktiohoitojen aikana. Myös lumeakupunktion ja oikean akupunktion vaikutusten eroa on tutkittu aivojen kuvantamisen avulla.

 
 

Selaa tutkimuksia tai valitse aiheaulue




 
 

The analgesic effect of acupuncture in neuropathic pain: regulatory mechanisms of DNA methylation in the brain.

"Recent research has demonstrated that chronic pain, resulting from peripheral nerve injury, leads to various symptoms, including not only allodynia and hyperalgesia but also anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairment. These symptoms are believed to arise due to alterations in gene expression and neural function, mediated by epigenetic changes in chromatin structure. Emerging evidence suggests ..."
Jang J., Lee Y. et al. (2024) The analgesic effect of acupuncture in neuropathic pain: regulatory mechanisms of DNA methylation in the brain. Pain Rep. 2024;9(6):e1200-e1200.   🔗

Effectiveness and safety of Governor vessel acupuncture therapy for post-stroke cognitive impairment: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

"...RESULTS: This meta-analysis includes a total of 39 trials with 2044 patients. There were 1022 participants in each of the test and control groups. Following 12-120 days of acupuncture treatment, a meta-analysis revealed that the treatment groups (GV Ac combined with conventional treatment groups) significantly increased their scores on the Curative ratio (OR = 3.00, 95 %CI = 2.37-3.79, P = 0.98, I² = 0 %), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)(MD = 1.82, 95 %CI = 1.60-2.03, P = 0.11, I² = 25 %), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)(MD = 2.18, 95 %CI = 1.64-2.72, P<0.005, I² = 92 %), and Activity of Daily Living (ADL)(MD = 5.99, 95 %CI = 5.33-6.64, P = 0.19, I² = 26 %). ..."
Han J., Yang Y. et al. (2024) Effectiveness and safety of Governor vessel acupuncture therapy for post-stroke cognitive impairment: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Ageing Res Rev. 2024;99:102355-102355.  🔗

Efficacy of acupuncture as adjunct therapy for sleep disorders in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: A total of 973 papers were identified, with 15 papers involving 957 patients were included in this systematic review. The results showed that acupuncture interventions included manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, moxibustion and bleeding, with 1-7 times every week implemented during 2-12 weeks. Acupuncture as an adjunct therapy compared to conventional therapy alone showed better effect in sleep quality and overall symptoms of PD. Risk of bias assessment showed deficiencies in blinding and allocation concealment. All included studies were synthesized in a meta-analysis, as the result of which, acupuncture improved PDSS scores(MD =16.57; 95% CI, 7.24-25.90; I = 97%) and effective rate for sleep disorders (OR = 5.91; 95% CI, 1.71-20.39; I = 54%); meanwhile, acupuncture reduced UPDRS scores(MD = -4.29; 95% CI, -6.54 - -2.03; I = 77%) and improved effective rate for PD (OR = 3.22; 95% CI, 1.81-5.72; I = 0%). The quality of evidence ranged from low to moderate by GRADE. ..."
Mi W., Meng M. et al. (2024) Efficacy of acupuncture as adjunct therapy for sleep disorders in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Med. 2024;82:103044-103044.  🔗

A review on traditional Chinese medicine natural products and acupuncture intervention for Alzheimer's disease based on the neuroinflammatory.

"Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease with insidious onset and progressive development. It is clinically characterized by cognitive impairment, memory impairment and behavioral change. Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture are important components of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and are commonly used in clinical treatment of AD. This paper systematically summarizes the research progress ..."
Chen Z., Wang X. et al. (2024) A review on traditional Chinese medicine natural products and acupuncture intervention for Alzheimer's disease based on the neuroinflammatory. Chin Med. 2024;19(1):35-35.   🔗

Advances of research on mechanisms of acupuncture underlying improvement of ischemic stroke by regulating neuronal mitochondria.

"Acupuncture has a positive effect in the treatment of ischemic stroke (IS). A number of studies have confirmed that the role of acupuncture in the treatment of IS, which is closely related to its functions of regulating mitochondrial functions. In the present article, we review the mechanisms of acupuncture underlying improvement of mitochondria in ..."
Li Y., Zhang R. et al. (2024) Advances of research on mechanisms of acupuncture underlying improvement of ischemic stroke by regulating neuronal mitochondria. Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 2024;49(1):71-71.   🔗

Global trends and development of acupuncture for stroke: A review and bibliometric analysis.

"The objective of this review is to elaborate on the status, hotspots, and trends of researches on acupuncture for stroke over the past 26 years. Publications about acupuncture for stroke were downloaded from the Web of Science Core Collection, and these papers were published up to December 31, 2022. A bibliometric analysis of acupuncture for stroke was ..."
Cheng C. & Yu H. (2024) Global trends and development of acupuncture for stroke: A review and bibliometric analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2024;103(3):e36984-e36984.   🔗

Acupuncture for Post-Stroke Spasticity: An Overview of Systematic Reviews.

"...RESULTS: Overall, 226 papers were examined, and after careful consideration, 10 SRs/MAs were deemed eligible for inclusion. The AMSTAR 2 assessment revealed that one SR/MA had medium, one study had low, and the remaining eight studies had critically low methodological qualities. Additionally, four SRs/MAs completed more than 60% of the PRISMA 2020 checklist. The GRADE system indicated that six outcomes were medium, 26 outcomes were low, and 24 outcomes were critically low. ..."
Yi L., Huang L. et al. (2024) Acupuncture for Post-Stroke Spasticity: An Overview of Systematic Reviews. Complement Ther Med. 2024:103024-103024.  🔗

Different Acupuncture Therapies for Postherpetic Neuralgia: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: Totally, 7 SRs were included, including 128 studies and 9,792 patients. In AMSTAR 2, most of the SRs were of low or critically low levels since they had more than 1 critical deficiency. In ROBIS, 1 SR (14.29%) was rated as high risk, and the other 6 (85.71%) were rated as low risk. In the GRADE system, 9 outcomes (28.13%) were valued as high level, 5 (15.63%) as moderate level, 1 (3.13%) as low, and 17 (53.13%) as very low. In the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy, the group "moxibustion vs. original medical treatment" [mean difference (MD)=-1.44, 95% confidence interval (CI): -1.80 to -1.08, I=99%, P<0.00001] was of the highest heterogeneity and the group "bloodletting vs. original medical treatment" (MD=-2.80, 95% CI: -3.14 to -2.46, I=0, P<0.00001) was of the lowest heterogeneity. Six SRs have reported the safety of their studies and no serious events were shown in the treatment and control groups. ..."
Xia Y., Sun R. et al. (2024) Different Acupuncture Therapies for Postherpetic Neuralgia: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis. Chin J Integr Med. 2024.  🔗

Acupuncture for the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"...RESULTS: A total of 13 RCTs involving 719 patients were included. The results showed that compared with medication alone or sham acupuncture, acupuncture improved sleep quality in PD patients, with Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS) [standardized mean difference (SMD)= 0.48, 95% confidence interval (CI)= 0.242 to 0.793, P = 0.001]. The I scores and total scores on Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) indicated acupuncture treatment was effective (SMD=-0.66, 95%CI=-0.66 to -0.18, P = 0.042; SMD=-0.77, 95%CI=-1.31 to -0.23, P = 0.005). Results of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39) showed no statistically significant differences (SMD=-0.27, 95%CI=-0.08 to 0.62, P = 0.128; SMD=-0.20, 95%CI=-0.42 to 0.01, P = 0.554). Anxiety and depression research had no significant differences due to the excessive inter-study bias. ..."
Zhang A., Song Z. et al. (2024) Acupuncture for the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Complement Ther Med. 2024;80:103020-103020.  🔗

Neural circuit mechanisms of acupuncture effect: where are we now?

"Recently, there has been increasing attention on the impact of acupuncture on the dysregulated neural circuits in different disease. This has led to new understandings of how acupuncture works. This review presents a comprehensive analysis of research that have examined the impact of acupuncture on abnormal neural circuits associated with pain, anxiety, Parkinson's disease, ..."
Wang X., Wang J. et al. (2024) Neural circuit mechanisms of acupuncture effect: where are we now? Front Neurol. 2024;15:1399925-1399925.  🔗

Mobilizing endogenous neuroprotection: the mechanism of the protective effect of acupuncture on the brain after stroke.

"Given its high morbidity, disability, and mortality rates, ischemic stroke (IS) is a severe disease posing a substantial public health threat. Although early thrombolytic therapy is effective in IS treatment, the limited time frame for its administration presents a formidable challenge. Upon occurrence, IS triggers an ischemic cascade response, inducing the brain to generate ..."
Fu T., Wang G. et al. (2024) Mobilizing endogenous neuroprotection: the mechanism of the protective effect of acupuncture on the brain after stroke. Front Neurosci. 2024;18:1181670-1181670.  🔗

The mechanistic effects of acupuncture in rodent neurodegenerative disease models: a literature review.

"Neurodegenerative diseases refer to a battery of medical conditions that affect the survival and function of neurons in the brain, which are mainly presented with progressive loss of cognitive and/or motor function. Acupuncture showed benign effects in improving neurological deficits, especially on movement and cognitive function impairment. Here, we reviewed the therapeutic mechanisms ..."
Li B., Deng S. et al. (2024) The mechanistic effects of acupuncture in rodent neurodegenerative disease models: a literature review. Front Neurosci. 2024;18:1323555-1323555.  🔗

Acupuncture for radicular pain: a review of analgesic mechanism.

"Radicular pain, a common and complex form of neuropathic pain, presents significant challenges in treatment. Acupuncture, a therapy originating from ancient traditional Chinese medicine and widely utilized for various pain types, including radicular pain, has shown promising outcomes in the management of lumbar radicular pain, cervical radicular pain, and radicular pain due to spinal ..."
Li H., Zhang Y. et al. (2024) Acupuncture for radicular pain: a review of analgesic mechanism. Front Mol Neurosci. 2024;17:1332876-1332876.  🔗

Acupuncture modulates the gut microbiota in Alzheimer's disease: current evidence, challenges, and future opportunities.

"Alzheimer's disease, one of the most severe and common neurodegenerative diseases, has no effective cure. Therefore it is crucial to explore novel and effective therapeutic targets. The gut microbiota - brain axis has been found to play a role in Alzheimer's disease by regulating the neuro-immune and endocrine systems. At the same time, acupuncture ..."
Yan L., Li H. et al. (2024) Acupuncture modulates the gut microbiota in Alzheimer's disease: current evidence, challenges, and future opportunities. Front Neurosci. 2024;18:1334735-1334735.  🔗

Progress in treatment of facial neuritis by acupuncture combined with medicine from the perspective of modern medicine: A review.

"Facial neuritis is a common clinical disease with high incidence, also known as Bell palsy or idiopathic facial nerve paralysis, which is an acute onset of peripheral facial neuropathy. In modern medicine, there have been obstacles to the effective treatment of facial neuritis. At present, the clinical use of Western medicine treatment is also ..."
Cao Q., Qi B. et al. (2023) Progress in treatment of facial neuritis by acupuncture combined with medicine from the perspective of modern medicine: A review. Medicine (Baltimore). 2023;102(51):e36751-e36751.   🔗

Efficacy of acupuncture therapy for spastic paralysis in post-stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: Acupuncture therapy appeared to be effective in mitigating the limb pain of post-stroke patients with spastic paralysis (RR = -0.04, 95% CI: -0.26, 0.17), ameliorating their daily life ability (RR = 4.66, 95% CI: -0.74, 10.05), and improving their hand function (RR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.40, 0.90) and lower limb function (RR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.62). ..."
Tian Y., Yan X. et al. (2023) Efficacy of acupuncture therapy for spastic paralysis in post-stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Neurosci. 2023:1-1.  🔗

Advances in acupuncture regulation on the autonomic nervous system from 2013 to 2022: A bibliometric analysis via citespace.

"...RESULTS: A total of 445 relevant publications published between 2013 and 2022 were included in this bibliometric analysis. The number of annual publications fluctuated from 2013 to 2016 but increased gradually from 2016 to 2022. China produced the highest number of publications, while the USA established the most extensive cooperation relationships. China Academy of Chinese Medical Science was the most productive institution. Chen Jiande D.Z. was the most prolific author and Rong Peijing holds the most extensive cooperation network. Han Jisheng was the most co-cited author. Relevant research involved mechanism exploration and clinical efficacy research, and "anti-inflammatory effect" was the most active research topic, especially cholinergic anti-inflammatory mechanisms. The most cited references mainly focused on inflammation. Gastrointestinal and cardiovascular disorders were the most active medical conditions studied in this field. ..."
Yan-Qiu L., Jun-Peng Y. et al. (2023) Advances in acupuncture regulation on the autonomic nervous system from 2013 to 2022: A bibliometric analysis via citespace. Complement Ther Med. 2023;80:103009-103009.  🔗

Acupuncture in the treatment of post-stroke hiccup: A systematic Review and meta-analysis.

