Acupuncture in Medicine最新文献

{"title":"Dry needling combined with percutaneous electrical stimulation using a needle-surface configuration for musculoskeletal pain: A systematic review.","authors":"Giorgos Tzigkounakis, Katerina Simati, Manos Stefanakis, Pablo Herrero","doi":"10.1177/09645284261486483","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09645284261486483","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To systematically review the evidence on percutaneous electrical stimulation delivered via a needle-surface electrode configuration for musculoskeletal pain.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>PubMed and Scopus were searched, with additional screening of Google Scholar, from January 2010 to January 2026. Eligible studies included adults with musculoskeletal pain receiving percutaneous electrical stimulation delivered via a needle-surface electrode configuration. Primary outcomes were pain intensity and pain-related disability. Risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool, and certainty of evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria. Due to heterogeneity, a narrative synthesis was used to summarise the findings.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Four randomised controlled trials involving 150 participants were included. All studies examined myofascial neck pain involving upper trapezius myofascial trigger points. Pain generally improved over time in both the intervention and comparator groups. Needle-surface stimulation showed selected short-term advantages over only dry needling, but superiority was not consistent across outcomes or follow-up periods. Disability improved in some trials without clear between-group differences. Certainty of evidence for pain and disability was low.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Percutaneous electrical stimulation delivered via a needle-surface electrode configuration may improve pain-related outcomes in myofascial neck pain, but current evidence does not show consistent superiority over active comparators. Mechanistic and biophysical studies are needed to determine whether the needle-surface configuration produces clinically meaningful differences in current distribution, tissue recruitment and neuromodulatory effects when compared with other electrical stimulation configurations.</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"9645284261486483"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149164579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of electroacupuncture on the LOC103691336-miR-138-5p axis and anti-Müllerian hormone levels in a rat model of polycystic ovarian syndrome.","authors":"Jing Zhou, Yi Wang, Yan Zhao, Ping Yin, Yanling Gao, Guizhi Ma, Xinyi Wu, Sen Guo, Zhihai Hu, Yin Shi","doi":"10.1177/09645284261484973","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09645284261484973","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Electroacupuncture has been shown to effectively reduce anti-Müllerian hormone levels and improve follicular development in polycystic ovary syndrome. However, the mechanism of action is yet to be deciphered. Long noncoding RNAs have been shown to play an important role in polycystic ovary syndrome and function as competing endogenous RNAs to regulate target genes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to observe whether the effect of electroacupuncture on anti-Müllerian hormone involves modulation of the long noncoding RNA LOC103691336.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A polycystic ovary syndrome rat model was established and treated with low-frequency electroacupuncture at CV3 and CV4. Estrous cycle, ovarian morphology, and the levels of anti-Müllerian hormone and testosterone in the serum and ovaries were measured. Follicular granulosa cells of rats in each group were collected for in vitro experiments. High-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics methods were applied to analyze anti-Müllerian hormone-related long noncoding RNAs, and LOC103691336 was identified as the long noncoding RNA most closely related to anti-Müllerian hormone. Silencing of LOC103691336 was applied to observe its effect on the expression of anti-Müllerian hormone. Argonaute 2 RNA immunoprecipitation assays and RNA pulldown were used to observe whether LOC103691336 functions as a miR-138-5p sponge to regulate anti-Müllerian hormone.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Estrus cycle and ovarian morphology were improved by electroacupuncture. Expression levels of anti-Müllerian hormone and testosterone were significantly reduced in ovarian tissues and peripheral serum (<i>P</i> < 0.01 and <i>P</i> < 0.05). High-throughput sequencing and bioinformatic analysis showed a close relationship between LOC103691336 and anti-Müllerian hormone. After silencing LOC103691336 expression, LOC103691336 and anti-Müllerian hormone levels were reduced in rat follicular granulosa cells (<i>P</i> < 0.01). Furthermore, Argonaute 2 RNA immunoprecipitation assay and RNA pulldown results showed that LOC103691336 regulated anti-Müllerian hormone by binding to miR-138-5p. After electroacupuncture, LOC103691336 and anti-Müllerian hormone levels were significantly reduced in follicular granulosa cells (<i>P</i> < 0.01), whereas miR-138-5p expression levels were significantly increased (<i>P</i> < 0.01).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our results demonstrated that the effect of electroacupuncture on anti-Müllerian hormone levels may be mediated by reductions in abnormal LOC103691336 expression levels and increased miR-138-5p levels in this polycystic ovary syndrome rat model.</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"9645284261484973"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149126407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Electroacupuncture for the relief of suboptimally managed pain in ankylosing spondylitis: A single-arm pilot study.","authors":"Wing L Lam, Wing F Yeung, Chak S Lau, Fei Jiang, Haiyong Chen, Lixing Lao","doi":"10.1177/09645284261444761","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284261444761","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), who suffer from inflammatory back pain, spend about two times more on healthcare than the general population. However, current treatments are unsatisfactory. The aim of this single-armed pilot study was to assess the feasibility of using electroacupuncture (EA) to manage AS pain that is not adequately controlled by analgesics. We hypothesized that, after 6 weeks of treatment, at least 10% of the subjects would experience a 30% reduction in their pain severity numerical rating scale (NRS) score when compared to baseline.