Transient analgesic effect of electroacupuncture at Taiyang (EX-HN 5) for treatment of migraine with hyperactivity of the liver-yang / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the difference of therapeutic effects between electroacupuncture (EA) and medication for treatment of migraine with hyperactivity of the liver-yang.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>With 3-center randomized controlled study method, 300 cases were assigned to a treatment group and a control group, 150 cases in each group. They were treated respectively with EA at Taiyang (EX-HN 5) and oral administration of western medicine. Changes of the score for headache intensity, remission degree of headache and remission rate of headache after treatment were investigated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After once treatment, VAS score of the headache intensity showed dynamical decrease in the two groups; in the treatment group the score reached the lowest 3-4 h after treatment, with the decreasing degree better than the control group (P < 0.01). The lasting time of headache remission was (388.6 +/- 430.1) min and (163.3 +/- 182.3) min, respectively, the treatment group being significantly longer than that of the control group (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>EA at Taiyang (EX-HN 5) has transient analgesic effect for treatment of migraine with hyperactivity of the liver-yang, which is better than that of routine western medication.</p>

Multicenter randomized controlled study on acupuncture-massage comprehensive program for treatment of cervical spondylosis of arterial type / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To probe into clinical value of the acupuncture-massage comprehensive program for treatment of cervical spondylosis of arterial type (CSA).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>By using three-center, single-blind, randomized, controlled method, the eligible subjects were randomly divided into an acupuncture-massage group, an acupuncture group, a massage group, 60 cases in each group. They were treated with acupuncture-massage comprehensive program, simple acupuncture and simple massage, respectively. And multiple-dimensional indexes were established to evaluate the therapeutic effect and safety.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The baselines of the general data were no different among the 3 groups. The cured-markedly effective and the effective rate were 68.3% and 88.3% in the acupuncture-massage group, 51.7% and 75.0% in the acupuncture group, and 50.0% and 76.7% in the massage group, respectively, the acupuncture-massage group being better than the other 2 groups (P<0.05); after treatment, the total cumulative scores for symptoms in the 3 groups decreased significantly (all P<0.01), the acupuncture-massage group being superior to the other 2 groups (P<0.05); and the physical signs in the 3 groups improved significantly (P<0.01), with no significant differences among the 3 groups (P>0.05); the time inducing the effect in the acupuncture-massage group was shorter than that in the other 2 groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01); and no adverse effects were found in the 3 groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This acupuncture-massage comprehensive therapy has a definite therapeutic effect on CSA with safety, and it is of superiority as compared with the simple acupuncture or the simple massage.</p>

Efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion in treating Bell's palsy: a multicenter randomized controlled trial in China / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Bell's palsy involves acute facial paralysis due to inflammation of the facial nerve. Acupuncture and moxibustion (acu-moxi) is beneficial in treating facial palsy. In order to verify the efficacy of acu-moxi on Bell's palsy, a randomized single-blind, multicenter clinical trial was performed.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 480 patients from four clinical centers were involved in this trial, of whom 439 completed the trial and 41 did not. All patients were randomly assigned to either the control group or to one of two treatment groups. The control group was treated with prednisone, vitamin B1, vitamin B12, and dibazole; the treatment groups were treated either with acu-moxi alone or in combination with prednisone, Vitamin B1, vitamin B12, and dibazole. Symptoms and signs, the House-Brackmann scale, and facial disability index (FDI) scores were assessed and determined both pre- and post-treatment to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment methods.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The characteristics of the control and two treatment groups were comparable without statistically significant differences before treatment. There were significant differences between the control and treatment groups after treatment (chi(2) = 15.265, P = 0.018). According to evaluations based on the House-Brackmann scale and FDI scores, the effectiveness of treatment in the two treatment groups was better than in the control group and was most effective in patients receiving acu-moxi treatment alone (Z = -2.827, P = 0.005).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The efficacy of acu-moxi treatment for Bell's palsy is verified scientifically.</p>