"Central hiccups following a stroke are a frequent complication, exerting adverse effects on both the stroke condition and the patient's daily life. Existing treatments exhibit limited efficacy and pronounced side effects. Acupuncture has been explored as a supplementary intervention in clinical practice. This study aims to investigate the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture for post-stroke ..."
Wang J., Wu B. et al. (2023) Acupuncture in the treatment of post-stroke hiccup: A systematic Review and meta-analysis. Libyan J Med. 2023;18(1):2251640-2251640.   🔗

Effects of acupuncture therapy in diabetic neuropathic pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: An extensive review of 19 studies involving 1276 patients up to April 29, 2023, found that acupuncture was successful in improving pain intensity [MD= -1.09; 95% CI (-1.28, -0.89), P < 0.00001], clinical efficacy indicating pain changes [RR= 1.22; 95% CI (1.15, 1.29), P < 0.00001], and clinical neuropathy [MD= -1.55; 95% CI ( -3.00, -0.09), P = 0.04] in DNP patients. Quality of life was also improved, with few side effects reported. ..."
Li X., Liu Y. et al. (2023) Effects of acupuncture therapy in diabetic neuropathic pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Med. 2023;78:102992-102992.  🔗

Comprehensive review on sexual dimorphism to improve scalp acupuncture in nervous system disease.

"... RESULT: Furthermore, we creatively a new insight of SD-SA and provide the complete SD treatment cases on the basis of the existing SA in different kinds of diseases including stroke, migraine, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and depression. ..."
Wang C., Wang J. et al. (2023) Comprehensive review on sexual dimorphism to improve scalp acupuncture in nervous system disease. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2023.  🔗

The efficacy of acupuncture for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

"...RESULTS: There are a total of five SRs and MAs included in this overview. Using the AMSTAR-2, three articles were rated as having 'Low' quality, while two were rated as having of 'Critically Low' quality. The GRADE system was used to measure the quality of evidence for ten outcomes (five response rate outcomes, three Conners' Index of Hyperactivity (CIH) score outcomes, one Conners' rating scale score outcome, and one Chinese medicine syndrome outcome) across the five included MAs. Four of the ten outcomes demonstrated 'moderate' quality, four demonstrated 'low' quality, and two demonstrated 'very low' quality. The risk of bias and inconsistency accounted for most downgrading factors in the included reviews. ..."
Zhang L., Huang C. et al. (2023) The efficacy of acupuncture for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Complement Ther Med. 2023;76:102968-102968.  🔗

Efficacy of scalp acupuncture combined with conventional therapy in the intervention of post-stroke depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: A total of 11 articles were included, and a meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of SA combined with CT for treating PSD. The results revealed that SA combined with CT can effectively improve the treatment's success rate for PSD and reduce the severity of depressive symptoms measured by the Self-Rating Depression Scale. However, SA combined with CT did not show significant reductions in depressive symptoms assessed by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, which may be related to the inclusion of high heterogeneity articles. Importantly, the combination treatment did not lead to an increase in adverse reactions among PSD patients. ..."
Zhong D., Cheng H. et al. (2023) Efficacy of scalp acupuncture combined with conventional therapy in the intervention of post-stroke depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Med. 2023;77:102975-102975.  🔗

Treatment of Parkinson disease by acupuncture combined with medicine based on syndrome differentiation from the perspective of modern medicine: A review.

"As a multifactorial degenerative disease, Parkinson disease (PD) causes tremor, gait rigidity, and hypokinesia, which interfere with normal life. Because the disease is usually discovered in the late stage of complete degeneration of neurons, it can greatly delay treatment and even eventually lead to death. Therefore, the diagnosis of this disease is very challenging, ..."
Xia X., Dong X. et al. (2023) Treatment of Parkinson disease by acupuncture combined with medicine based on syndrome differentiation from the perspective of modern medicine: A review. Medicine (Baltimore). 2023;102(30):e34278-e34278.   🔗

Acupuncture Improves Sleep Disorders and Depression among Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Meta-Analysis.

"Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with a range of non-motor symptoms that lack effective treatments. Acupuncture is a popular alternative therapy for PD patients that has been shown to improve motor symptoms. However, the efficacy of acupuncture in treating non-motor symptoms has remained controversial. The goal of our study was to systematically assess the ..."
Hsu W., Hsu C. et al. (2023) Acupuncture Improves Sleep Disorders and Depression among Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Meta-Analysis. Healthcare (Basel). 2023;11(14).  🔗

Potential role of acupuncture in the treatment of Parkinson's disease: A narrative review.

"...RESULTS: Data suggests that acupuncture treatment is effective for PD symptoms by modulating inflammation and brain functional connectivity (BFC). These acupuncture effects have been shown to be similar to neuromodulation in controlling inflammation and BFC. Based on the shared mechanisms of action, potential acupuncture mechanisms that may ameliorate a wide range of PD symptoms include but are not limited to (1) vagal activation of the anti-inflammatory pathway and (2) BFC enhancement. ..."
Park J., Oh J. et al. (2023) Potential role of acupuncture in the treatment of Parkinson's disease: A narrative review. Integr Med Res. 2023;12(2):100954-100954.   🔗

Acupuncture for post-stroke depression: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: Sixty-two studies, involving 5308 participants published from 2003 to 2022, were included. The results showed that compared with western medicine (WM) (defined as pharmacotherapy for PSD), AC alone or with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (RTMS), Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) alone or with WM, were superior for alleviating depression symptoms. Compared to Usual Care, AC alone or plus other therapies could significantly decrease scores on the Hamilton Depression Rating scale. According to result of SUCRA, AC plus RTMS had the highest probability of improving depressive symptoms with a probability of 49.43%. ..."
Lam Ching W., Li H. et al. (2023) Acupuncture for post-stroke depression: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry. 2023;23(1):314-314.   🔗

Acupuncture for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: Thirty studies involving 2295 patients were included in this review. Compared with carbamazepine, acupuncture led to improvements in pain scores (15 RCTs, mean difference (MD) - 1.40, 95% confidence interval (CI)-1.82 to -0.98 [95% prediction interval, -3.137,0.343], p < 0.00001, low certainty of evidence (CoE)), response rates (29 RCTs, risk ratio (RR) 1.20, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.25 [95% prediction interval, 1.067, 1.346], p < 0.00001, low CoE), frequency of pain attacks (2 RCTs, MD -2.53, 95% CI -4.11 to -0.96, P = 0.002, low CoE), and adverse effects (13 RCTs, risk difference (RD) -0.15, 95% CI -0.19 to -0.11 [95% prediction interval, -0.193, -0.108], P < 0.00001, very low CoE). ..."
Ang L., Kim H. et al. (2023) Acupuncture for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2023;52:101763-101763.  🔗

Laser acupuncture in the treatment of neuropathies in dentistry: a systematic review.

"Laser acupuncture can be used to treat neurosensory alterations and motor disorders caused by dental treatments. This study aimed to review the existing literature on the effects of laser acupuncture on neuropathies in the context of dentistry and to search for treatment modalities in which this technique is used. This systematic review was conducted ..."
Manente R., Pedroso G. et al. (2023) Laser acupuncture in the treatment of neuropathies in dentistry: a systematic review. Lasers Med Sci. 2023;38(1):92-92.   🔗

Acupuncture for Treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

": Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. However, it is uncertain whether the use of acupuncture (AT) in children with ADHD is supported by the current evidence. This review aims to provide updated evidence of the effectiveness of acupuncture in children with ADHD. : Nine databases were ..."
Ang L., Kim J. et al. (2023) Acupuncture for Treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Medicina (Kaunas). 2023;59(2).  🔗

Acupuncture combined with repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation for upper limb motor function after stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: After the screening, 18 articles were included, with a total of 1083 subjects. The results of meta-analysis showed that combination therapy could effectively improve the patients' upper limb motor function (MD = 7.77, 95%CI [6.32, 9.22], P < 0.05), ability of daily living (MD = 8.53, 95%CI [6.28, 10.79], P < 0.05), and hemiplegic shoulder pain (MD = - 1.72, 95%CI [- 2.26, - 1.18], P < 0.05). Meanwhile, for neurophysiological indexes, combined treatment could significantly shorten the latency of motor evoked potential and central motor conduction time (MD = - 1.42, 95%CI [- 2.14, - 0.71], P < 0.05); (MD = - 0.47, 95%CI [- 0.66, - 0.29], P < 0.05), and also could increase the amplitude of motor evoked potential (SMD = 0.71, 95%CI [0.28, 1.14], P < 0.05). ..."
Xie Y., Pan J. et al. (2023) Acupuncture combined with repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation for upper limb motor function after stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis. NeuroRehabilitation. 2023;53(4):423-423.   🔗

Modulation of visceral pain by brain nuclei and brain circuits and the role of acupuncture: a narrative review.

"Visceral pain is a complex and heterogeneous pain condition that is often associated with pain-related negative emotional states, including anxiety and depression, and can exert serious effects on a patient's physical and mental health. According to modeling stimulation protocols, the current animal models of visceral pain mainly include the mechanical dilatation model, the ischemic ..."
Dou Z., Su N. et al. (2023) Modulation of visceral pain by brain nuclei and brain circuits and the role of acupuncture: a narrative review. Front Neurosci. 2023;17:1243232-1243232.  🔗

Application and underlying mechanism of acupuncture for the nerve repair after peripheral nerve injury: remodeling of nerve system.

"Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) is a structural event with harmful consequences worldwide. Due to the limited intrinsic regenerative capacity of the peripheral nerve in adults, neural restoration after PNI is difficult. Neurological remodeling has a crucial effect on the repair of the form and function during the regeneration of the peripheral nerve after the ..."
Yang Y., Rao C. et al. (2023) Application and underlying mechanism of acupuncture for the nerve repair after peripheral nerve injury: remodeling of nerve system. Front Cell Neurosci. 2023;17:1253438-1253438.  🔗

Effect of acupuncture on BDNF signaling pathways in several nervous system diseases.

"In recent years, the understanding of the mechanisms of acupuncture in the treatment of neurological disorders has deepened, and considerable progress has been made in basic and clinical research on acupuncture, but the relationship between acupuncture treatment mechanisms and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has not yet been elucidated. A wealth of evidence has shown ..."
Miao C., Li X. et al. (2023) Effect of acupuncture on BDNF signaling pathways in several nervous system diseases. Front Neurol. 2023;14:1248348-1248348.  🔗

Neural control of cerebral blood flow: scientific basis of scalp acupuncture in treating brain diseases.

"Scalp acupuncture (SA), as a modern acupuncture therapy in the treatment of brain diseases, especially for acute ischemic strokes, has accumulated a wealth of experience and tons of success cases, but the current hypothesized mechanisms of SA therapy still seem to lack significant scientific validity, which may not be conducive to its ultimate integration ..."
Jin G., Jin L. et al. (2023) Neural control of cerebral blood flow: scientific basis of scalp acupuncture in treating brain diseases. Front Neurosci. 2023;17:1210537-1210537.  🔗

Effectiveness of acupuncture as auxiliary combined with Western medicine for epilepsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: A total of 17 RCTs involving a total of 1,389 participants were included. The results showed that acupuncture combined with Western medicine improved the effective rates of treatment (OR: 4.28; 95% CI: 3.04-6.02; < 0.001), and reduced the seizure frequency of patients (SMD: -3.29; 95% CI: -3.51 to -3.07; < 0.001) and the EEG discharge frequency (SMD: -5.58; 95% CI: -7.02 to -4.14; < 0.001). Regarding the quality of life and adverse events, the acupuncture group was superior to the control group in improving the overall quality of life of patients with epilepsy (SMD: 14.41; 95% CI: 12.51-16.32; < 0.001) and decreased adverse events (OR: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.23-0.63, < 0.001). ..."
Xue H., Zeng L. et al. (2023) Effectiveness of acupuncture as auxiliary combined with Western medicine for epilepsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Neurosci. 2023;17:1203231-1203231.  🔗

The effects and mechanisms of acupuncture for post-stroke cognitive impairment: progress and prospects.

"Stroke is one of the important causes of both disability and death worldwide, which is very common in older adults. Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is a common secondary damage of stroke, which is the main cause of long-term disability and decreased quality of life in stroke patients, which brings a heavy burden to society ..."
Li N., Wang H. et al. (2023) The effects and mechanisms of acupuncture for post-stroke cognitive impairment: progress and prospects. Front Neurosci. 2023;17:1211044-1211044.  🔗

New insights into acupuncture techniques for poststroke spasticity.

