Acupoint catgut-embedding therapy as promising treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the effect of acupoint catgut-embedding therapy on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods: Twenty-three participants were subjected to acupoint catgut-embedding therapy for 3 sessions. The second session was performed one month after the first session and the third session two months after the second session. Three months after the third session of catgut-embedding therapy, the patients were subjected to fibroscan analysis. A total of 20 acupoints were selected in three sessions. Same acupoints were selected for all the patients at the same session but different points were selected at different sessions.Results: Of the 23 participants, 5 cases showed significant improvement and 8 cases showed moderate improvement as the steatosis stage was reduced by 1 or 2 degrees. The whole group showed significant improvements in terms of patient score, fat percentage, NAFLD steatosis stage, weight loss and abdominal circumference reduction after acupoint catgut-embedding therapy (all P<0.05). Conclusion: The acupoint catgut-embedding therapy can significantly improve the important factors in patients with NAFLD.