Acupuncture for cervical dystonia associated with anxiety and depression: A case report

BACKGROUND Cervical dystonia(CD)is a type of muscle tone disorder that usually occurs in the neck muscles.Due to the intermittent or continuous involuntary contraction of the neck muscles,the head and neck are twisted and skewed and some postural abnormalities occur.Long-term abnormal posture or pain can cause negative emotions in patients,which can affect their quality of life.CASE SUMMARY This case report included a 37-year-old woman who was diagnosed with CD associated with anxiety and depression;the accompanying symptoms were head and neck tilt of approximately 90°to the right and mental abnormality.After two courses of acupuncture treatment,the patient’s head and neck can be maintained in a normal position,and the negative emotions can be relieved.CONCLUSION This case indicates that acupuncture can effectively improve CD and the emotional state and quality of life of patients,making it an effective alternative treatment for the condition.

"Meridian-sinew Acupuncture Method"Improves Deformity Joint Dysfunction in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Joint deformity and dysfunction are common and serious complications in the late stage of rheumatoid arthritis,which seriously affect the quality of life of patients.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)believes that joint deformity and dysfunction in some patients with rheumatoid arthritis are closely related to the apraxia of meridians and tendons due to enduring illness.Based on the theory of meridians and tendons circulation,using the local and nearby therapeutic effect of acupoints as the treatment method in clinical practice,we conducted penetration needling of Houxi,Baxie,Wailaogong as well as Ashi points of interphalangeal joints of both hands through bilateral Sanjian,and used the uniform reinforcing-reducing method to soothe tendons and meridians,thus effectively improving the dysfunction of deformed joints.

Clinical Study on 28 Cases of Acute Cerebral Hemorrhage Treated by Scalp Acupuncture plus Rehabilitation Therapy

Objective： To evaluate the clinical efficacy of scalp penetrating technique plus rehabilitation therapy in treating acute cerebral hemorrhage. Methods： The patients were allocated randomly by computer into scalp acupuncture plus rehabilitation group （A）, rehabilitation group （B） and Western medication control group （C）. Results： The total effective rate and the curative and remarkable effective rate were 92.9% and 75.0% respectively in Group A, and 84.6% and 69.2% respectively in Group B and 75.9% and 37.9% respectively in Group C. There was a very significant difference in comparison of Group A and Group B with Group C （P〈0.01, P〈0.05）. There was no significant difference between Group A and Group B （P〉0.05）. But the total effective rate was significantly higher in Group A than in Group B. Conclusion： Scalp acupuncture plus rehabilitation therapy can obviously enhance the clinical effect in cerebral hemorrhage, reduce the neural deficit due to acute cerebral hemorrhage and improve the ability in daily life.

Heat-sensitive moxibustion for lumbar disc herniation:a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE:To assess the efficacy and safety of heat-sensitive moxibustion in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation(LDH).METHODS:Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) involving heat-sensitive moxibustion in the treatment of LDH were retrieved from the Chinese Biological Medical Literature database(1978-20011),Weipu database(1989-2011),Wanfang digital journal(1998-2011),China National Knowledge Internet(1979-2011),PubMed(1966-2011),EMBASE(1980-2011),and Cochrane Library(Issue 1,2011).Hand-search of the relevant journals from the Library of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine was also adopted for the collection of data.Data were extracted and evaluated by two reviewers independently with a specially designed extraction form.The Cochrane Collaboration's RevMan 5.0.20 software was used for data analyses.RESULTS:A total of 6 trials involving 580 patients were included.Meta-analysis showed that the total effectiveness rate in the heat-sensitive moxibustion group was significantly different when compared with conventional moxibustion [RR=1.19,95% CI [1.06,1.33)] and diclofenac sodium [RR=1.47,95% CI [1.17,1.85)],but similar to that of acupuncture.The cure rate in the heat-sensitive moxibustion group was significantly different when compared with conventional moxibustion [RR=1.58,95% CI(1.04,2.40)] and diclofenac sodium [RR=1.91,95% CI(1.01,3.60)],but similar with that of acupuncture.In terms of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores,significant differences were noted in subjective indices,objective indices,and daily life subscales.Two trials reported that there were no adverse events over the duration of treatment.CONCLUSION:Compared with conventional moxibustion,acupuncture,and diclofenac sodium,heat-sensitive moxibustion in the treatment of LDH is superior in efficacy.Further large-scale trials are required to define the role of heat-sensitive moxibustion in the treatment of this disease.

Clinical study on abdominal acupuncture for osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture

Objective： To explore the efficacy of abdominal acupuncture in treating patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture （OVCF）. Methods： Forty-five eligible OVCF patients were randomized into an abdominal acupuncture （AA） group, a body acupuncture （BA） group and a medication group according to the random numbers generated by the SPSS 22.5 version software, 15 subjects in each group. Patients in the medication group were intervened by Ossotide injection （intravenous injection）, Caltrate （oral administration）, Alfacalcidol （oral administration）, and Salcatonin injection （muscular injection）. In addition to the intervention given to the medication group, patients in the AA group additionally received acupuncture at Zhongwan （CV 22）, Xiawan （CV 20）, Qihai （CV 6）, Guanyuan （CV 4）, Shuifen （CV 9）, and Huaroumen （ST 24）; while patients in the BA group additionally received acupuncture at Jiaji （EX-B 2, superior and inferior to the affected area） points, Ashi points, Weizhong （BL 40） and Chengshan （BI. 57）. For the AA and BA groups, the acupuncture treatment was given once a day, 6 d per week, for 3 weeks in total. Prior to the intervention, and respectively after 1-week treatment, 2-week treatment and 3-week treatment, visual analogue scale （VAS） and Barthel index （BI） were adopted to evaluate pain degree and activities of daily living （ADL）. Results： After intervention, the VAS and BI scores were significantly changed in the three groups （P〈0.05）. Respectively after 2-week, 2-week and 3-week treatment, the VAS and BI scores in the two acupuncture groups were significantly different from those in the medication group at the same time point （P〈0.02）. After 2-week and 2-week treatment, the improvements of VAS and BI scores in the AA group were more significant than those in the BA group（P〈0.05）; after 3-week treatment, there was no significant difference in comparing the VAS score between the two acupuncture groups （P〉0.05）, but a significant difference was found in comparing the BI score （P〈0.05）. Conclusion： Abdominal acupuncture can produce a more significant effect in improving VAS and BI scores in OVCF patients than body acupuncture and pure medication treatment, and it＇s efficient and causes few sufferings.

Designing and implementing multicenter clinical randomized controlled trials on moxibustion with large samples

Implementing clinical trials with large multicenter samples is an important way to scientifically evaluate and demonstrate the curative effect of moxibustion.At present,clinical trials on moxibustion with large multicenter samples are prospering in China.It is necessary for research units to have good research professionals and technical platforms as well as a highly standardized and scientifically feasible methodology of research.Taking tasks in the ongoing national 973 project and in the sci-tech support program of the "11th 5-year plan",for example,this research captures the characteristics of moxibustion,carries out deep analysis and introduces specific methods and the important significance of clinical research tasks on moxibustion in designing multicenter plans,implementing experiments,supervising quality and strengthening compliance.