"With the trend of aging population getting more obvious, stroke has already been a major public health problem worldwide. As a main disabling motor impairment after stroke, spasticity has unexpected negative impacts on the quality of life and social participation in patients. Moreover, it brings heavy economic burden to the family and society. Previous ..."
Wang J., Fidimanantsoa O. et al. (2023) New insights into acupuncture techniques for poststroke spasticity. Front Public Health. 2023;11:1155372-1155372.  🔗

Research status and prospects of acupuncture for autism spectrum disorders.

"Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder and has a predilection for children. Its symptoms, such as lifelong social communication deficits and repetitive sensory-motor behaviors, put a huge burden on the patient's family and society. Currently, there is no cure for ASD, and some medications that can improve its symptoms are often accompanied ..."
Li X., Li J. et al. (2023) Research status and prospects of acupuncture for autism spectrum disorders. Front Psychiatry. 2023;14:942069-942069.  🔗

Neuroimaging mechanisms of acupuncture on functional reorganization for post-stroke motor improvement: a machine learning-based functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

"...RESULTS: Through machine learning, we obtained a balance accuracy rate of 75.51% and eight feature ROIs. Compared to HC, we found that the stroke patients with lower FC between these feature ROIs with other brain regions, while patients in the MCID group exhibited a wider range of lower FC. When acupuncture was applied to Yanglingquan (GB 34), the abnormal FC of patients was decreased, with different targets of effects in different groups. ..."
Lu M., Du Z. et al. (2023) Neuroimaging mechanisms of acupuncture on functional reorganization for post-stroke motor improvement: a machine learning-based functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Front Neurosci. 2023;17:1143239-1143239.  🔗

Acupuncture in the Treatment of Abnormal Muscle Tone in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Meta-Analysis.

"...RESULTS: Fifteen studies were included in the meta-analysis. The control group was treated with routine treatment and acupuncture combined with routine treatment. The outcome index showed that the effect in the treatment group was better: Modified Ashworth Scale score: -0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) (-0.62 to -0.41), < 0.01. The treatment group showed reduced muscle tension to a greater extent (integral eletromyographic (iEMG) score: standard mean square deviation = -2.97, 95% CI (-4.87 to -1.06), < 0.01). The effective rate in the control group was 74.2% and that in the treatment group was 91.5%, odds ratio = 3.70, 95% CI (2.02-6.78), < 0.01. The funnel plot showed publication bias. ..."
Yuanjie Y., Jianyi X. et al. (2023) Acupuncture in the Treatment of Abnormal Muscle Tone in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Meta-Analysis. Behav Neurol. 2023:4662788-4662788.  🔗

Possible Effects of Acupuncture in Poststroke Aphasia.

"Neural plasticity promotes the reorganization of language networks and is an essential recovery mechanism for poststroke aphasia (PSA). Neuroplasticity may be a pivotal bridge to elucidate the potential recovery mechanisms of acupuncture for aphasia. Therefore, understanding the neuroplasticity mechanism of acupuncture in PSA is crucial. However, the underlying therapeutic mechanism of neuroplasticity in PSA ..."
Zhuo B., Deng S. et al. (2023) Possible Effects of Acupuncture in Poststroke Aphasia. Behav Neurol. 2023:9445381-9445381.  🔗

Acupuncture treatment for post-stroke depression: Intestinal microbiota and its role.

"Stroke-induced depression is a common complication and an important risk factor for disability. Besides psychiatric symptoms, depressed patients may also exhibit a variety of gastrointestinal symptoms, and even take gastrointestinal symptoms as the primary reason for medical treatment. It is well documented that stress may disrupt the balance of the gut microbiome in patients ..."
Jiang H., Deng S. et al. (2023) Acupuncture treatment for post-stroke depression: Intestinal microbiota and its role. Front Neurosci. 2023;17:1146946-1146946.  🔗

Research progress on acupuncture treatment in central nervous system diseases based on NLRP3 inflammasome in animal models.

"Central nervous system (CNS) disorders exhibit complex neurophysiological and pathological mechanisms, which seriously affect the quality of life in patients. Acupuncture, widely accepted as complementary and alternative medicine, has been proven to exert significant therapeutic effects on CNS diseases. As a part of the innate immune system, NLRP3 inflammasome contributes to the pathogenesis of ..."
Zhang H., Luo D. et al. (2023) Research progress on acupuncture treatment in central nervous system diseases based on NLRP3 inflammasome in animal models. Front Neurosci. 2023;17:1118508-1118508.  🔗

Effect and mechanism of acupuncture on Alzheimer's disease: A review.

"With the development trend of an aging society, Alzheimer's disease (AD) has become an urgent problem in the field of medicine worldwide. Cognitive impairment in AD patients leads to a decline in the ability to perform daily living and abnormalities in behavior and personality, causing abnormal psychiatric symptoms, which seriously affect the daily life ..."
Wu L., Dong Y. et al. (2023) Effect and mechanism of acupuncture on Alzheimer's disease: A review. Front Aging Neurosci. 2023;15:1035376-1035376.  🔗

A review of neuroendocrine immune system abnormalities in IBS based on the brain-gut axis and research progress of acupuncture intervention.

"Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common digestive disorder observed in clinics. Current studies suggest that the pathogenesis of the disease is closely related to abnormal brain-gut interactions, hypokinesia, visceral sensory hypersensitivity in the gastrointestinal tract, and alterations in the intestinal microenvironment. However, it is difficult for a single factor to explain the heterogeneity ..."
Sun Z., Wang X. et al. (2023) A review of neuroendocrine immune system abnormalities in IBS based on the brain-gut axis and research progress of acupuncture intervention. Front Neurosci. 2023;17:934341-934341.  🔗

The factors affecting neurogenesis after stroke and the role of acupuncture.

"Stroke induces a state of neuroplasticity in the central nervous system, which can lead to neurogenesis phenomena such as axonal growth and synapse formation, thus affecting stroke outcomes. The brain has a limited ability to repair ischemic damage and requires a favorable microenvironment. Acupuncture is considered a feasible and effective neural regulation strategy to ..."
Mu J., Ma L. et al. (2023) The factors affecting neurogenesis after stroke and the role of acupuncture. Front Neurol. 2023;14:1082625-1082625.  🔗

Quality of the Evidence Supporting the Role of Acupuncture Interventions for Vascular Dementia.

"...RESULTS: Twelve SRs/MAs were included in this research, and the quality of methodological, reporting, and evidence for these SRs/MAs were not satisfactory. The shortcomings of these SRs/MAs mainly include lack of protocol registration, incomplete literature search, missing list of excluded literature, and high risk of bias of included original clinical trials. ..."
Shi H., Zhang X. et al. (2023) Quality of the Evidence Supporting the Role of Acupuncture Interventions for Vascular Dementia. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2023;19:27-27.  🔗

Treatment of Alzheimer's disease by combination of acupuncture and Chinese medicine based on pathophysiological mechanism: A review.

"Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by neurodegeneration, nerve loss, neurofibrillary tangles, and Aβ plaques. In modern medical science, there has been a serious obstacle to the effective treatment of AD. At present, there is no clinically proven and effective western medicine treatment for AD. The reason is that the etiology of ..."
Liu Z., Guan R. et al. (2022) Treatment of Alzheimer's disease by combination of acupuncture and Chinese medicine based on pathophysiological mechanism: A review. Medicine (Baltimore). 2022;101(49):e32218-e32218.   🔗

Acupuncture increases parasympathetic tone, modulating HRV - Systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: The searches identified 1698 potentially relevant articles, 9 RCTs were included. The statistical analysis of the available data showed that the changes between pre and post treatment HF (high frequency) and LF/HF (high frequency/low frequency) values in Verum group were significant, while there were no significant changes in these parameters in Sham groups. ..."
Hamvas S., Hegyi P. et al. (2022) Acupuncture increases parasympathetic tone, modulating HRV - Systematic review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Med. 2022;72:102905-102905.  🔗

Effectiveness of Acupuncture in Parkinson's Disease Symptoms-A Systematic Review.

"Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. Several pharmacological and surgical therapies have been developed; however, they are accompanied by some adverse effects. As a result, many patients have been resorting to complementary medicine, namely acupuncture, in the hope of obtaining symptomatic improvements without having disruptive side effects. Therefore, advances in ..."
Pereira C., Machado J. et al. (2022) Effectiveness of Acupuncture in Parkinson's Disease Symptoms-A Systematic Review. Healthcare (Basel). 2022;10(11).  🔗

Acupuncture for shoulder-hand syndrome after stroke: An overview of systematic reviews.

"...RESULTS: We included 7 SRs/MAs, of which all SRs/MAs had very low AMSTAR-2 assessment quality and one study had a very low assessment bias risk. According to the PRISMA checklist, Protocol and registration, Synthesis of results, Summary of evidence, Conclusions and Funding were the main reporting limitations. GRADE evaluation showed a total of 37 results, but no high-quality evidence results, 6 results (16.22%) of the evidence quality were moderate, and supported acupuncture combined with exercise rehabilitation and drug therapy was better than exercise joint drug rehabilitation and rehabilitation, we also found that the result of limitations were the main factors that influence the evidence of low quality, followed by imprecision, inconsistency, and publication bias. ..."
Lei S., Dai F. et al. (2022) Acupuncture for shoulder-hand syndrome after stroke: An overview of systematic reviews. Medicine (Baltimore). 2022;101(46):e31847-e31847.   🔗

Potential mechanisms of acupuncture in enhancing cerebral perfusion of ischemic stroke

"Ischemic stroke is the predominant cause of long-term disability and death worldwide. It is attributable to the sudden interruption of regional cerebral blood flow, resulting in brain cell death and neurological impairment. Acupuncture is a widely used adjuvant treatment for ischemic stroke in China and shows promising efficacy in clinical practice. This review mainly ..."
Wang L., Su X. et al. (2022) Potential mechanisms of acupuncture in enhancing cerebral perfusion of ischemic stroke Front Neurol. 2022;13.  🔗

Current status of neuroimaging research on the effects of acupuncture: a bibliometric and visual analyses.

"...RESULTS: Neuroimaging research on the effects of acupuncture began in the 1960 s and has since received the extensive attention of scholars. China, The United States and South Korea conduct more neuroimaging research on the effects of acupuncture than other countries. Academic journals such as Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Neural Regeneration Research and Acupuncture in Medicine have published the highest number of acupuncture-related neuroimaging articles. Moreover, cluster analysis differentiates high-frequency keywords into six clusters. Furthermore, the use of the keyword 'density atlas' reveals that neuroimaging research on the effects of acupuncture surrounding pain and neurofunctional rehabilitation is currently the research focus. ..."
Xiong J., Wang Z. et al. (2022) Current status of neuroimaging research on the effects of acupuncture: a bibliometric and visual analyses. Complement Ther Med. 2022;71:102877.  🔗

Effectiveness of acupuncture for patients with vascular dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: Thirty-four RCTs (2672 patients) were selected for the final meta-analysis. The use of acupuncture showed association with an increased incidence of effective rate (OR: 3.28; 95 % CI: 2.54-4.24; P < 0.001). The pooled WMDs revealed that acupuncture was significantly associated with an improvement in the Hasegawa dementia scale (HDS) (WMD: 4.31; 95 % CI: 3.15-5.47; P < 0.001), and Mini-Mental State Examination scores (MMSE) (WMD: 3.07; 95 % CI: 2.40-3.74; P < 0.001). However, the use of acupuncture showed no association with the level of Activities of daily living (ADL) (WMD: 1.93; 95 % CI: - 2.53 to 6.38; P = 0.397). Finally, acupuncture was associated with lower levels of Scale for the differentiation of syndromes of vascular dementia (SDSVD) (WMD: - 2.15; 95 % CI: - 4.14 to - 0.16; P = 0.034), and National Institutes of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) (WMD: - 3.90; 95 % CI: - 4.87 to - 2.94; P < 0.001). ..."
Chen Y., Wang H. et al. (2022) Effectiveness of acupuncture for patients with vascular dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Med. 2022;70:102857.  🔗

Acupuncture for Parkinson's disease: From theory to practice.

"Advances in molecular biology and biochemistry have improved the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). There has been extensive evidence on the benefit of standard treatment (e.g., deep brain stimulation, levodopa, and dopamine agonists) and acupuncture for PD. This article aims to distill the similarities and differences in the treatment concepts between Chinese and ..."
Fan J., Lu W. et al. (2022) Acupuncture for Parkinson's disease: From theory to practice. Biomed Pharmacother. 2022;149:112907.  🔗

Does acupuncture therapy improve language function of patients with aphasia following ischemic stroke? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: Meta-analyses showed that mean difference in change of auditory comprehension score (MD = 7.71, 95% CI: 1.83 to 13.59, P = 0.01), spontaneous speech (MD = 2.77, 95% CI: 0.59 to 4.95, P = 0.01), repetition score (MD = 14.48, 95% CI: 11.04 to 17.91, P <  0.00001) and naming score (MD = 14.60, 95% CI: 11.33 to 17.88, P <  0.00001) measured by WAB scale were statistically significant. Subgroup analyses demonstrated that there were statistically significant mean differences in four items of WAB scale in patients with sub-acute stroke, and no statistically significant differences in patients with acute stroke. ..."
Sang B., Deng S. et al. (2022) Does acupuncture therapy improve language function of patients with aphasia following ischemic stroke? A systematic review and meta-analysis. NeuroRehabilitation. 2022.  🔗

Acupuncture for multiple sclerosis: A literature review.

