ABSTRACT
Objective: To summarize the clinical application patterns in acupuncture-moxibustion treatment of AD by reviewing the clinical literatures on acupuncture-moxibustion for Alzheimer disease (AD) published between January 2009 and December 2019. Methods: China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Academic Journal Full-text Database (Wanfang), Chongqing VIP Database (CQVIP), Chinese Medicine Acupuncture-moxibustion Information Database, PubMed Medical Data Retrieval Service System, Springer Database and Ovid Technologies (OVID) were retrieved to screen clinical studies of acupuncture-moxibustion treatment of AD according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria to conduct quantitative, clustering and association analyses. Results: In acupuncture-moxibustion treatment of AD, the frequently used points were Baihui (GV 20), Zusanli (ST 36), Sishencong (EX-HN 1), Taixi (KI 3), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), and Neiguan (PC 6) in the descending order. Regarding meridians, the most frequently used one was the Governor Vessel, followed by the Stomach Meridian of Foot Yangming and Gallbladder Meridian of Foot Shaoyang. From the perspective of body regions, the points in the head-face region and the lower-limb region had the highest frequencies, followed by the upper-limb, back and chest-abdomen regions. The point group, Baihui (GV 20) and Sishencong (EX-HN 1)-Neiguan (PC 6)-Sanyinjiao (SP 6), showed the most significant association, and the group winning the second place was Baihui (GV 20) and Sishencong (EX-HN 1)-Neiguan (PC 6)- Zusanli (ST 36). The clustering analysis showed that the commonly used point pairs included Zusanli (ST 36)-Sishencong (EX-HN 1) and Taixi (KI 3)-Sanyinjiao (SP 6), which were closely associated with Baihui (GV 20). By analyzing the three commonly used acupuncture-moxibustion methods, acupuncture plus medication was found achieving the best result in the total effective rate and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score, followed by monotherapy of electroacupuncture therapy, and these two methods were superior to acupuncture alone (P<0.05); the scores of MMSE, Alzheimer disease assessment scale-cognitive section (ADAS-cog) and activity of daily living scale (ADL) showed significant improvements after treatment (all P<0.01). Conclusion: In the acupuncture-moxibustion prescriptions for AD, the main points are Baihui (GV 20), Sishencong (EX-HN 1), Neiguan (PC 6), Zusanli (ST 36), Sanyinjiao (SP 6) and Taixi (KI 3). Monotherapy of acupuncture has the highest frequency amongst the treatment methods, but its effective rate is lower than that of acupuncture plus medication and monotherapy of electroacupuncture.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the clinical regularities in acupuncture-moxibustion treatment of cancer pain by reviewing the relevant studies published between 1985 and 2017.Methods:Based on the Chinese Medicine Acupuncture-moxibustion Information Database,quantitative analysis,correlation analysis and Chi-square test were applied to analyze the commonly used acupoints,meridian affiliations and body region distributions,commonly used methods and acupoint correlations,treatment method correlations,the efficacy of acupuncture-moxibustion plus the three-step analgesic ladder for cancer pain,and indicators.Results:Zusanli (ST 36),Ashi point and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) ranked the top on the list of frequency;points from Bladder Meridian of Foot Taiyang and Stomach Meridian of Foot Yangming were often used;points from the lower limbs and back had high frequencies.The most commonly used treatment method was acupuncture-moxibustion plus medication.Acupuncture-moxibustion plus the three-step analgesic ladder showed certain advantage compared with the two methods used separately,and among the integrated methods,acupoint application plus the three-step analgesic ladder produced the most significant efficacy.It took (44.77±55.54) min for the analgesic effect to act and the effect lasted for (12.81±14.59) h.Numerical rating scale (NRS),visual analog scale (VAS) and Karnofsky performance status (KPS) scores all showed significant changes after interventions (all P＜0.01);there was no significant change in the score of quality of life (QOL) after interventions (P＞0.05).Conclusion:Zusanli (ST 36),Ashi point and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) are commonly selected in acupuncture-moxibustion treatment of cancer pain;acupuncture and acupoint application are often used;acupuncture-moxibustion plus the three-step analgesic ladder can boost the treatment efficacy.