Observations on the Therapeutic Effect of Electrothermal Acupuncture on Ankylosing Spondylitis and Its Impact on IL-1 and IL-6 / 上海针灸杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of electrothermal acupuncture in treating ankylosing spondylitis.Method Sixty patients were randomly allocated to treatment and controlgroups, 30 cases each.The treatment group received electrothermal acupuncture and the control group took methotrexate plus sulfasalazine.The extent of chestexpansion, the severity of sacroiliac joint tenderness, the number of tender joints and morning stiffness time were examined,Schober's testscores at different time points were recorded and interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) contents were measured before and after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment.Result In the treatment group, there were statistically significant differences in the extent of chestexpansion, the severity of sacroiliacjoint tenderness, the number of tender joints, morning stiffness time andSchober's testscores after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment compared with before treatment (P0.05). ConclusionElectrothermal acupuncture has a marked therapeutic effect onankylosing spondylitisand is of high safety.The mechanism of electrothermal acupuncture treatment forankylosing spondylitismay be related to its regulating IL-1 and IL-6 levels in the body.