"...RESULTS: Totally, out of 75 studied articles, 31 were included in this research. The advantages of acupuncture are mainly reflected in regulating neuro-immune system, improving the quality of life, reducing fatigue, improving the bladder function, reducing the spasm and pain of the limbs, delaying the progression of the disease, and reducing relapses. ..."
Khodaie F., Abbasi N. et al. (2022) Acupuncture for multiple sclerosis: A literature review. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2022;60:103715.  🔗

Manual Acupuncture or Combination of Rehabilitation Therapy to Treat Poststroke Dysphagia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

". Poststroke dysphagia is one of the most common stroke complications with high morbidity and long course, while acupuncture treatment is easily accepted by patients due to its reliability, feasibility, simple operation, low price, and quick effect. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of manual acupuncture in poststroke dysphagia patients. . Databases including Medline, Web ..."
Jiang H., Zhang Q. et al. (2022) Manual Acupuncture or Combination of Rehabilitation Therapy to Treat Poststroke Dysphagia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022:8803507-8803507.  🔗

The impact of acupuncture on neuroplasticity after ischemic stroke: a literature review and perspectives.

"Ischemic stroke is common in the elderly, and is one of the main causes of long-term disability worldwide. After ischemic stroke, spontaneous recovery and functional reconstruction take place. These processes are possible thanks to neuroplasticity, which involves neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, and angiogenesis. However, the repair of ischemic damage is not complete, and neurological deficits develop ..."
Qin S., Zhang Z. et al. (2022) The impact of acupuncture on neuroplasticity after ischemic stroke: a literature review and perspectives. Front Cell Neurosci. 2022;16:817732-817732.  🔗

Acupuncture May Be a Potential Complementary Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease: A Network Meta-Analysis.

"With Alzheimer's disease (AD) becoming a worldwide problem, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), especially acupuncture, stands out as a complementary therapy because of its feature-"treatment based on syndrome differentiation". This systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) confirms the complement effect of acupuncture and explores the best combination of therapy for AD based on the ..."
Yin W., Chen Y. et al. (2022) Acupuncture May Be a Potential Complementary Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease: A Network Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022:6970751-6970751.  🔗

Comparison of Tongue Acupuncture and Traditional Acupuncture in the Treatment of Poststroke Dysarthria: A Meta-Analysis and Tongue Acupuncture System Classification Evaluation

"Objective To discuss whether tongue acupuncture is more effective than traditional acupuncture in the treatment of poststroke dysarthria and explore the advantage of tongue acupuncture treatment parameters. Methods We evaluated the efficacy of tongue acupuncture compared with traditional acupuncture through a rigorous meta-analysis process. The included studies were from eight databases in English and ..."
Yang X., Shi L. et al. (2022) Comparison of Tongue Acupuncture and Traditional Acupuncture in the Treatment of Poststroke Dysarthria: A Meta-Analysis and Tongue Acupuncture System Classification Evaluation Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022.  🔗

Acupuncture for Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment: An Overview of Systematic Reviews.

"...Results: We identified 14 SRs. The methodological quality of all SRs was low (2/14) or very low (12/14). GRADE results showed 13 were moderate quality (26%), 5 were low quality (10%), and 32 were very-low quality (64%). RoB showed that one SR had a low risk and 13 had a high risk. Moderate quality results showed that combined acupuncture therapy was superior to western medicine or cognitive rehabilitation training in improving cognitive function, the total response rate, and the daily living ability of patients with PSCI. ..."
Li L., Yang L. et al. (2022) Acupuncture for Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment: An Overview of Systematic Reviews. Int J Gen Med. 2022;15:7249-7264.  🔗

Acupuncture Interventions for Alzheimer's Disease and Vascular Cognitive Disorders: A Review of Mechanisms.

"Cognitive impairment (CI) related to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular cognitive disorders (VCDs) has become a key problem worldwide. Importantly, CI is a neuropsychiatric abnormality mainly characterized by learning and memory impairments. The hippocampus is an important brain region controlling learning and memory. Recent studies have highlighted the effects of acupuncture on memory deficits ..."
Du K., Yang S. et al. (2022) Acupuncture Interventions for Alzheimer's Disease and Vascular Cognitive Disorders: A Review of Mechanisms. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2022:6080282.  🔗

Tongue Acupuncture for the Treatment of Poststroke Aphasia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"...Results: A total of 20 studies with 1355 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that compared with conventional treatments, tongue acupuncture has a significant improvement in clinical efficacy score (MD = 1.25, 95% CI (1.09, 1.43), =0.001) and CFCP of poststroke aphasia (MD = 39.78, 95% CI (26.59, 52.97), < 0.00001), but was not significant in improving ABC (MD = 5.95, 95% CI (2.85, 9.04), =0.06). Compared to the conventional treatments, tongue acupuncture combined with conventional therapies promoted the ABC (MD = 11.48, 95% CI (2.20, 20.75), < 0.00001), clinical efficacy score (MD = 1.22, 95% CI (1.14, 1.30), < 0.00001), and CFCP score (MD = 29.80, 95% CI (19.08, 40.52), < 0.00001) of poststroke aphasia. ..."
Yang S., Li L. et al. (2022) Tongue Acupuncture for the Treatment of Poststroke Aphasia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022:4731074.  🔗

Effects of Acupuncture on Neuropathic Pain Induced by Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"...Results: Six randomized controlled trials (145 participants in the experimental groups and 141 participants in the control groups) were identified that evaluated the application of acupuncture for neuropathic pain after SCI and were included in this study. The results of our study revealed that acupuncture had a positive effect on the pain severity (standardized mean difference (SMD): -1.40, 95% confidence interval (CI): -2.23; -0.57), the present pain intensity (MD = -0.61, 95% CIs = -0.98; -0.23), and the pain region index (MD = -3.04, 95% CI = -3.98; -2.11). In addition, sensitivity analyses showed that these results were robust and stable. Subgroup analyses indicated that electroacupuncture (EA) had better effects on SCI-induced neuropathic pain. However, a publication bias was observed. ..."
He K., Hu R. et al. (2022) Effects of Acupuncture on Neuropathic Pain Induced by Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022:6297484.  🔗

Analysis of the Efficacy of Acupuncture Combined with Rehabilitation Training in the Treatment of Upper Limb Spasm after Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"...Results: Finally, 11 studies were included, with a total of 789 subjects. The results of meta-analysis indicated that acupuncture combined with cognitive rehabilitation training was superior to simple cognitive rehabilitation training or drugs in the following aspects, the difference exhibited statistically significant, the total effective rate (RR = 1.58, 95% CI), latency of P300 (MD = -18.46, 95% CI), amplitude of P300 (MD = 1.23, 95% CI (0.82), < 0.00001, 95% CI (0.31)), and activity of daily living (ADL), respectively, were significantly higher compared to the control group ( < 0.00001), and the difference was statistically significant ( < 0.05). Based on the results of systematic evaluation, the GRADE system recommendation classification method is used to evaluate the quality of evidence. The results show that the level of evidence is low and the intensity of recommendation is weak. ..."
Liao Y., Liu F. et al. (2022) Analysis of the Efficacy of Acupuncture Combined with Rehabilitation Training in the Treatment of Upper Limb Spasm after Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Biomed Res Int. 2022:8663356.  🔗

The Comparative Efficacy of Multiple Acupuncture for Alzheimer's Disease: A Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis.

"...Results: This study included 34 RCTs with 2,071 participants. Regarding global cognitive function improvement, the pairwise meta-analysis confirmed that electronic acupuncture (EA) plus conventional medicine (CM) and manual acupuncture (MA) plus CM were statistically significantly different from CM, and EA plus CM was ranked as the best combination in the network meta-analysis. In terms of response rate, MA outperformed CM statistically significantly; warm acupuncture (WA) was ranked as the best in the network meta-analysis. Regarding activity of daily living improvement, EA plus CM, MA plus CM, and fire acupuncture plus CM, MA, and scalp acupuncture were statistically significantly different from CM, and EA plus CM was ranked as the best combination in the network meta-analysis. However, the evidences were ranked as low to critically low. ..."
Yin Z., Li X. et al. (2022) The Comparative Efficacy of Multiple Acupuncture for Alzheimer's Disease: A Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022:3288948.  🔗

Revealing the Neuroimaging Mechanism of Acupuncture for Poststroke Aphasia: A Systematic Review.

"... Result: After searching, 885 articles were retrieved. After removing the literature studies, animal studies, and case reports, 16 studies were included in the final analysis. For the acupuncture type, 10 studies used manual acupuncture and 5 studies used electroacupuncture, while body acupuncture (10 studies), scalp acupuncture (7 studies), and tongue acupuncture (8 studies) were applied for poststroke aphasia patients. Based on blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) technologies, 4 neuroimaging analysis methods were used including amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), seed-based analysis, and independent component analysis (ICA). Two studies reported the instant acupuncture effect, and 14 studies reported the constant acupuncture's effect on poststroke aphasia patients. 5 studies analyzed the correlation between the neuroimaging outcomes and the clinical language scales. ..."
Li B., Deng S. et al. (2022) Revealing the Neuroimaging Mechanism of Acupuncture for Poststroke Aphasia: A Systematic Review. Neural Plast. 2022:5635596.  🔗

Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Poststroke Insomnia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Twenty-Six Randomized Controlled Trials.

"...Results: A total of 26 studies with 1874 cases were included, which had 942 cases in the treatment group and 932 cases in the control group. Meta-analysis results showed that, compared with oral medications alone, acupuncture alone or acupuncture combined with oral medications could improve the clinical effective rate and the sleep quality of patients, and the combined effects were RR = 1.21; 95% CI: 1.15, 1.27; < 0.00001 and MD = 3.41; 95% CI: 2.40, 4.41; < 0.00001, respectively. As for adverse reactions, the incidence of acupuncture alone or acupuncture combined with oral drugs was lower than that of oral drugs alone, which was safer and the combined effect was RR = 0.21; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.48; =0.0002. Sensitivity analysis showed that the results were stable. We evaluated the quality of evidence with the GRADE system; the clinical effective rate was rated as "LOW," the evidence grade of PSQI score was "LOW," and the evidence grade of adverse reactions was "Very LOW." ..."
Zhou L., Hu X. et al. (2022) Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Poststroke Insomnia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Twenty-Six Randomized Controlled Trials. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022:5188311.  🔗

Acupuncture and Moxibustion for Peripheral Neuropathic Pain: A Frequentist Network Meta-Analysis and Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation.

