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Trials Nov 2022Acupuncture or moxibustion has been proven to be effective for patients with primary dysmenorrhea (PDM). However, the respective advantages and potential central...
BACKGROUND
Acupuncture or moxibustion has been proven to be effective for patients with primary dysmenorrhea (PDM). However, the respective advantages and potential central mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion are worthy of investigating to promote their further application.
METHODS
In this randomized controlled neuroimaging trial, 72 patients with PDM will be randomly assigned to three groups: acupuncture treatment group, moxibustion treatment group, and waiting list group. The acupuncture treatment group and moxibustion treatment group will receive acupuncture or moxibustion, respectively, for a total of 3 sessions over 3 consecutive menstrual cycles, and the waiting list group will not take acupuncture or moxibustion during these 3 menstrual cycles. The COX Menstrual Symptom Scale (CMSS), visual analog scale (VAS), and Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) will be used to evaluate the clinical efficacy. The Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) will be used to assess the mental state and quality of life at baseline and at the end of treatment. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be performed for detecting the cerebral activity changes at baseline and at the end of the treatment. The clinical data and imaging data will be analyzed among the groups. Correlation analysis will be conducted to investigate the relationship between brain functional changes and symptom improvement.
DISCUSSION
The application of the randomized controlled neuroimaging trial will provide objective and valid evidence about how acupuncture and moxibustion treatment relieve menstrual pain. The results of this study would be useful to confirm the potential similarities and differences between acupuncture and moxibustion in clinical efficacy and central mechanism for patients with PDM.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100043732 . Registered on 27 February 2021.
Topics: Female; Humans; Moxibustion; Dysmenorrhea; Quality of Life; Acupuncture Therapy; Neuroimaging; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 36443858
DOI: 10.1186/s13063-022-06675-1 -
Journal of Healthcare Engineering 2022This study aimed for the analysis of the effect of acupuncture and moxibustion combined with needle-knife on pain and lumbar function in patients with lumbar disc...
This study aimed for the analysis of the effect of acupuncture and moxibustion combined with needle-knife on pain and lumbar function in patients with lumbar disc herniation. From June 2019 to February 2021, the medical records of 126 patients with lumbar disc herniation admitted to the department of orthopedics of our hospital were selected and divided into the control group ( = 63) treated with acupuncture and moxibustion and the observation group ( = 63) treated with acupuncture and moxibustion combined with needle-knife according to different treatment regimens. After 4 weeks of treatment, the clinical efficacy, pain status, and lumbar function were compared between the two groups. The concentrations of relevant inflammatory factors (IL-6, IL-10, TNF-, and MMP-2) in peripheral blood of the two patients before and after treatment were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). After treatment, the overall response rate was 93.65% in the observation group, which was higher than 80.95% in the control group ( < 0.05); the visual blurred score (VAS) scores of lower limbs and waist in the observation group were lower than those in the control group, while the expression of pain mediators serotonin (5-HT) and prostaglandin E2 (PEG2) was also lower than that in the control group ( < 0.05); the Oswestry disability index (ODI) in the observation group was lower than that in the control group, while the Japanese Orthopedic Association assessment treatment score (JOA) was higher than that in the control group ( < 0.05). After treatment, the concentration levels in peripheral blood (IL-6, IL-10, TNF-, and MMP-2) were significantly lower in the observation group than in the control group ( < 0.05). Acupuncture and moxibustion combined with needle-knife is effective in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation, which helps to improve the clinical efficacy, relieve pain symptoms, promote the improvement of lumbar function, and contribute to the reduction of inflammatory factors.
