[Scientific basis of acupuncture on mesenchymal stem cells for treating ischemic stroke].

The scientific basis of acupuncture on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for treating ischemic stroke (IS) is discussed. MSCs transplantation has great potential for the treatment of tissue damage caused by early stage inflammatory cascade reactions of IS, but its actual transformation is limited by various factors. How to improve the homing efficiency of MSCs is the primary issue to enhance its efficacy. As such, the possible mechanisms of acupuncture and MSCs transplantation in inhibiting inflammatory cascade reactions induced by IS are explored by reviewing literature, and a hypothesis that acupuncture could promote the secretion of stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) from ischemic foci to regulate SDF-1α/CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) axis, thereby improving the homing efficiency of MSCs transplantation, exerting its neuroprotective function, and improving the bed transformation ability, is proposed.

The efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with language training for motor aphasia after stroke: study protocol for a multicenter randomized sham-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Motor aphasia after stroke is a common and intractable complication of stroke. Acupuncture and language training may be an alternative and effective approach. However, the efficacy of acupuncture and language training for motor aphasia after stroke has not been confirmed. The main objectives of this trial are to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture and low-intensity, low-dose language training in treating ischemic motor aphasia after stroke from 15 to 90 days. METHODS: This is a multicenter randomized sham-controlled clinical trial. We will allocate 252 subjects aged between 45 and 75 years diagnosed with motor aphasia after stroke with an onset time ranging from 15 to 90 days into two groups randomly in a 1:1 ratio. Patients in the experimental group will be treated with "Xing-Nao Kai-Qiao" acupuncture therapy plus language training, and those in the control group will be treated with sham-acupoint (1 cun next to the acupoints) acupuncture therapy plus language training. All the patients will be given acupuncture and language training for 6 weeks, with a follow-up evaluation 6 weeks after the end of the treatment and 6 months after the onset time. The patients will mainly be evaluated using the Western Aphasia Battery and Chinese Functional Communication Profile, and the incidence of treatment-related adverse events at the 2nd, 4th, and 6th weeks of treatment will be recorded. The baseline characteristics of the patients will be summarized by group, the chi-squared test will be used to compare categorical variables, and repeated measures of analysis of variance or a linear mixed model will be applied to analyze the changes measured at different time points. DISCUSSION: The present study is designed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of traditional acupuncture therapy and language training in ischemic motor aphasia after stroke and explore the correlation between the treatment time and clinical effect of acupuncture. We hope our results will help doctors understand and utilize acupuncture combined with language training. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR ChiCTR1900026740 . Registered on 20 October 2019.

Acupuncture and related interventions for anxiety in coronavirus disease 2019: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese medicine plays an irreplaceable role in the treatment and prevention of epidemic diseases in China. Acupuncture is an important part of Chinese medicine. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, acupuncture and related interventions are used to treat COVID-19 patients in China. The systematic review aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture and relevant interventions for anxiety in COVID-19. METHODS: We will search for randomized control and observational studies of acupuncture and related interventions for anxiety in COVID-19 in the 6 databases from inception to 31 October 2020. There is no language restriction. Two independent reviewers will screen and collect all trials, data extraction and evaluate the risk of bias of the researches. We will perform a meta-analysis if appropriate. RESULTS: Our findings will evaluate the feasibility of acupuncture and related interventions as adjunctive therapy for anxiety in COVID-19 patients, which will be disseminated in a relevant conference and published in a peer-reviewed publication. CONCLUSION: Our research will appraise the overall quality and evidence of whether acupuncture and related interventions are effective therapies for anxiety in COVID-19.

Acupuncture for breathlessness in COVID-19: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: At present, accumulative attention has been paid to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to its global prevalence. Acupuncture may play a beneficial role in patients with breathlessness in COVID-19. This study is designed to determine the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for breathlessness in COVID-19. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCT) will be searched from 7 electronic databases, with the last search update being 30 June 2020. Studies by registers of clinical trials will be additionally searched. Two investigators will independently select studies, extract data and evaluate study quality. Finally, a meta-analysis will be used to evaluate the pooled intervention effect if possible. RESULTS: Our present findings will indicate the application of acupuncture as an adjunctive treatment for dyspnea in COVID-19, which will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. CONCLUSION: Our study will provide a reference foundation for clinical optimization of treatment. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020182323.