"...Results: One three-arm trial and 15 two-arm trials comprising 1308 participants that satisfy the eligibility criteria were identified. Among the included studies, 12.5% were at low risk of bias, 68.75% had some concerns about the risk of bias, and 18.75% were at high risk of bias. The major sources of bias originated from the randomization processes of the studies. The patients were assigned to seven different acupuncture or moxibustion interventions and two pharmaceutical treatments. Except for acupoint injection, all the included acupuncture and moxibustion techniques showed superior improvements in PNP and were more cost-effective as compared to pharmaceutical treatments. Warm needling, fire needling, and moxibustion were the most effective treatments. Fire needling showed the lowest ICPR relative to the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the cost-effectiveness analysis of direct and indirect costs. ..."
Zhao W., Huang H. et al. (2022) Acupuncture and Moxibustion for Peripheral Neuropathic Pain: A Frequentist Network Meta-Analysis and Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022:6886465.  🔗

Acupuncture Methods for Primary Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

"...Results: A total of 58 RCTs with 4,126 participants were obtained. The meta-analysis indicated that five acupuncture methods were superior to conventional medicine (carbamazepine) in pain reduction intensity and response rate. Meanwhile, electronic acupuncture plus manual acupuncture was the most effective therapy since it reduced pain intensity in 11 methods and improved the response rate in 10 interventions. Moreover, six interventions had acceptable adverse events, and none of the included studies reported severe adverse events. However, most pieces of evidence were ranked as critically low. ..."
Yin Z., Wang F. et al. (2022) Acupuncture Methods for Primary Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022:3178154.  🔗

Acupuncture Therapy on Patients with Flaccid Hemiplegia after Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"...Results: Our search returned 7624 records, of which 27 studies involving a total of 1,293 patients fulfilled our inclusion criteria. To be noted, our results indicated that significant improvements in the scores of the primary indicator showed better clinical scores among the three groups with acupuncture than without acupuncture: acupuncture compared with rehabilitation, 13.53 (95% CI 11.65-14.41, < 0.01); acupuncture plus rehabilitation compared with rehabilitation, 9.84 (95% CI 6.45-13.24, < 0.01,  = 98%); and acupuncture plus Western medicine therapy compared with Western medicine, 16.86 (95% CI 15.89-17.84, < 0.01,  = 38%), and the secondary indicators showed the same tendency. ..."
Tu Y., Peng W. et al. (2022) Acupuncture Therapy on Patients with Flaccid Hemiplegia after Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022:2736703.  🔗

Efficacy of frequently-used acupuncture methods for specific parts and conventional pharmaceutical interventions in treating post-stroke depression patients: A network meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: 51 studies were included, which contained 3966 participants among 12 interventions. Based on the ranking probability, scalp acupuncture plus conventional acupuncture was considered to be the most effective method, followed by auricular acupuncture, eye acupuncture, eye acupuncture plus drug, auricular acupuncture plus drug, auricular acupuncture plus conventional acupuncture, scalp acupuncture, scalp acupuncture plus drug, abdominal acupuncture, conventional acupuncture plus drug, drug, conventional acupuncture. ..."
Hang X., Li J. et al. (2021) Efficacy of frequently-used acupuncture methods for specific parts and conventional pharmaceutical interventions in treating post-stroke depression patients: A network meta-analysis. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2021;45:101471.  🔗

A neuroanatomical basis for electroacupuncture to drive the vagal-adrenal axis.

"Somatosensory autonomic reflexes allow electroacupuncture stimulation (ES) to modulate body physiology at distant sites (for example, suppressing severe systemic inflammation). Since the 1970s, an emerging organizational rule about these reflexes has been the presence of body-region specificity. For example, ES at the hindlimb ST36 acupoint but not the abdominal ST25 acupoint can drive the ..."
Liu S., Wang Z. et al. (2021) A neuroanatomical basis for electroacupuncture to drive the vagal-adrenal axis. Nature. 2021;598(7882):641-645.   🔗

Research Progress on the Mechanism of the Acupuncture Regulating Neuro-Endocrine-Immune Network System

"As one of the conventional treatment methods, acupuncture is an indispensable component of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Currently, acupuncture has been partly accepted throughout the world, but the mechanism of acupuncture is still unclear. Since the theory of the neuro-endocrine-immune network was put forward, new insights have been brought into the understanding of the mechanism ..."
Cui J., Song W. et al. (2021) Research Progress on the Mechanism of the Acupuncture Regulating Neuro-Endocrine-Immune Network System Vet Sci. 2021;8(8).  🔗

Clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture treatment of TIC disorder in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 22 randomized controlled trials.

"...RESULTS: A total of 22 RCTs (1668 participants) were included in this review. Meta-analysis indicated that acupuncture showed superior effects in the following aspects, including higher overall effective rate [RR = 1.20,95 % CI(1.09,1.20),P<0.00001], significant reduction in Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) scores [MD=-2.79,95 %CI(-4.75,-0.82),P = 0.005], lower incidence of adverse effects [RR = 0.26,95 %CI(0.17,0.41),P<0.00001], and reduced recurrence rate [RR = 0.28,95 %CI(0.17,0.46),P<0.00001]. ..."
Lu C., Wu L. et al. (2021) Clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture treatment of TIC disorder in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 22 randomized controlled trials. Complement Ther Med. 2021;59:102734.  🔗

Evidence of Potential Mechanisms of Acupuncture from Functional MRI Data for Migraine Prophylaxis.

"PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To summarize the clinical neuroimaging evidence pertaining to the potential mechanisms of acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis. RECENT FINDINGS: From a descriptive perspective, converging evidence from recent neuroimaging studies, mainly from functional MRI (fMRI) studies, has demonstrated that when compared with sham acupuncture, verum acupuncture could normalize the decrease of the functional ..."
Chang C., Yang C. et al. (2021) Evidence of Potential Mechanisms of Acupuncture from Functional MRI Data for Migraine Prophylaxis. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2021;25(7):49.   🔗

Acupuncture for post-stroke depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis

"Background Acupuncture for post-stroke depression (PSD) has been evolving, but uncertainty remains. To assess the existing evidence from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for PSD, we sought to draw conclusions by synthesizing RCTs. Methods An exhaustive literature search was conducted in seven electronic databases from their inception dates to April 19, 2020, to identify systematic ..."
Liu R., Zhang K. et al. (2021) Acupuncture for post-stroke depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis BMC Complement Med Ther. 2021;21.  🔗

Meta-analysis of the clinical effectiveness of combined acupuncture and Western Medicine to treat post-stroke depression.

"...RESULTS: A total of 1860 patients in 24 RCTs were analyzed. The results of the Meta-analysis showed that: (a) The effective rate of acupuncture + fluoxetine hydrochloride vs fluoxetine hydrochloride was significant [relative risk (RR) = 1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.08, 1.26)], as was that of acupuncture + flupentixol/melitracen vs flupentixol/melitracen [RR = 1.23, 95% CI (1.10, 1.37)]. (b) When analyzing Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD)-17 scores, six trials showed that acupuncture combined with Western Medicine was superior to Western Medicine alone, and could relieve the depressive symptoms of patients. For HAMD-24 scores, five trials were included for acupuncture + fluoxetine hydrochloride vs fluoxetine hydrochloride, with significance at 2 weeks [WMD = -6.51, 95% CI(- 8.62, - 4.40)], as well as at 4 weeks [WMD = -8.40, 95% CI (-11.86, -4.94)] and 8 weeks. (c)For the activities of daily living scale, acupuncture + fluoxetine hydrochloride vs fluoxetine hydrochloride [WMD = 22.65, 95% CI (18.34, 26.95)], acupuncture + flupentixol/melitracen vs flupentixol/melitracen [WMD = 8.08, 95% CI (2.57, 13.59)], acupuncture + sertraline hydrochloride vs sertraline hydrochloride [WMD = 6.94, 95% CI (3.59, 10.29)], and acupuncture + doxepin hydrochloride vs doxepin hydrochloride [WMD = 18.80, 95% CI (15.84, 21.76)] had significance. (d) For Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale scores, there was significance in all four included studies. ..."
Wang X., Xiong J. et al. (2021) Meta-analysis of the clinical effectiveness of combined acupuncture and Western Medicine to treat post-stroke depression. J Tradit Chin Med. 2021;41(1):6-16.   🔗

Acupuncture for Parkinson's Disease: Efficacy Evaluation and Mechanisms in the Dopaminergic Neural Circuit.

"Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Existing pharmaceutical treatments offer alleviation of symptoms but cannot delay disease progression and are often associated with significant side effects. Clinical studies have demonstrated that acupuncture may be beneficial for PD treatment, particularly in ..."
Zhao Y., Zhang Z. et al. (2021) Acupuncture for Parkinson's Disease: Efficacy Evaluation and Mechanisms in the Dopaminergic Neural Circuit. Neural Plast. 2021:9926445.  🔗

Progress on the Experimental Research of Sciatic Nerve Injury with Acupuncture.

"...Results: A total of 89 studies were included in this analysis. Among them, the most commonly used animal models of SNI were produced by the clamp or transverse injury in the rats; the most frequently used intervention was electroacupuncture with dilatational wave of 2/100 Hz; the frequency of acupuncture was mainly performed once per day lasting for more than 2 weeks; the mainly selected acupoints were Huantiao (GB30), Zusanli (ST36), and Yanglingquan (GB34); and the approaches of assessment were contained with behavioral, functional, morphological, histological, cellular, and molecular measurements. ..."
Wang H., Cui J. et al. (2021) Progress on the Experimental Research of Sciatic Nerve Injury with Acupuncture. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021:1401756.  🔗

Bibliometric Analysis of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies on Acupuncture Analgesia Over the Past 20 Years.

"...Results: We retrieved a total of 797 articles. Regarding the volume of publications, the total number of annual publications showed a fluctuating but overall increasing trend. (21 articles) was the most productive journal, and (225 articles) was the most cited journal. The most productive author was Qin W (16 articles), and the most co-cited author was Hui KKS (111). The most prolific institution and country were Massachusetts General Hospital (34 articles) and USA (212 articles). "Pain" was the top-ranked for keyword frequency and centrality. "Functional connectivity" was the frontier hotspot for 2018-2021. ..."
Huang L., Xu G. et al. (2021) Bibliometric Analysis of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies on Acupuncture Analgesia Over the Past 20 Years. J Pain Res. 2021;14:3773-3789.  🔗

Fire Acupuncture versus conventional acupuncture to treat spasticity after stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: Sixteen studies with a total of 1,118 patients were included. Although according to the standards of the Rob 2.0 tool, most studies are considered to have some problems. Comprehensive analysis of the results revealed a consistent trend indicating several advantages of using fire needles compared to conventional acupuncture in treating post-stroke spasms, including the effective rate, recovery rate, and improvement of multiple scales represented by MAS. Concerning secondary outcomes, using the scales of FMA, BI, or NDS in this random model meta-analysis, fire acupuncture exhibited better performance compared to acupuncture [SMD = 2.27, 95%CI [1.40,3.13 (random-effects model) ], [SMD = 1.46,95% CI [1.03,1.90 (random-effects model)], and [SMD = 0.90, 95%CI [0.44,1.35 (random-effects model)], respectively, with moderately high heterogeneity. When the effective rate was used as an outcome in the subgroup analysis, fire needles performed better than conventional acupuncture with respect to damage to the upper or lower limbs, and the thickness and depth of acupuncture. When the modified Ashworth scale (MAS) was used as the outcome, and the damage occurred in the lower extremity, the acupuncture depth exceeded 15mm, or the duration of stroke was longer than six months, the fire needles did not perform better than conventional acupuncture, [SMD = 0.01, 95%CI [-0.47,0.48 (fix-effects model)], [SMD = 0.21 [-0.51,0.93(random-effects model)], and [SMD = 0.76, 95%CI [-0.08,1.60 (random-effects model)], respectively. The acupoints identified with the highest frequencies in this study were Yang-meridian, including LI11-Quchi (nine times), LI4-Hegu (seven times), and ST36-Zusanli (five times). Moreover, no serious adverse effects were reported in any of the studies included in this analysis. ..."
Qiu X., Gao Y. et al. (2021) Fire Acupuncture versus conventional acupuncture to treat spasticity after stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2021;16(4):e0249313.   🔗

Progress of Acupuncture Therapy in Diseases Based on Magnetic Resonance Image Studies: A Literature Review.

"The neural mechanisms of acupuncture are not well-understood. Over the past decades, an increasing number of studies have used MRI to investigate the response of the brain to acupuncture. The current review aims to provide an update on acupuncture therapy in disease. The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were searched ..."
Zhang J., Li Z. et al. (2021) Progress of Acupuncture Therapy in Diseases Based on Magnetic Resonance Image Studies: A Literature Review. Front Hum Neurosci. 2021;15:694919.  🔗

Comparison of Different Physical Therapies Combined with Acupuncture for Poststroke Cognitive Impairment: a Network Meta-Analysis.

"...Results: Fifteen randomized controlled trials involving 1288 patients were included, which involved 7 treatment plans that included 3 control treatment plans and 4 acupuncture treatment plans combined with physical therapy. The best treatment plan for improving the Mini-Mental State Examination score of poststroke cognitive impairment is acupuncture combined with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The best treatment option for improving the Montreal Cognitive Assessment score of poststroke cognitive impairment is acupuncture combined with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The best option for improving the Barthel index score of poststroke cognitive impairment is acupuncture combined with transcranial magnetic stimulation. In terms of improving the overall clinical effectiveness of poststroke cognitive impairment, the best treatment option is acupuncture combined with transcranial magnetic stimulation. ..."
Li R., Huang R. et al. (2021) Comparison of Different Physical Therapies Combined with Acupuncture for Poststroke Cognitive Impairment: a Network Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021:1101101.  🔗

Effectiveness of acupuncture in the management of restless leg syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

"BACKGROUND: Acupuncture is an important component of traditional Chinese medicine which is used to treat an array of health conditions. This study evaluates the effectiveness of acupuncture in the management of restless leg syndrome (RLS). METHODS: A comprehensive literature survey was conducted in electronic databases to identify studies evaluating the effectiveness of acupuncture in ..."
Huang C., Tang J. et al. (2021) Effectiveness of acupuncture in the management of restless leg syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Palliat Med. 2021;10(10):10495-10505.   🔗

Acupuncture for Paclitaxel-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Review of Clinical and Basic Studies.

"Paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy (PIPN) is a common and intractable side effect of the conventional chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel. Acupuncture has been reported as an effective alternative therapy in treatment of PIPN in both basic studies and clinical trials. However, there is a lack of comprehensive surveys to summarize the action of acupuncture in management of ..."
Zhao Y., Yu X. et al. (2021) Acupuncture for Paclitaxel-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Review of Clinical and Basic Studies. J Pain Res. 2021;14:993-1005.  🔗

The Efficacy of Acupuncture Treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"...RESULTS: A total of 10 studies involving 876 patients were included in this study. The meta-analysis revealed that AT yielded a significantly higher effective rate than MPH (odds ratio 2.239, 95% CI 1.438-3.487, p < 0.001, 8 studies), and that AT can reduce the hyperactivity scores to a lesser degree than MPH (standardized mean difference = -0.882, 95% CI -1.295 to -0.469, p < 0.001, 3 studies). Two studies reported no adverse events in the AT group, while one study suggested that AT can reduce adverse drug reactions. Furthermore, 3 studies concluded that the effects of AT were maintained, even after completion of treatment. ..."
Chen Y., Wu L. et al. (2021) The Efficacy of Acupuncture Treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Complement Med Res. 2021;28(4):357-367.   🔗

The Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Dysphagia after Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"...Results: Thirty-five studies involving 3024 patients were analyzed. The meta-analysis showed that the therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture combined with other interventions was better than that of the control group for the standardized swallowing assessment (SSA) score (MD = -3.78, 95% CI: -4.64 to -2.91, < 0.00001), Ichiro Fujishima rating scale (IFRS) score (MD = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.16 to 2.20, < 0.00001), videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) score (MD = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.77 to 2.74, < 0.00001), and water swallowing test (WST) score (MD = -1.21, 95% CI: -1.85 to -0.57, = 0.0002). In studies reporting adverse effects, no serious outcome from an adverse event was confirmed. ..."
Zhong L., Wang J. et al. (2021) The Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Dysphagia after Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021:8837625.  🔗

Does acupuncture combined with antidepressants have a better therapeutic effect on post-stroke depression? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: Thirteen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 904 participants were included in the study. The results of this meta-analysis showed that, compared with antidepressants alone, acupuncture combined with antidepressants led to a significant decrease in the HAMD score (mean difference (MD): -3.60, 95% confidence interval (CI): -4.25 to -2.95, P < 0.001), had a better effective rate (risk ratio (RR): 1.33, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.49, P < 0.001) and lower National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores (MD: -2.39, 95% CI: -3.37 to -1.41, P < 0.001), and led to a significant increase in the Barthel index scores (MD: 8.10, 95% CI: 5.25 to 10.94; P < 0.001). ..."
Zhang K., Cui G. et al. (2020) Does acupuncture combined with antidepressants have a better therapeutic effect on post-stroke depression? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Acupunct Med. 2020:964528420967675.  🔗

Acupuncture combined with speech rehabilitation training for post-stroke dysarthria: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

"...Results: Thirty studies were included in this systematic review, 23 of which were pooled in meta-analysis. Acupuncture combined with speech rehabilitation training is likely beneficial for was response rate ( = 1685; RR = 1.37; 95% CI [1.29, 1.46],  < 0.01,  = 34%; 17 studies, low CoE) compared to speech rehabilitation treatment alone. ..."
Xie Q., Chen X. et al. (2020) Acupuncture combined with speech rehabilitation training for post-stroke dysarthria: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Integr Med Res. 2020;9(4):100431.   🔗

Can Acupuncture Improve Chronic Spinal Pain? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"...RESULTS: Data was extracted from 22 RCTs including 2588 patients. Pooled analysis revealed that acupuncture can reduce chronic spinal pain compared to sham acupuncture (weighted mean difference [WMD] -12.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] -15.86 to -8.24), mediation control (WMD -18.27, 95% CI -28.18 to -8.37), usual care control (WMD -9.57, 95% CI -13.48 to -9.44), and no treatment control (WMD -17.10, 95% CI -24.83 to -9.37). In terms of functional disability, acupuncture can improve physical function at immediate-term follow-up (standardized mean difference [SMD] -1.74, 95% CI -2.04 to -1.44), short-term follow-up (SMD -0.89, 95% CI -1.15 to -0.62), and long-term follow-up (SMD -1.25, 95% CI -1.48 to -1.03). ..."
Huang J., Zheng X. et al. (2020) Can Acupuncture Improve Chronic Spinal Pain? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Global Spine J. 2020:2192568220962440.  🔗

Acupuncture for mild cognitive impairment in elderly people: Systematic review and meta-analyses.

"...RESULTS: A total of 15 randomized control trials involving 1051 subjects were included. The results were as follows: Compared with the control group, the clinical efficacy rates of acupuncture was better, odds ratio = 2.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.86, 3.42), P < .00001, mini-mental state examination scores (mean difference [MD] = 1.53, 95% CI [1.04, 2.01], P < .00001), Montreal cognitive assessment scores (MD = 2.05, 95% CI [1.17, 1.92], P < .00001), activity of daily living scale (MD = 1.71, 95% CI [-1.38, 4.79], P > .05), and clock drawing task scores (MD = 1.91, 95% CI [1.74, 2.08], P < .00001). ..."
Li W., Wang Q. et al. (2020) Acupuncture for mild cognitive impairment in elderly people: Systematic review and meta-analyses. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020;99(39):e22365.   🔗

Acupuncture therapy for poststroke spastic hemiplegia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

"...RESULTS: Researchers retrieved 2452 articles in total, after screening, thirty-eight studies with 2628 participants of were included. In this meta-analysis, twenty-seven trials revealed that acupuncture therapy was associated with an increase in FMA scores compared with rehabilitation training (RT) (MD: 8.43, 95% CI, 6.57 to 10.28, p < 0.00001, I = 75%). According to the analysis of subgroup of interventions, ten trials showed that manual acupuncture (MA) plus RT was associated with an increase in FMA compared with RT (MD: 10.84, 95% CI, 9.29 to 13.29, p < 0.00001, I = 24%), three trials showed that electroacupuncture (EA) plus RT was associated with an improvement in FMA compared with RT (MD: 9.44, 95% CI, 1.00 to 17.88, p = 0.03, I = 81%), twelve trials showed that MA was associated with an increase in FMA compared with RT (MD: 5.48, 95% CI, 2.07 to 8.89, p = 0.002, I = 74%), and one trials showed that EA was associated with an improvement in FMA compared with RT (MD: 11.35, 95% CI, 5.03 to 17.67, p = 0.0004). According to the analysis of subgroup of treatment duration, four trials used acupuncture therapy for more than 1 month, revealed that acupuncture therapy was associated with an increase in FMA scores compared with RT (MD: 9.24, 95% CI, 0.42 to 18.06, p = 0.04, I = 93%). Thirty-two trials used acupuncture therapy for less than or equal to 1 month, revealed that acupuncture therapy was associated with an increase in FMA scores compared with RT (MD: 8.32, 95% CI, 6.56 to 10.09, p < 0.00001, I = 61%). Six trials indicated that acupuncture therapy was better than RT in terms of the ASS (MD: 0.46, 95% CI, -0.65 to -0.27, p < 0.00001, I = 67%), twenty-four trials indicated that acupuncture therapy was better than RT in terms of the BI scores (MD: 8.32, 95% CI, 5.30 to 11.35, p < 0.00001, I = 88%). In general, the methodologies of the RCTs were of poor quality. Two RCTs reported no adverse events, one trial reported five adverse events without severe influence, others did not mention. ..."
Fan W., Kuang X. et al. (2020) Acupuncture therapy for poststroke spastic hemiplegia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2020;40:101176.  🔗

The effects of acupuncture on occipital neuralgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: We included a total of 11 RCTs. All VAS scores (mean difference [MD] -2.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] -2.84, - 1.86) and effective rate values (odds ratio [OR] 4.96, 95% CI 2.24, 10.96) showed significant differences in effect between acupuncture treatment alone and the control group treatment. Similarly, combined acupuncture treatment with control group treatment also showed significant effects in effective rate (OR 6.68, 95% CI 1.11, 40.37). We performed a subgroup analysis on studies that used acupuncture only as the intervention and reported the effective rate, and found that all acupuncture subgroups showed significant effects compared to the control group treatments. None of the studies reported severe adverse effects. ..."
Yun J., Lee S. et al. (2020) The effects of acupuncture on occipital neuralgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2020;20(1):171.   🔗

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of acupuncture and electroacupuncture against chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

"...RESULTS: Of the 13 studies included in the literature review, 12 RCTs compared acupuncture and pharmacological treatments. There were 3 EA RCTs, but only 1 RCT compared EA and sham-EA. A total of 832 participants were included in these studies. Five RCTs showed that acupuncture was more effective than pharmacological treatment in terms of efficacy rate. Regarding the risk of bias summary, the quality of included studies was poor. Only 1 study compared the efficacy of EA and sham EA; therefore, the specific efficacy of acupuncture could not be elucidated. ..."
Hwang M., Lee H. et al. (2020) A systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of acupuncture and electroacupuncture against chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020;99(17):e19837.   🔗

Traditional Chinese medicine foot bath combined with acupoint massage for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 31 RCTs.

"In this study, we aim to evaluate the efficiency and safety of traditional Chinese medicine foot bath combined with acupoint massage for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. A total of eight online databases were searched to collect studies published up to February 2019. Study quality of each included article was evaluated by the Cochrane ..."
Fu Q., Yang H. et al. (2020) Traditional Chinese medicine foot bath combined with acupoint massage for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 31 RCTs. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2020;36(2):e3218.   🔗

Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture against Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"...Results: In total, 19 RCTs covering 1174 patients were enrolled. The results showed that acupuncture significantly increased the effective rate of CIPN compared with medicine and sham acupuncture. And acupuncture had a good effect on the recovery of nerve conduction velocity and improving pain. Among the acupoints involved in the treatment of CIPN, LI4, LI11, ST36, EX10 (Bafeng), and EX-UE 9 (Baxie) were the most commonly used. ..."
Jin Y., Wang Y. et al. (2020) Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture against Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020:8875433.  🔗

Applications of Acupuncture Therapy in Modulating the Plasticity of Neurodegenerative Disease and Depression: Do MicroRNA and Neurotrophin BDNF Shed Light on the Underlying Mechanism?

"As the global population ages, the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases has risen. Furthermore, it has been suggested that depression, especially in elderly people, may also be an indication of latent neurodegeneration. Stroke, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and Parkinson's disease (PD) are usually accompanied by depression. The urgent challenge is further enforced by psychiatric comorbid conditions, ..."
Li X., Zhao J. et al. (2020) Applications of Acupuncture Therapy in Modulating the Plasticity of Neurodegenerative Disease and Depression: Do MicroRNA and Neurotrophin BDNF Shed Light on the Underlying Mechanism? Neural Plast. 2020:8850653.  🔗

Verum- versus Sham-Acupuncture on Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in Animal Models: A Preclinical Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"...Results: Twelve studies involving 229 animals met the inclusion criteria. Most of the studies had a moderate quality according to SYRCLE's risk of bias tool for animal studies. The results of the meta-analysis indicated that verum-acupuncture could reduce the escape latency (MD = -12.90, 95% CI (-17.08, -8.71), < 0.001) and increase the time spent in the original platform quadrant (MD = 7.28, 95% CI (4.23, 10.33), < 0.001) and frequency of the crossing former platform (MD = 2.01, 95% CI (1.53, 2.50), < 0.001) compared with the sham-acupuncture. ..."
Zhao F., Fu Q. et al. (2020) Verum- versus Sham-Acupuncture on Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in Animal Models: A Preclinical Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Biomed Res Int. 2020:5901573.  🔗

Effectiveness of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease: An Overview of Systematic Reviews.

"The effects of acupuncture on Parkinson's disease (PD) outcomes remain unclear. The aim of this overview was to comprehensively evaluate the methodological quality and applicability of the results of systematic reviews (SRs)/meta-analyses (MAs) that examined the use of acupuncture to treat PD. Eight databases were searched to retrieve SRs/MAs on the use ..."
Huang J., Qin X. et al. (2020) Effectiveness of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease: An Overview of Systematic Reviews. Front Neurol. 2020;11:917.  🔗

Acupuncture plus Rehabilitation for Unilateral Neglect after Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"...Results: A total of 542 patients from nine RCTs were included. The meta-analysis showed that the experimental groups could significantly improve Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) (MD = 11.54, 95% CI [9.54, 13.54], < 0.00001) and the ability of daily living (SMD = 1.35, 95% CI [0.64, 2.07], < 0.00001) and the ability of daily living (SMD = 1.35, 95% CI [0.64, 2.07], < 0.00001) when compared with the control groups. However, there was no significant difference in the drop of Catherine Bergego Scale (CBS) and Behavioural Inattention Test-conventional (BIT-C) between the two groups. ..."
Hou Y., Liu Y. et al. (2020) Acupuncture plus Rehabilitation for Unilateral Neglect after Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020:5301568.  🔗

Acupuncture for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease: An Overview of Systematic Reviews.

