RANDOMIZED CONTROL STUDY ON DEPRESSION INDUCED BY CHRONIC PAIN TREATED WITH ACUPUNCTURE

Objective To study and verify the efficacy of acupuncture on depression caused by chronic pain and to further analyze the advantages of acupuncture. Methods According to random number table, the cases were randomized into experimental group and western medicine group, treated with acupuncture and antidepression drug （deanxit） respectively. Hamilton Depressive Scale （HAMD） and Visual Analogue Scale （VAS） were adopted for the evaluation before treatment and in the 1, 2 and 4 weeks after treatment in two groups successively. Results ① Very significant differences had been achieved on the comparisons of HAMD, VAS and HAMD reducing rate before and after treatment in experimental group （P 〈 0.01）. Very significant differences had been achieved in the comparisons of HAMD, VAS and HAMD reducing rate before and after treatment in western medicine group （P 〈 0.01 ）. ③Significant differences in HAMD reducing rate^＊ and VAS score^＊ ＊ had been achieved in the comparison between experiment group and western medicine group 1 week after treatment （^＊ P〈0.01, ^＊ ＊ P〈0.05）. ④ The significant differences had not been received in HAMD, VAS score and HAMD reducing rate in 2 and 4 weeks after treatment in the comparison between experimental group and western medicine group （P 〉0.05）. ⑤ No any harmful effect happened in experimental group after treatment, but it happened in western medicine group. Conclusion Both acupuncture and deanxit have achieved the definite therapeutic effects on depression caused by chronic pain, with similar efficacy. But the effects of acupuncture are obtained more quickly. In comparison of western medicine, acupuncture has no side and harmful effect. Additionally, acupuncture applies the multi-targeting and holistic modulation to the whole body.

REVIEW OF ACUPUNCTURE FOR FROZEN SHOULDER

Objective To assess the efficacy and possible adverse effects of acupuncture on frozen shoulder. Methods Based on the key words, i.e. acupuncture, electroacupuncture, acupuncture-moxibustion, frozen shoulder, adhesive capsulitis, shoulder disorders etc., the Chinese databases were retrieved, including Oochrane Musculoskeleta Group, Oochrane Controlled Trials Register, Oochrane Complementary Medicine Field, and the central database of the Oochrane Library as well as MEDLINE, EMBASE and Chinese Biomedical CD （OBM-disc）. 20 Chinese medical journals and relevant academic conference proceedings have been searched manually. The reference lists of identified documents were checked as the supplementary retrieval. Results 6 randomized controlled trials on frozen shoulder with acupuncture and electroacupuncture were included, indicating quite advanced study quality. There were 34 to 257 participants in the trials, 668 in total. The total OR of CMS/OSA was OR 3.49 （95 % CI - 2.64 to 9.63）, the total OR of VAS was OR - 1.24 （95% CI -3.50 to 1.01）, the total OR of ROM was OR 35.70 （95% CI 22.91 to 48.49）; the total OR of MELLE was OR 4.30 （95% OI 2.32 to 7.98）. Conclusion It is shown in the present limited inclusive trials on frozen shoulder that acupuncture is the safe therapy and effective on improving the global function, relieving pain, and improving the range of motion of shoulder. All the therapeutic effects of acupuncture are superior to those in control group. However, much more high quality trials are required to provide much stronger evidence. Additionally, much more evidences on validity of frozen shoulder with other assessing indexes involved are required in the treatment with acupuncture.

Knee osteoarthritis treated with acupuncture based on syndrome differentiation:a randomized controlled trial

Objective To compare the efficacy differences between acupuncture and western medicine in treating osteoarthritis of knee joints.Methods One hundred and twenty cases were randomly divided into an acupuncture group and a western medication group with 60 cases in each group.In the acupuncture group,acupuncture was applied mainly at Nèixīyǎn（内膝眼 EX-LE 4）,Dúbí（犊鼻 ST 35）,Yīnlíngquán（阴陵泉 SP 9） and Yánglíngquán（阳陵泉 GB 34） plus other acupoints selected according to syndrome differentiation.In the medication group,Glucosamine Hydrochloride capsules were orally given 3 times daily with 2 capsules each time.Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index（WOMAC）,Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey（SF-36,Chinese version） were used to assess therapeutic effects before treatment,after 4 weeks treatment and 9 weeks after treatment,respectively.Results After 4 weeks of treatment,the total effective rates were 86.7%（52/60） and 88.3%（53/60） in the acupuncture group and the western medication group,respectively,without significant difference（P〈0.05）.In 9 weeks after treatment,the total effective rates were 83.3%（50/60） and 61.7%（37/60） in the acupuncture group and the western medication group,respectively,with significant difference between the two groups（P〈0.05）.According to WOMAC and SF-36,the scores were all improved in both groups（P〈0.05,P〈0.01）,with significant difference in follow-up visit of 9 weeks after treatment between the two groups（P〈0.05,P〈0.01）,but not after 4 weeks of treatments（both P〈0.05）.Conclusion Short-term of therapeutic effects of acupuncture and oral administration of Glucosamine Hydrochloride on osteoarthritis of knee joints are similar,but long-term efficacy in the acupuncture group is better than that in the western medication group.