Topics: Acupuncture Therapy; Humans; Interleukin-10; Interleukin-6; Intervertebral Disc Displacement; Lumbar Vertebrae; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2; Moxibustion; Pain; Treatment Outcome; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
PubMed: 35432832
DOI: 10.1155/2022/9185384 -
Pain Research & Management 2021Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a genitourinary disease commonly seen in males, with symptoms involving pelvic pain, urinary system... (Review)
Review
Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a genitourinary disease commonly seen in males, with symptoms involving pelvic pain, urinary system disease, and sexual dysfunction, which seriously affects physical and mental health, and it also influences the quality of life of patients. At present, the disease's aetiology and pathogenesis are unclear, and there is also no effective treatment for it. Acupuncture and moxibustion have been a way to CP/CPPS, showing good curative effect with advantages of safety and affordability. However, the relevant research in this field is less discussed. By adopting databases, such as CNKI, VIP, Wanfang, PubMed, and Medline, this review article used keywords including chronic prostatitis, chronic pelvic pain syndrome, and electric acupuncture, manual acupuncture, moxibustion, and animal experiments, rats, mice, and mechanism research and reviewing research papers published from 1998 to 2021. Then, it further summarized and evaluated the mechanism research and gave a brief comment about modeling methods, acupoints selection, and stimulus parameters that have been used in the selected research papers. Equally important, this review article proposes a reference for the in-depth study of the mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion on CP/CPPS and provides a theoretical basis to better treat the disease in the clinic.
Topics: Acupuncture Therapy; Animals; Chronic Disease; Chronic Pain; Humans; Male; Mice; Moxibustion; Pelvic Pain; Prostatitis; Quality of Life; Rats; Urogenital Diseases
PubMed: 34925658
DOI: 10.1155/2021/2678242 -
American Journal of Translational... 2022The clinical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have significant circadian rhythms, with morning stiffness and joint pain. Moxibustion is effective in the treatment...
OBJECTIVE
The clinical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have significant circadian rhythms, with morning stiffness and joint pain. Moxibustion is effective in the treatment of RA, while the underlying therapeutic mechanisms remain limited. Thus, we explored whether moxibustion could adjust the circadian rhythm of RA by modulating the core clock genes CLOCK and BMAL1 at the molecular level.
METHODS
144 Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group (group A), model group (group B), 7-9 am moxibustion treatment group (group C), and 5-7 pm moxibustion treatment group (group D). Each group was divided into 6 time points (0 am, 4 am, 8 am, 12 N, 6 pm, and 8 pm) with an equal number of rats at each time point. Except for group A, all rats were injected with Freund's Complete Adjuvant (FCA) 0.15 ml on the right foot pad to establish the RA model. The rats of the two moxibustion treatment groups were respectively subjected to moxibustion at 7-9 am and 5-7 pm. After 3 weeks of treatment, the tissues were collected at 6 time points during the next 24 hours. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to test the mRNA expression of CLOCK and BMAL1 in the hypothalamus and synovial tissues. CLOCK and BMAL1 protein expression in synovial tissues were detected with western blot.
RESULTS
Compared to group A, group B showed significantly down-regulated expression levels of CLOCK and BMLA1 at synovial tissue (P < 0.05), while no statistically significant difference was found in the hypothalamus (P > 0.05). The expression levels of CLOCK and BMLA1 were up-regulated in the moxibustion treatment groups in different tissues, especially in synovial tissue (P < 0.05) compared to group B. Nevertheless, no difference was observed between groups C and D (P > 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
Moxibustion could treat RA by modulating clock core genes CLOCK and BMAL1 to regulate the circadian rhythm. However, there was no significant difference between the 7-9 am moxibustion treatment group and the 5-7 pm moxibustion treatment group. This study provides a basis for research on moxibustion in the treatment of RA.
PubMed: 35958509
DOI: No ID Found -
Trials Jun 2022Functional dyspepsia (FD) is one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders, with a high prevalence and significant influence on the quality of life (QoL)....
BACKGROUND
Functional dyspepsia (FD) is one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders, with a high prevalence and significant influence on the quality of life (QoL). Either acupuncture or moxibustion is effective for dyspepsia, which is confirmed by both ancient documents and modern research. However, the therapeutic advantage and underlying mechanism between acupuncture and moxibustion for FD remain unclear.
METHODS
This randomized controlled fMRI trial aims to (i) evaluate the therapeutic advantages of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment for FD, (ii) investigate the similarities and differences in cerebral activity elicited by acupuncture and moxibustion, and (iii) analyze the possible correlations between brain responses and clinical variables thus to explore the potential central mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion for treating FD. Ninety-two FD patients will be randomly assigned to either the acupuncture group or the moxibustion group in a 1:1 ratio. Twenty sessions of acupuncture or moxibustion treatment over 4 weeks will be performed on each patient. The short form Leeds Dyspepsia Questionnaire, the Nepean Dyspepsia Index, etc., are used to evaluate the therapeutic effects. The heart rate variability will be analyzed to investigate the autonomic nerve function. Thirty-six FD patients in each group will be randomly selected for the fMRI scan to detect cerebral activity changes.