"Acupuncture may be an effective complementary treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this study was to summarize the evidence provided by systematic reviews (SRs)/meta-analyses (MAs) on the effect of acupuncture on AD. Eight electronic databases were searched from their inception until October 19, 2020. The methodological quality, reporting quality, and risk of bias ..."
Huang J., Shen M. et al. (2020) Acupuncture for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease: An Overview of Systematic Reviews. Front Aging Neurosci. 2020;12:574023.  🔗

Acupuncture for Improving Cognitive Impairment After Stroke: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

"This meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture in improving cognitive impairment of post-stroke patients. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of acupuncture compared with no treatment or sham acupuncture on post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) before December 2019 were identified from databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Ovid library, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP Chinese Periodical ..."
Zhou L., Wang Y. et al. (2020) Acupuncture for Improving Cognitive Impairment After Stroke: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Front Psychol. 2020;11:549265.  🔗

Effect of Acupuncture Intervention and Manipulation Types on Poststroke Dysarthria: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"This study aimed to evaluate the effect of acupuncture intervention and manipulation types on poststroke dysarthria. Electronic database, including PubMed, CENTRAL, Scopus, RISS, and CNKI, were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCT), treating dysarthria using acupuncture, speech-language therapy (SLT), and general management (GM), published before April 2019. The number, distribution, intensity, depth, and repetition of ..."
Park Y. & Lee J. (2020) Effect of Acupuncture Intervention and Manipulation Types on Poststroke Dysarthria: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020:4981945.  🔗

Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"The effects of acupuncture on Alzheimer's disease (AD) outcomes remain controversial. The aim of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for the treatment of AD. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Chinese BioMedical Literature Database, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, China National ..."
Wang Y., Yu S. et al. (2020) Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front Aging Neurosci. 2020;12:98.  🔗

Efficacy of acupuncture in the management of post-apoplectic aphasia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

"...RESULTS: Thirty-two RCTs (1310 participants in investigational group and 1270 in control group) were included. Compared to TA, (OR 3.05 [95% CI: 1.77, 5.28]; p<0.00001), tongue acupuncture (OR 3.49 [1.99, 6.11]; p<0.00001), and Jin's 3-needle therapy (OR 2.47 [1.10, 5.53]; p = 0.03) had significantly better total effective rate. Compared to RT, scalp acupuncture (OR 4.24 [95% CI: 1.68, 10.74]; p = 0.002) and scalp acupuncture with tongue acupuncture (OR 7.36 [3.33, 16.23]; p<0.00001) had significantly better total effective rate. In comparison with TA/RT, scalp acupuncture, tongue acupuncture, scalp acupuncture with tongue acupuncture, and Jin's three-needling significantly improved ABC, oral expression, comprehension, writing and reading scores. ..."
Tang H., Tang W. et al. (2019) Efficacy of acupuncture in the management of post-apoplectic aphasia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2019;19(1):282.   🔗

Effectiveness and safety of moxibustion in treatment of lumbar disc herniation: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: In total, 16 RCTs including 1186 patients with LDH were analyzed. The Meta-analysis showed favorable effects of moxibustion in combination with massage therapy on the visual analog scale score compared with massage therapy alone [mean difference (MD) = -1.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) (-2.12, -0.51), P = 0.001]. The subgroup Meta-analysis failed to show favorable effects of electro-acupuncture plus moxibustion on the efficacy rate compared with electro-acupuncture alone [relative risk (RR) = 1.06, 95% CI (0.98, 1.14), P = 0.15]. However, acupuncture or massage therapy plus moxibustion improved the efficacy rates compared with acupuncture or massage therapy alone [RR = 1.33, 95% CI (1.18, 1.49), P < 0.000 01] [χ2 = 2.76, P = 0.25, I2 = 27%], [RR = 1.15, 95% CI (1.06, 1.25), P = 0.001] [χ2 = 0.00, P = 0.95, I2 = 0%]. With respect to the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores, acupuncture or massage therapy in addition to moxibustion produced results different from those of acupuncture or massage therapy alone [MD = 5.58, 95% CI (4.15, 7.00), P < 0.000 01] [χ2 = 0.58, P = 0.45, I2 = 0%], [MD = 3.61, 95% CI (3.01, 4.21), P < 0.000 01].There were no significant differences in the JOA score for subjective symptoms, objective symptoms, daily living ability, and other parameters. In six RCTs, no adverse reactions occurred during moxibustion. ..."
Wang Y., Zhang H. et al. (2019) Effectiveness and safety of moxibustion in treatment of lumbar disc herniation: a systematic review and Meta-analysis. J Tradit Chin Med. 2019;39(5):599-608.   🔗

Acupotomy for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: Seven RCTs were included in this review and meta-analysis. The methodological quality of the included studies was generally poor. The acupotomy treatment group was associated with significantly lower visual analogue scale scores (range 0∼10) (5 RCTs; mean difference [MD] -1.55, 95% confidence interval [CIs] -2.60 to -0.50; I = 94%) and higher Japanese Orthopedic Association Score (3 RCTs; MD 4.70, 95% CI 3.73 to 5.68; I = 0%) compared to the active control group. In subgroup analysis based on the type of active controls, acupotomy retained significant benefits over lumbar traction and acupuncture, as well as over lumbar traction, spinal decompression, and acupuncture. Safety data were reported in only 1 study, and no adverse events occurred in either the acupotomy or the acupuncture control group. ..."
Kwon C., Yoon S. et al. (2019) Acupotomy for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2019;98(32):e16662.   🔗

Non-pharmacological interventions for restless legs syndrome: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials.

"Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensorimotor disorder characterised by an uncomfortable urge to move the legs. Management is primarily pharmacological. Effects for non-pharmacological, non-surgical options are published but lack systematic examination. To synthesise results of non-pharmacological/non-surgical treatment compared to no-treatment controls or alternative treatment for RLS on any relevant outcome. Databases and ..."
Harrison E., Keating J. et al. (2019) Non-pharmacological interventions for restless legs syndrome: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Disabil Rehabil. 2019;41(17):2006-2014.   🔗

Does acupuncture help patients with spasticity? A narrative review.

"Spasticity is a motor disorder encountered after upper motor neuron lesions. It adversely affects quality of life in most patients and causes long-term burden of care and has significant financial implications. The effect of conventional therapies for spasticity including physical therapy, surgery, and pharmacotherapy are not always satisfying because of the short-term effects or ..."
Zhu Y., Yang Y. et al. (2019) Does acupuncture help patients with spasticity? A narrative review. Ann Phys Rehabil Med. 2019;62(4):297-301.   🔗

Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Alzheimer's Disease: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

"Acupuncture has reportedly improved memory and cognitive impairment in both animal and clinical studies. It may be an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The purpose of this meta-analysis was to review the effectiveness of acupuncture for the treatment of AD. Eight databases were searched for articles published up to and including July 2017, and 13 ..."
Huang Q., Luo D. et al. (2019) Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Alzheimer's Disease: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Curr Med Sci. 2019;39(3):500-511.   🔗

Acupuncture is effective in improving functional communication in post-stroke aphasia : A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

"...RESULTS: A total of 28 RCTs involving 1747 patients (883 patients in the treatment group and 864 patients in the control group) were included in the quantitative synthesis. The results demonstrated significant effects of acupuncture in improving PSA functional communication (P < 0.00001, standardized mean difference (SMD) = 1.01 [0.81, 1.20]), severity of impairment (P < 0.0001, SMD = 0.64 [0.45, 0.84]), spontaneous speech (P = 0.0002, SMD = 1.51 [0.71, 2.32]), auditory comprehension (P < 0.0001, SMD = 0.84 [0.43, 1.26]), repetition (P < 0.00001, SMD = 1.13 [0.75, 1.52]), naming (P = 0.03, SMD = 0.65 [0.08, 1.23]), reading (P < 0.0001, SMD = 1.56 [0.83, 2.29]), and writing (P = 0.009, SMD = 1.03 [0.25, 1.80]). ..."
Zhang B., Han Y. et al. (2019) Acupuncture is effective in improving functional communication in post-stroke aphasia : A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2019;131(9-10):221-232.   🔗

Compare the efficacy of acupuncture with drugs in the treatment of Bell's palsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs.

"...RESULTS: The study included 11 randomized controlled trials with an overall sample of 1258 individuals. Acupuncture treatment was associated with an increased cure rate [relative risk (RR) = 1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.41-2.21], with significant heterogeneity in the pooled results (I = 67%, P = .0008). There was a significant difference in total effective rate in acupuncture and drug treatment for Bell's palsy (RR = 1.18,95% CI: 1.07-1.31), with substantial heterogeneity (I = 90%, P < .00001). ..."
Zhang R., Wu T. et al. (2019) Compare the efficacy of acupuncture with drugs in the treatment of Bell's palsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs. Medicine (Baltimore). 2019;98(19):e15566.   🔗

A systematic review of acupuncture for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

"...Results: Three clinical trials (203 participants) were included. Two studies found acupuncture to be effective in alleviating cipn pain and improving quality of life. One study found no benefit in improving neuropathic pain, symptoms, or quality of life. Study quality was variable and included a moderate overall risk of bias. ..."
Li K., Giustini D. et al. (2019) A systematic review of acupuncture for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Curr Oncol. 2019;26(2):e147-e154.   🔗

Acupuncture in adults with Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: a systematic review.

"...RESULTS: of the five articles included, four were cohort studies and one was a quasi-experimental study. All articles showed that acupuncture was associated with an improvement in the peripheral neuropathy, but the type of protocol, use of medications, time of treatment, and different outcome measures made it difficult to compare the studies. ..."
Baviera A., Olson K. et al. (2019) Acupuncture in adults with Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: a systematic review. Rev Lat Am Enfermagem. 2019;27:e3126.  🔗

Scalp acupuncture treatment for children's autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: Fourteen trials with 968 participants were conducted and 11 of the trials were suitable for meta-analysis. Compared with behavioral and educational interventions, SAT significantly decreased the overall CARS scores for children under 3 years old (mean difference (MD) = 3.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) [-3.96, -2.19], P < .001) and above 3 years old (MD = 5.29, 95% CI [-8.53, -2.06], P < .001), ABC scores (MD = 4.70, 95% CI [-6.94, -2.79], P < .001). Furthermore, SAT significantly improved PEP-3 scores in communication (MD = 3.61, 95% CI [2.85, 4.37], P < .001), physical ability (MD = 2.00, 95% CI [1.16, 2.84], P < .001), and behavior (MD = 2.76, 95% CI [1.80, 2.71], P < .001). ..."
Liu C., Li T. et al. (2019) Scalp acupuncture treatment for children's autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2019;98(13):e14880.   🔗

Acupuncture for the treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss: A systematic review and meta-analysis: Acupuncture for SSNHL.

"...RESULTS: Twenty randomized controlled trials met our inclusion criteria. The electroacupuncture(EA), manual acupuncture(MA) plus western medicine(WM) and EA plus WM groups lead to significantly better pure tone audiometry(PTA) than WM alone in cured rate (P = 0.01; P < 00,001; P < 0.006, respectively). However, no significant differences were observed between MA and WM (p = 0.27). In terms of total effective rate, all of them showed significant improvement compared to WM alone (MA: P = 0.03; EA: P = 0.01; MA + WM: P < 0.00001; EA + WM: P = 0.04). In addition, no significant difference was found between the MA plus WM and WM alone groups in the improvement of tinnitus (P = 0.37). No trials reported serious adverse events. ..."
Chen S., Zhao M. et al. (2019) Acupuncture for the treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss: A systematic review and meta-analysis: Acupuncture for SSNHL. Complement Ther Med. 2019;42:381-388.  🔗

Acupuncture for the treatment of lower limb diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review.