Electroacupuncture compound anesthesia in radiofrequency ablation for hypertrophic inferior turbinate:a randomized controlled trial

Objective To explore the feasibility of electroacupuncture compound anesthesia in radiofrequency ablation for hypertrophic inferior turbinate.Methods The patients confirmed to the enrolled criteria were randomly divided into an observation group（n=31） and a control group（n=30）.In the observation group,electroacupuncture was applied to Sìbái（四白 ST 2）,Xiàguān（下关 ST 7）,Hégǔ（合谷 LI 4） and Zhīgōu（支沟 TE 6） on the left side for the anesthesia and the routine local anesthesia was done on the right side.In the control group,the routine local anesthesia was adopted on both sides.The feelings of pain,circulatory index and operation effect were observed and compared between the two groups.Results During radiofrequency ablation,the pain grades of two measurements on the left side and the 2nd measurement on the right in the observation group were all lower than those in the control group（all P〈0.05）.In the observation group,the pain grade on the left side was lower than that on the right side（P〈0.05）,and the systolic blood pressure and the heart rate were lower than those in the control group when undergoing the 2nd radiofrequency ablation on the right side and on the left side,respectively（all P〈0.05）.There was no significant difference in operation effect between the two groups.Conclusion Electroacupuncture compound anesthesia can meet the analgesia requirement of radiofrequency ablation for hypertrophic inferior turbinate,and would be helpful to prevent cyclic fluctuation during the operation at the same time.

Brain arousal dysfunction induced by severe craniocerebral trauma treated with acupuncture

Objective To observe the early rehabilitation effects of acupuncture on brain arousal in patients with severe craniocerebral injury. Methods One hundred and two patients with severe craniocerebral injury were randomly divided into an acupuncture group and an electrical stimulation （ES） group with 51 cases in each group. In addition to conventional treatment and nursing in neurosurgery, acupuncture at Shuigou （水沟 GV 26）, Neiguan （内关PC 6） and Sanyingjiao （三阴交 SP 6）, as the main aeupoints, were applied for the cases in acupuncture group, and functional electrical stimulation （FES） was applied at selected muscles in the affected upper limb for the cases in ES group. The awaken rate, time for arousal and clinical therapeutic effects were compared between the two groups after 30 days of treatments. Results The awaken rate was 82.4%（42/51） in acupuncture group, which was significantly higher than 56.9%（29/51） in ES group （P〈0.01）, and the arousal time was significantly shorter and therapeutic effects were better in acupuncture group than those in ES group （both P〈0.01）. Conclusion On the basis of conventional treatment, early application of acupuncture provides better effects on restoration of arousal function of the brain in patients with severe craniocerebral injury than functional electrical stimulation.

Efficacy of acupuncture on fibromyalgia syndrome:a Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE:To comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for fibromyalgiasyndrome.METHODS: Two review authors independently selected the trials for the Meta-analysis, assessed their methodological quality and extracted relevant data. A quality assessment was conducted according to the Cochrane Review Handbook 5.0.RevMan 5.0.20 software was used in the statistical analysis.RESULTS: A total of 523 trials were reviewed and 9trials were selected for Meta-analysis.(a) Compared acupuncture with sham acupuncture, there was a significant difference in the visual analogue scale,but no difference in the pressure pain threshold.Additionally,and there was a difference in the fibromyalgia impact questionnaire and the multidisciplinary pain inventory after 4 weeks of treatment,but no difference after 7 weeks of therapy. There was no difference in the numerical rating scale in weeks 3, 8 and 13.(b) Acupuncture versus drugs.There were differences in the VAS after 20 days of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment comparing with the drug amitriptyline, and after 4 weeks of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment comparing with the drug fluoxetine and amitriptyline.There were also differences in the number of tender points when comparing acupuncture with amitriptyline or fluoxetine. There was no difference in total efficiency when comparing acupuncture with amitriptyline after 4 weeks of treatment, but there were differences between the two groups 45 days after treatment.There were also differences in total efficiency comparing acupuncture with fluoxetine,and when comparing 4 weeks post-treatment of acupuncture with a combination of amitriptyline,oryzanol and vitamin B.(c) A comparison of acupuncture, drugs and exercise with drugs and exercise showed PPT differences in months 3 and 6.There was no difference between the two comparison groups after follow-up visits in months 12 and 24.CONCLUSION: Compared with sham acupuncture,there was not enough evidence to prove the efficacy of acupuncture therapy for the treatment of fibromyalgia. Some evidence testified that the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy for fibromyalgia was superior to drugs; however, the included trials were not of high quality or had high bias risks.Acupuncture combined with drugs and exercise could increase pain thresholds in the short term, but there is a need for higher quality randomized controlled trials to further confirm this.