DISCUSSION
We expect the results will deepen our knowledge on the clinical value and underlying mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion and provide a reference for a better selection of interventions for treating FD.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( www.chictr.org.cn ) ChiCTR2100049496. Registered on 2 August 2021.
Topics: Acupuncture Therapy; Dyspepsia; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Moxibustion; Quality of Life; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 35668441
DOI: 10.1186/s13063-022-06411-9 -
Evidence-based Complementary and... 2016Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is one of the most common diseases in gynecology at present. Some clinical trials have reported the effects of moxibustion and confirmed... (Review)
Review
Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is one of the most common diseases in gynecology at present. Some clinical trials have reported the effects of moxibustion and confirmed temporal factors are the important elements influencing the efficacy of moxibustion. However, no systematic review has yet been conducted. In this study, we assessed the effects of moxibustion in patients with PD enrolled in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and the difference among different intervention times to start moxibustion. We extracted data for studies searched from 10 electronic databases and evaluated the methodological quality of the included studies. We discussed three outcomes: effective rate, pain remission, and the level of PGF2 in serum. Current clinical researches showed that, compared with nonmoxibustion treatments for PD, moxibustion leads to higher effective rate and lower level of PGF2 in serum. However, there was no difference in using moxibustion to treat PD at different intervention times. Based on the theory of Chinese medicine and the results of this study, choosing 5 ± 2 days before menstruation to start moxibustion can achieve good efficacy for PD patients. However, more high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm the conclusions.
PubMed: 28115970
DOI: 10.1155/2016/6706901 -
Clinical Nursing Research Sep 2022Acupuncture and moxibustion have been accepted as add-on options for primary dysmenorrhea (PD); however, the clinical evidence is still inadequate. We searched AMED,... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Acupuncture and moxibustion have been accepted as add-on options for primary dysmenorrhea (PD); however, the clinical evidence is still inadequate. We searched AMED, CENTRAL, EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI, VIP, Wangfang database, ANZCTR, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the WHO ICTRP, from their inception to February 2021. The pooled analysis of 13 RCTs with 675 participants for VAS showed that acupuncture and moxibustion were more effective in managing PD than the control group with the MD of -1.93 (95% CI [-2.80, -1.06] and -2.67 (95% CI [-4.96, -0.38]). With the CMSS, seven studies with 487 participants showed that these modalities were more effective than the control group with the MD of -7.58 (95% CI [-10.97, -4.19]) and -3.78 (95% CI [-6.90, -0.66]). The findings indicated that acupuncture and moxibustion could relieve pain effectively and has fewer adverse events (AEs) in managing PD.
Topics: Acupuncture Therapy; Dysmenorrhea; Female; Humans; Moxibustion
PubMed: 35499150
DOI: 10.1177/10547738221086984 -
Evidence-based Complementary and... 2017Moxibustion is an integral part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It achieved higher level of recognition and had more general application in ancient times than in... (Review)
Review
Moxibustion is an integral part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It achieved higher level of recognition and had more general application in ancient times than in contemporary life. As the vital historical sources, the records of unearthed literatures offered precious insights to Chinese social life pattern and medical practice in and dynasties (221 BC-220 AD). There was no surprise that the bamboo and silk documents excavated from () tomb, () tomb, and other relics had a large amount of texts relevant to moxibustion. This research sorted moxibustion recordings from seven unearthed literatures and discovered that moxibustion had been developed into different modalities and utilized to treat many diseases at that time. In addition, the indications, contraindications of moxibustion, and the method of postmoxibustion care were also discussed. On this basis, some hints were provided to support the hypothesis that the practice of moxibustion led to the discovery of meridians. All our preliminary results in the research have drawn attention for this old therapy and given a new source for its application in clinic and scientific research.
PubMed: 28298936
DOI: 10.1155/2017/8242136 -
Chinese Medicine 2020Moxibustion is one of the major interventions of Chinese medicine (CM). The systematic reviews (SRs) are essential references for evaluating the efficacy and safety of...