"...RESULTS: Ten studies with 432 participants were included: three randomised controlled trials (RCTs), two pilot RCTs, three uncontrolled clinical trials, one quasi-RCT and one prospective case series. Improvements in DPN pain symptoms were reported by all studies. Heterogeneity of outcome measures prevented a meta-analysis. Variations were found in needle retention time and point selection, as well as total number and frequency of treatments. Common acupuncture point selections were ST36 and SP6. Half of the studies used local point selection. Studies conducted outside China had better acupuncture reporting and quality according to the STRICTA checklist and NICMAN scales, respectively. Risk of bias was high or unclear in the majority of studies for all domains except attrition bias. ..."
Nash J., Armour M. et al. (2019) Acupuncture for the treatment of lower limb diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a systematic review. Acupunct Med. 2019;37(1):3-15.   🔗

Acupuncture for primary trigeminal neuralgia: A systematic review and PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: Thirty-three RCTs were included. Meta-analysis results demonstrated that the effect of both manual acupuncture (MA) and electro-acupuncture (EA) for improving response rate and recurrence rate was more significant than carbamazepine. Besides, MA achieved more significant effect on alleviating pain intensity. Moreover, acupuncture combined with carbamazepine had a more positive effect on response rate than carbamazepine alone. ..."
Hu H., Chen L. et al. (2019) Acupuncture for primary trigeminal neuralgia: A systematic review and PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2019;34:254-267.  🔗

The Neuroscience of Nonpharmacological Traditional Chinese Therapy (NTCT) for Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"...Results: Six of twelve eligible studies showed that there was a significant improvement in favor of acupuncture in depressive symptoms (SMD -0.69, 95% -1.09 to -0.28, =0.002, = 73%, < 0.0008). Based on the available evidence, NTCT including acupuncture, Qigong, and Tai Chi was found to possibly improve brain metabolites, brain activity, and immune and endocrine systems in patients with major depressive disorder. ..."
Ye J., Cheung W. et al. (2019) The Neuroscience of Nonpharmacological Traditional Chinese Therapy (NTCT) for Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019:2183403.  🔗

Efficacy of acupotomy for cerebral palsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: Eight studies involving 530 participants were included. In 1 study, acupotomy was associated with significantly higher total effective rate (TER) compared with Bobath (P < .01). Acupotomy combined with rehabilitation was associated with significantly higher TER (RR 1.24, 95% CI 1.01-1.52, I = 77%) and gross motor function measure score (MD 12.62, 95% CI 11.75-13.49, I = 54%), and significantly lower muscle tone of gastrocnemius measured by the Ashworth scale or the modified Ashworth scale (MD -0.97, 95% CI -1.07 to -0.88, I = 0%) compared with rehabilitation alone. No studies reported the incidence of adverse events. The methodological quality of the included studies and quality of evidence for the main finding were generally low. ..."
Kwon C., Lee B. et al. (2019) Efficacy of acupotomy for cerebral palsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2019;98(4):e14187.   🔗

The Effect of Different Acupuncture Therapies on Neurological Recovery in Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

"Many acupuncture therapies were used to treat spinal cord injury (SCI) and its complications. The difference in efficacy among these therapies has not been assessed. To compare the efficacy of different acupuncture therapies for SCI, we searched databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, and WanFang) for relevant RCTs in both English and Chinese before ..."
Xiong F., Fu C. et al. (2019) The Effect of Different Acupuncture Therapies on Neurological Recovery in Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019:2371084.  🔗

Acupuncture to Promote Recovery of Disorder of Consciousness after Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has become an economic and social burden for patients and their families. While acupuncture is an effective tool for promoting recovery of disorder of consciousness (DOC) following TBI, there have been no comprehensive meta-analyses and/or systematic reviews addressing this topic. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess ..."
Tan L., Zeng L. et al. (2019) Acupuncture to Promote Recovery of Disorder of Consciousness after Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019:5190515.  🔗

Does Acupuncture Protect Dopamine Neurons in Parkinson's Disease Rodent Model?: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"Acupuncture has been reported to have significant effects, not only in alleviating impaired motor function, but also rescuing dopaminergic neuron deficits in rodent models of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, a systemic analysis of these beneficial effects has yet to be performed. To evaluate the neuroprotective effect of acupuncture in animal models of PD. A ..."
Ko J., Lee H. et al. (2019) Does Acupuncture Protect Dopamine Neurons in Parkinson's Disease Rodent Model?: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front Aging Neurosci. 2019;11:102.  🔗

The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) has no cure, but acupuncture may provide relief through its known neuromodulation or neuroendocrine adjustment. This review aimed to assess the efficacy of acupuncture in treating CIPN. A literature review following the PRISMA Statement was performed, searching 7 databases from inception through August 2019. All studies were clinical trials of the effect ..."
Chien T., Liu C. et al. (2019) The Efficacy of Acupuncture in Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Integr Cancer Ther. 2019;18:1534735419886662.  🔗

Is acupuncture an effective postherpetic neuralgia treatment? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...Results: Acupuncture helps relieve pain intensity (standardized mean difference [SMD]: -1.78, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -2.36 to -1.21). For other intervention types, electroacupuncture (SMD: -1.28, 95% CI: -2.51 to -0.05), fire needle (SMD: -2.23, 95% CI: -2.62 to -1.84), bloodletting and cupping (SMD: -2.46, 95% CI: -2.95 to -1.97) have better effects on pain intensity relief. To date, no study has reported on the onset of pain relief time. The Hamilton Anxiety Scale score (SMD: -18.94, 95% CI: -37.37 to -0.52) was lower for the acupuncture group than for the control group. It was also found that acupuncture can improve quality of life (QOL) (SMD: 3.78, 95% CI: 2.50 to 5.06). The quality of evidence for acupuncture for PHN pain intensity was moderate according to the GRADE system. ..."
Pei W., Zeng J. et al. (2019) Is acupuncture an effective postherpetic neuralgia treatment? A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Pain Res. 2019;12:2155-2165.  🔗

Acupuncture for Post-stroke Shoulder-Hand Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"Shoulder-hand syndrome (SHS) is prevalent in hemiplegic patients after stroke. Potential benefits of acupuncture were shown in recent clinical trials. This systematic review aimed to comprehensively evaluate the safety and efficacy of acupuncture for SHS in stroke patients. Five English databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, CENTRAL, and AMED) and four Chinese databases (CBM, CNKI, CQVIP, ..."
Liu S., Zhang C. et al. (2019) Acupuncture for Post-stroke Shoulder-Hand Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front Neurol. 2019;10:433.  🔗

Effects of acupuncture on vascular dementia (VD) animal models: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: Sixteen studies involving 363 animals met the inclusion criteria. The included studies scored between 4 and 8 points, and the mean was 5.44. The results of the meta-analysis indicated remarkable differences with acupuncture on increasing the duration in the former platform quadrant both in EO models (SMD = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.02 ~ 2.11; p < 0.00001) and 2-VO models (SMD 4.29, 95% CI 3.23 ~ 5.35; p < 0.00001) compared with the control groups. ..."
Zhang Z., Liu Z. et al. (2018) Effects of acupuncture on vascular dementia (VD) animal models: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2018;18(1):302.   🔗

Meta-analysis on randomized controlled trials for scalp acupuncture treatment of stroke: A systematic review.

"...RESULTS: Of a total of 2086 papers, 21 RCTs were selected. Meta-analysis revealed significant differences in the total efficacy rates of the SA group and the body acupuncture (BA) group vs the medication group (P < 0.002, P < 0.000 001, respectively), the SA plus BA group vs the BA group (P < 0.001); in the motor function of the SA plus BA group vs the BA group (P = 0.077); and in the nerve function of the SA group vs the SA plus BA group (P < 0.0001). ..."
Young-Nim Y., Gwang-Cheon P. et al. (2018) Meta-analysis on randomized controlled trials for scalp acupuncture treatment of stroke: A systematic review. J Tradit Chin Med. 2018;38(4):465-479.   🔗

Acupuncture for postherpetic neuralgia: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

"...RESULTS: Seven RCTs comparing acupuncture versus pharmacologic therapy were included. Meta-analysis was conducted for acupuncture's effect on PHN evaluating by pain intensity. Results from 2 RCTs showed that compared with pharmacologic therapy, acupuncture was better in decreasing the pain intensity measured by visual analog scale score (mean difference: 1.80, 95% confidence interval 1.72-1.87; P < .001). The limitations of the study are as follows: only trials comparing acupuncture versus pharmacologic therapy were included and all of the included trials were performed in China. ..."
Wang Y., Li W. et al. (2018) Acupuncture for postherpetic neuralgia: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2018;97(34):e11986.   🔗

The Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

"We aimed to summarize and critically evaluate the available evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We searched 13 databases for studies published up to December 2016. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the efficacy of acupuncture for children with ASD were included. Outcome measures were the overall scores ..."
Lee B., Lee J. et al. (2018) The Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture for the Treatment of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018:1057539.  🔗

Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine.

"...RESULTS: Twenty-two trials including 4985 participants in total (median 71, range 30 to 1715) met our updated selection criteria. We excluded five previously included trials from this update because they included people who had had migraine for less than 12 months, and included five new trials. Five trials had a no-acupuncture control group (either treatment of attacks only or non-regulated routine care), 15 a sham-acupuncture control group, and five a comparator group receiving prophylactic drug treatment. In comparisons with no-acupuncture control groups and groups receiving prophylactic drug treatment, there was risk of performance and detection bias as blinding was not possible. Overall the quality of the evidence was moderate. Comparison with no acupunctureAcupuncture was associated with a moderate reduction of headache frequency over no acupuncture after treatment (four trials, 2199 participants; standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.56; 95% CI -0.65 to -0.48); findings were statistically heterogeneous (I² = 57%; moderate quality evidence). After treatment headache frequency at least halved in 41% of participants receiving acupuncture and 17% receiving no acupuncture (pooled risk ratio (RR) 2.40; 95% CI 2.08 to 2.76; 4 studies, 2519 participants) with a corresponding number needed to treat for an additional beneficial outcome (NNTB) of 4 (95% CI 3 to 6); there was no indication of statistical heterogeneity (I² = 7%; moderate quality evidence). The only trial with post-treatment follow-up found a small but significant benefit 12 months after randomisation (RR 2.16; 95% CI 1.35 to 3.45; NNT 7; 95% 4 to 25; 377 participants, low quality evidence). Comparison with sham acupunctureBoth after treatment (12 trials, 1646 participants) and at follow-up (10 trials, 1534 participants), acupuncture was associated with a small but statistically significant frequency reduction over sham (moderate quality evidence). The SMD was -0.18 (95% CI -0.28 to -0.08; I² = 47%) after treatment and -0.19 (95% CI -0.30 to -0.09; I² = 59%) at follow-up. After treatment headache frequency at least halved in 50% of participants receiving true acupuncture and 41% receiving sham acupuncture (pooled RR 1.23, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.36; I² = 48%; 14 trials, 1825 participants) and at follow-up in 53% and 42%, respectively (pooled RR 1.25, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.39; I² = 61%; 11 trials, 1683 participants; moderate quality evidence). The corresponding NNTBs are 11 (95% CI 7.00 to 20.00) and 10 (95% CI 6.00 to 18.00), respectively. The number of participants dropping out due to adverse effects (odds ratio (OR) 2.84; 95% CI 0.43 to 18.71; 7 trials, 931 participants; low quality evidence) and the number of participants reporting adverse effects (OR 1.15; 95% CI 0.85 to 1.56; 4 trials, 1414 participants; moderate quality evidence) did not differ significantly between acupuncture and sham groups. Comparison with prophylactic drug treatmentAcupuncture reduced migraine frequency significantly more than drug prophylaxis after treatment ( SMD -0.25; 95% CI -0.39 to -0.10; 3 trials, 739 participants), but the significance was not maintained at follow-up (SMD -0.13; 95% CI -0.28 to 0.01; 3 trials, 744 participants; moderate quality evidence). After three months headache frequency at least halved in 57% of participants receiving acupuncture and 46% receiving prophylactic drugs (pooled RR 1.24; 95% CI 1.08 to 1.44) and after six months in 59% and 54%, respectively (pooled RR 1.11; 95% CI 0.97 to 1.26; moderate quality evidence). Findings were consistent among trials with I² being 0% in all analyses. Trial participants receiving acupuncture were less likely to drop out due to adverse effects (OR 0.27; 95% CI 0.08 to 0.86; 4 trials, 451 participants) and to report adverse effects (OR 0.25; 95% CI 0.10 to 0.62; 5 trials 931 participants) than participants receiving prophylactic drugs (moderate quality evidence). AUTHORS' ..."
Linde K., Allais G. et al. (2016) Acupuncture for the prevention of episodic migraine. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016(6):CD001218.  🔗

Cerebral hemodynamic responses to acupuncture in migraine patients: a systematic review.

"We review the literature conjoining acupuncture, migraine, and cerebral hemodynamics. To do so, we searched PubMed in March 2013 for studies investigating cerebral hemodynamics with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound, and other tools in migraineurs, acupuncture recipients, and migraineurs receiving acupuncture. Our search identified 1321 distinct articles - acupuncture (..."
Lo M., Lin J. et al. (2013) Cerebral hemodynamic responses to acupuncture in migraine patients: a systematic review. J Tradit Complement Med. 2013;3(4):213-20.   🔗