Adjuvant therapy of acupuncture for elderly patients of primary osteoporosis with intestinal dysfunction: a randomized controlled trial / 中国针灸

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effects of acupuncture on bone mineral density (BMD), bone metabolism and intestinal function in elderly patients of primary osteoporosis with intestinal dysfunction.@*METHODS@#A total of 128 elderly patients of primary osteoporosis with intestinal dysfunction were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 64 cases in each group. Patients in the control group were treated with oral administration of vitamin D calcium chewable tablets (0.6 g, once a day) and calcitriol capsules (0.25 μg, three times a day); the treatment was given for 6 months. On the basis of the treatment in the control group, patients in the observation group were additionally treated with acupuncture at Shenshu (BL 23), Mingmen (GV 4), Pishu (BL 20), Dachangshu (BL 25), Tianshu (ST 25) and Zusanli (ST 36), etc. for 30 min each time, once a day. After 1-week treatment, the patients took a rest for 2 days; the treatment was given for 6 months. Before and after treatment, the BMD of lumbar spine, femoral neck and femoral trochanter was detected by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and the serum levels of bone alkaline phosphatase (NBAP), osteocalcin (OC), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and calcitonin (CT) were detected by ELISA method. The primary symptom scores of intestinal function, serum diamine oxidase (DAO) and D-lactic acid (D-Lac) levels were compared between the two groups before and after treatment, and the clinical efficacy of the two groups was evaluated.@*RESULTS@#The total effective rate was 85.9% (55/64) in the observation group, which was higher than 71.9% (46/64) in the control group (<0.05). After treatment, BMD were increased (<0.05), and serum bone metabolism indexes were improved in the two groups (<0.05); the BMD and serum bone metabolism indexes in the observation group were better than those in the control group (<0.05). After treatment, the primary symptom scores of intestinal function, serum DAO and D-Lac levels in the observation group were decreased (<0.05), and the indexes in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#The adjuvant therapy of acupuncture could increase BMD, improve bone metabolism and regulate intestinal function in elderly patients of primary osteoporosis with intestinal dysfunction.