Regulation of Hypertension for Secondary Prevention of Stroke: The Possible 'Bridging Function' of Acupuncture

Effect of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation Therapy on the Recovery of Neurological Function and Prognosis of Stroke Patients

BACKGROUND

Stroke is a common cerebrovascular disease among the middle-aged and elderly, which can lead to a series of neurological disorders. Acupuncture is an important part of traditional Chinese medicine, with great value in improving the neurological deficits of stroke patients. In addition, rehabilitation therapy is also of great significance for alleviating the neurological deficits of patients and improving their activities of daily living.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the effect of acupuncture and moxibustion combined with rehabilitation therapy on the recovery of neurological function and prognosis of stroke patients.

METHODS

The case data of 100 stroke patients treated in the Wuhan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2019 to July 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. According to the treatment plan patients received, they were divided into the following two groups: an observation group (n = 52) treated with acupuncture combined with rehabilitation therapy and a control group (n = 48) treated with rehabilitation therapy alone. The two groups were compared in terms of the following items: therapeutic efficacy, plasma levels of cortisol (Cor) and neuropeptide Y (NPY), nerve function, motor function, balance ability, self-care ability, swallowing function, negative emotions, and quality of life.

RESULTS

The therapeutic effect of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of Cor and NPY, as well as the neurological function, motor function, balance ability, self-care ability, swallowing function, and negative emotions, were not significantly different between the two groups before treatment (P > 0.05). While after intervention, all the above indexes improved in both groups, with better improvements in the observation group compared with the control group (P < 0.05). And the various dimensions concerning the quality of life of patients were also significantly better in the observation group when compared with the control group.

CONCLUSION

Acupuncture of traditional Chinese medicine combined with rehabilitation therapy has outstanding effects in stroke treatment and can effectively improve the neurological function, prognosis, and quality of life of patients, which is worthy of clinical promotion.

Acupuncture combined tuina for oculomotor paralysis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Oculomotor paralysis (OP) is a neurologic syndrome with multiple causes of oculomotor nerve and its dominant tissue and muscle dysfunction. Acupuncture combined with tuina is a wide-ranging used rehabilitation therapy, although there is short of supporting evidence for its efficacy and safety in patients with OP. The purpose of this systematic review was to estimate and synthesize evidence of the efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with tuina in the treatment of OP.

METHODS

Electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Technology Journal and China Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and Wanfang,adopt an appropriate search strategy. RevMan V.5.3.5 software will be used for data synthesis, bias risk, and subgroup analyses.

RESULTS

This study provides high-quality evidence to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture combined with tuina for OP.

CONCLUSION

This systematic review explores whether acupuncture combined with tuina is an effective and safe intervention for OP.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Private information from individuals will not publish. This systematic review does not involve endangering participant rights. Ethical approval was not obtained. The results may be published in a peer-reviewed journal or disseminated at relevant conferences.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

PROSPERO CRD42021266447.

Can Acupuncture Treatment of Hypertension Improve Brain Health? A Mini Review

With age, cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., dementia and Alzheimer’s) are some of the leading causes of death in the United States. Related to these outcomes is the increased prevalence of hypertension, which independently increases the development of cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. While a direct mechanistic link between hypertension and poor brain health is unknown, many hypothesize that the etiology stems from poor blood pressure (BP) and cerebrovascular regulation. This dysfunction fosters hypoperfusion of the brain, causing stress to the tissue through a nutrient mismatch, subtly damaging the brain over many years. Current Western medical treatment relies on pharmacological treatment (mainly beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, or a combination of the two). However, Western treatments have not been successful in mitigating brain health outcomes and are burdened with unwanted side effects and non-adherence issues. Alternatively, traditional East Asia medicine has used acupuncture as a treatment for hypertension and may offer a promising approach in response to the limitations of conventional therapy. While detailed clinical and mechanistic experimental evidence is lacking, acupuncture has been observed to reduce BP and improve endothelial function in hypertensive adults. Further, acupuncture has been shown to have specific cerebrovascular effects, increasing cerebrovascular reactivity in healthy adults, highlighting possible neuroprotective properties. Therefore, our review is aimed at evaluating acupuncture as a treatment for hypertension and the potential impact on brain health. We will interrogate the current literature as well as discuss the proposed neural and vascular mechanisms by which acupuncture acts.

Acupuncture for ophthalmoplegia: Protocol for a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Ophthalmoplegia is a disease that affects many people every year and is caused by reasons, such as cavernous sinus lesion, intracranial aneurysm, diabetes, and trauma. Acupuncture has been widely used to treat ophthalmological diseases especially ophthalmoplegia in China. Many clinical trials indicate that acupuncture may promote the recovery of extraocular muscles in ophthalmoplegia patients. We aim to conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for ophthalmoplegia.

METHODS

We will retrieve the literature from the following electronic databases, by March 31, 2018, such as PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science database, Chinese BioMedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal database, and Wanfang Database. We will also collect clinical trial registries, dissertations, grey literature, reference lists of studies, systematic reviews, and conference abstracts. Two people will review these articles, extract the data information, and assess the quality of studies separately. Data will be synthesized by either fixed-effects or random-effects model regarding to a heterogeneity test. The eyeball movement distance, size of fissure palpebrae, and the reduced degree of strabismus will be assessed as the primary outcomes. The secondary outcomes will be the size of the pupil, main symptom scores, ocular localization analysis, and functional impairment extent and safety. We will use the specific software called RevMan (version 5.3) to perform the meta-analysis.

RESULTS

This study will provide a high-quality synthesis based on current evidence of acupuncture for ophthalmoplegia, especially its impacts on eyeball movement distance, size of fissure palpebrae, the reduced degree of strabismus, size of the pupil, main symptom scores, ocular localization analysis, and functional impairment extent and safety.

EXPECTED CONCLUSION

Our systematic review will provide evidence to determine whether acupuncture is an effective and safe intervention for ophthalmoplegia patients.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

It is not necessary for this systematic review to acquire an ethical approval. This review will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal or conference presentation.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

PROSPERO CRD42018091536.