RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To study the mechanisms of wrist-ankle acupuncture for prevention and treatment of diabetic peripheral neuritis. METHODS: Ninety cases of diabetic peripheral neuritis were randomly divided into 3 groups, and treated respectively with wrist-ankle acupuncture, body-acupuncture, and the western routine medical treatment, with 30 cases in each of the groups; and therapeutic effects and laboratory results compared. RESULTS: It is proved that the therapeutic effects of the wrist-ankle acupuncture group and body acupuncture group were significantly superior to those of the control group, with no significant differences between the former two groups. CONCLUSION: Wrist-ankle acupuncture has the actions of improving the metabolisms of blood sugar and blood-lipid, lowering down blood viscosity, and restoring the functions of peripheral nerve cells, thus giving definite therapeutic effects for diabetic peripheral neuritis.