OCULO-ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT OF CEREBRAL INFARCTION INDUCED HEMIPLEGIA

Objective: To observe the therapeutic effect of oculo acupuncture therapy in the treatment of cerebral infarction induced hemiplegia. Methods: 58 cases of stroke patients were randomly divided into treatment group (n=30) and control group (n=28). In treatment group, on the basis of medication plus rehabilitation treatment, patients voluntarily accepted oculo acupuncture therapy (acupuncture of Upper Jiao Area and Lower Jiao Area). In control group, patients only accepted medication and rehabilitation treatment. The therapeutic effect was evaluated with Brunstrom’s 6 stages Assessing Method. Results: After 24 sessions of treatment, the ratios of the diseased limbs reaching stage VI and more in functional activity in the patients of treatment group increased from 16.7% (upper limb) and 20.0% (lower limb) before treatment to 70.0% and 90.0% respectively; while in control group, those ratios of the upper and lower limbs increased from 10.7% and 28.6% before treatment to 39.2% and 60.7% separately. There was a significant difference between two groups in the therapeutic effect (P<0.05). Conclusion: Oculo acupuncture plus medication is superior to simple medication treatment in improving functional activity of the hemiplegic limbs.

Clinical Observation on Acupuncture Treatment for Post-stroke Spastic Hemiplegia

Objective:To observe the clinical effect of contralateral needling plus rehabilitation for post-stroke spastic hemiplegia. Methods:Thirty-six patients with post-stroke spastic hemiplegia were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group, 18 cases in each group. The two groups were all given rehabilitation training. The contralateral needling was adopted in the treatment group on the acupoints group of brain-refreshing and orifice-opening needling method. The routine acupuncture was applied in the control group on the same acupoints. Respectively before and after the treatment, the modified Ashworth scale (MAS) and clinical spasticity index (CSI) were used to assess the therapeutic effects. Results:The total effective rate was 94.4% in the treatment group and 67.7% in the control group, with a statistical difference in comparison of the two groups (P<0.05). In comparison of MAS and CSI scores after the treatment between the treatment group and control group, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion:The contralateral needling plus rehabilitation training is an effective method for the treatment of post-stroke spastic hemiplegia.

Acupuncture for spastic hemiplegia after ischemic stroke: a systematic review

Objective:To systematically assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for spastic hemiplegia after ischemic stroke.Methods:Randomized controlled trials(RCTs)of acupuncture treatment for spastic hemiplegia after ischemic stroke meeting the inclusion criteria in Cochrane Library,Medline,Excerpta Medica Database(EMBASE),PubMed,China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),SinoMed,Chongqing VIP Database(VIP),and Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform(Wanfang)published from each database’s inception to February 2023 were retrieved by computer.Two reviewers independently extracted data and evaluated the risk of bias using Cochrane’s risk of bias tool.Review Manager 5.4 was used for data analysis.Continuous data were evaluated using mean difference(MD)with a 95%confidence interval(CI),and dichotomous data were analyzed using risk ratio(RR).Results:A total of 24 trials,including 1970 participants,were included in the study.The meta-analysis of 7 trials showed that compared to the rehabilitation therapy,acupuncture therapy was more effective in improving the simplified Fugl-Meyer assessment score after 1-month treatments[MD=10.52,95%CI(7.81,13.23),P<0.001].The meta-analysis of 2 articles showed the same tendency after 6-month treatments[MD=19.18,95%CI(11.34,27.02),P<0.001],and the 6-month treatment course resulted in better outcomes than the 1-month course.The meta-analysis of 8 trials showed that acupuncture had a better improvement on the Barthel index score than rehabilitation therapy after 1-month treatments[MD=10.78,95%CI(8.91,12.64),P<0.001].The meta-analysis of 2 articles showed the same tendency after 6-month treatments[MD=19.94,95%CI(19.02,20.87),P<0.001],and the 6-month course was better than the 1-month course.The meta-analysis of 2 trials showed that the effective rate of the modified Ashworth scale score improvement was more notable in the acupuncture group after 1-month treatments[RR=1.20,95%CI(1.02,1.40),P=0.020].One trial reported no adverse event,and 1 trial reported 3 adverse events without severe influence.Conclusion:Acupuncture might be an effective and safe therapy for spastic hemiplegia after ischemic stroke,but more high-quality,large-sample objectively-evaluated RCTs are needed to validate the conclusion.