BACKGROUND
Moxibustion is one of the major interventions of Chinese medicine (CM). The systematic reviews (SRs) are essential references for evaluating the efficacy and safety of moxibustion interventions. This study aimed to assess the reporting quality of these SRs, particularly whether necessary information related to moxibustion was adequately reported.
METHODS
Seven databases (including four English and three Chinese databases) were systematically searched for SRs of moxibustion that were published up to 31 December 2019. The primary analysis was to assess their reporting quality based on 27-item of the Preferred Reporting Items for SRs and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and 14-item of moxibustion-related information designed according to CM theory and the STandards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials Of Moxibustion (STRICTOM). Descriptive statistics were also used to analyze their baseline characteristics.
RESULTS
A total of 97 SRs of moxibustion were identified from 2011 to 2019. For 27-item of PRISMA, except item 5, 8, 16 and 23, the remaining 23 items had the reporting compliances higher than 55%, of which 2 items (item 20 and 26) were fully reporting (100%). However, for moxibustion-related information, 69.1% (67/97) SRs did not provide the specific type of moxibustion, 39.2% (38/97) lacked details regarding the materials, procedure and technique used for moxibustion, 67.0% (65/97) did not report the selection criteria of acupoints for moxibustion, 28.9% (28/97) did not provide the number or duration of treatment sessions, 69.1% (67/97) did not provide any information about safety evaluation, and 94.8% (92/97) SRs did not report the treatment environment. For 51 (55.4%) of 92 SRs that included meta-analysis, it was impossible to assess whether meta-analysis had been properly conducted due to inadequate reporting of moxibustion interventions.
CONCLUSION
The reporting quality of SRs of moxibustion need further improvements in terms of adequate reporting of moxibustion interventions and of moxibustion-related rationales. Reporting guideline of "PRISMA extension for moxibustion interventions" should be developed thus to improve their quality.
PubMed: 33005215
DOI: 10.1186/s13020-020-00385-z -
Integrative Cancer Therapies 2023The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of Tuina combined with moxibustion on relieving breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). A randomized cross-over... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of Tuina combined with moxibustion on relieving breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). A randomized cross-over controlled trial was conducted at our institution. All patients with BCRL were assigned to 2 groups: Group A and Group B. In the first period (weeks 1-4), tuina and moxibustion were performed in Group A and pneumatic circulation and compression garment in Group B. The washout period took place from weeks 5 to 6. In the second period (weeks 7-10), pneumatic circulation and compression garment were performed in Group A, and tuina and moxibustion in Group B. Therapeutic efficacy was evaluated by measuring the affected arm volume, circumference, and Visual Analog Scale for swelling. Regarding the results, a total of 40 patients were included, and 5 cases were dropped. After treatment, both the traditional Chinses medicine (TCM) treatment and complete decongestive therapy (CDT) was found to reduce the volume of the affected arm ( < .05). At the endpoint (visit 3), compared with CDT, the effect of the TCM treatment was more evident than that of CDT ( < .05). After the TCM treatment, the arm circumference at the elbow crease and proximal 10 cm to elbow crease was reduced, which was statistically different from that before treatment ( < .05). Post-CDT treatment, the arm circumference at proximal 10 cm to wrist crease and the elbow crease and proximal 10 cm to elbow crease decreased, which was statistically different from that before treatment ( < .05). At the endpoint (visit 3), the arm circumference at proximal 10 cm to elbow crease of the patients treated with TCM was less than that of CDT ( < .05). Moreover, the VAS scores for swelling were better after compared with before TCM treatment and CDT ( < .05). At the endpoint (visit 3), the subjective relief of swelling by TCM treatment was greater than CDT ( < .05). Ultimately, tuina combined with moxibustion can alleviate BCRL symptoms, which is primarily reflected in reducing the affected arm volume and circumference and relieving swelling.Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (Registration Number ChiCTR1800016498).
Topics: Humans; Female; Moxibustion; Breast Neoplasms; Treatment Outcome; Breast Cancer Lymphedema; Upper Extremity; Lymphedema
PubMed: 37212216
DOI: 10.1177/15347354231172735