RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the treatment effect of acupuncture on patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN) by case-control longitudinal blinded study.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty ITN patients and 30 healthy subjects were included. The ITN patients were randomly assigned to acupuncture group (15 cases), sham-acupuncture group (15 cases) and carbamazepine group (30 cases), respectively. Clinical orofacial evaluation (including pain intensity and medication doses), research diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorders (RDC/TMD) and Helkimo indexes (for functional evaluation of the masticatory system), and quantitative sensory testing for sensory thresholds (gustative, olfactory, cold, warm, touch, vibration and superficial and deep pain) were evaluated before treatment, immediately after treatment, and 6 months after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mean pain intensity by the Visual Analogue Scale only decreased in the acupuncture group at the last evaluation (P=0.012). Patients in the sham-acupuncture group had an increase in carbamazepine doses according to the prescriptions (P<0.01). There was a reduction in secondary myofascial pain and mandibular limitations at the acupuncture and sham-acupuncture groups, however only the acupuncture group kept the changes after 6 months (P<0.01, P=0.023). There was a decrease in mechanical thresholds in the acupuncture group (tactile, P<0.01; vibration, P=0.027) and an increase in deep pain thresholds in both acupuncture and sham-acupuncture groups (P=0.013).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Acupuncture can be an option in the treatment of ITN due to its analgesic effect in both ITN and secondary myofascial pain associated with it.</p>
RESUMO
A acupuntura está cada vez mais em evidência, além de ser uma especialidade em ascensão tanto entre os estudantes de medicina, como entre os médicos que buscam a sua especialização, ganhou destaque da Associação Médica Britânica que advogou a sua aprovação perante a comunidade...
Acupuncture has been put in evidence more recently. It represents an ascending practice among under-graduated medical students, as well as among graduated physicians in search for their specialization. Recently, acupuncture won BMA approval, which not only recommended NHS to accept acupuncture to the chronic...
Assuntos
Acupuntura , Medicina Baseada em EvidênciasRESUMO
Uma das mais antigas modalidades de terapêutica, acupuntura faz parte da Medicina Tradicional Chinesa. Baseada principalmente em um antigo pensamento filosófico chinês e na observação da ocorrência de fenômenos da natureza. Medicina Tradicional Chinesa possui uma fisiopatologia peculiar, um sistema de diagnóstico complicado baseado em exame de uma fisiopatologia peculiar...
One of the most ancient therapeutic maneuvers, acupuncture is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Based in ancient philosophic thinking and observation of naturally complicated diagnosis system based on examination of pulse, tongue and observation of patients'behavior and attitudes...