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty AS subjects who were experiencing moderate to severe pain despite usual care were recruited between March 2016 and August 2017 in Hong Kong, with two patients ultimately dropping out. Semi-standardized EA was performed on the 20 subjects twice a week for 6-10 weeks. Outcome measures were mainly examined at baseline and at weeks 6, 10 and 18. These measures included: pain severity NRS, medication use, Bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index, Bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index, Bath ankylosing spondylitis global index, short-form 36, Bath ankylosing spondylitis metrology index, chest expansion, swollen and painful joint count, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A one-sided exact binomial test showed that at least 10% of the subjects achieved a 30% pain reduction at week 6 (p = 0.002).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>AS pain was decreased after 6 weeks of EA treatment. However, a randomized controlled trial with an adequate sample size is needed to confirm this finding.</p><p><strong>Trial registration number: </strong>NCT02697968 (ClinicalTrials.gov).</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"245-253"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148012776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Electroacupuncture ameliorates ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis by modulating ferroptosis via the SLC7A11/GPX4 axis.","authors":"Chuchu Zhang, Gang Ouyang","doi":"10.1177/09645284261454388","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284261454388","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This aim of the study was to investigate whether electroacupuncture (EA) can mitigate osteoporosis (OP) in an ovariectomy (OVX)-induced rat model by affecting the ferroptosis-related pathway.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Thirty-two 12-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into four groups: CONTROL, SHAM, OVX and EA. We examined the effects of OVX and EA on markers of bone resorption and formation, iron content, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and the expression of ferritin heavy chain 1 (FTH1), solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4). In addition, femoral morphology and immunofluorescence were analysed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The OVX group exhibited a significant increase in bone resorption markers, iron and MDA levels, with a notable decrease in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels, FTH1, SLC7A11 and GPX4 expression, and impaired trabecular architecture. EA significantly reduced bone resorption markers, iron and MDA content while substantially elevating ALP levels and FTH1, SLC7A11 and GPX4 expression. At the same time, EA improved trabecular architecture.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>EA ameliorated OVX-induced OP by decreasing iron accumulation and activating the SLC7A11/GPX4 axis.</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"288-297"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148389634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prediction of acupuncture treatment failure in patients with postherpetic neuralgia: a retrospective observational cohort analysis.","authors":"Suppachai Lawanaskol, Patchara Ruengwongroj, Siranya Paecharoen, Jayanton Patumanond, Prapasri Kulalert, Sombat Muengtaweepongsa","doi":"10.1177/09645284261444375","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284261444375","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a prevalent and painful complication following herpes zoster infection, impacting patient quality of life and posing significant treatment challenges. Current pharmacological approaches often result in adverse effects. The aim of this study was to develop a clinical prediction model for selecting PHN patients for electroacupuncture (EA) treatment and to determine the prognostic outcomes after two sessions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a retrospective observational cohort analysis on adults diagnosed with PHN between 2010 and 2017. All participants had undergone at least two acupuncture sessions. Data analysis included demographic, clinical and treatment variables to identify predictors of treatment outcomes. Treatment success was defined using the numeric rating scale (NRS), with failure characterized by an NRS score >3. Predictive modeling and internal validation employed bootstrap resampling.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 243 patients included in the study, the treatment failure rate was 20.6%. Key predictive factors for treatment outcome were the presence of diabetes mellitus, use of carbamazepine and high initial NRS scores. The accuracy of the prediction model was reflected by an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.80 after the first session and 0.88 following the third session, indicating a robust predictive capability.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In this study, we successfully developed and internally validated a clinical prediction model for EA in PHN patients. We anticipate that this model may guide clinicians in personalized patient care, optimizing the selection process for EA treatment, and predicting treatment response early in the treatment cycle.</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"254-262"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148012843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The ATP-P2X signaling pathway mediates the effect of electroacupuncture on excessive bladder detrusor muscle contraction in a rat model of neurogenic bladder.","authors":"Qiong Liu, Ming Xu, Li-Fen Zhan, Qi-Rui Qu, Li-Ya Tang, Yue Zhuo, Shi-Feng Deng, Hong Zhang, Xia Liu, Kun Ai","doi":"10.1177/09645284261440996","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284261440996","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Neurogenic bladder (NB) is a neurological bladder dysfunction characterized by increased contraction of the detrusor muscle. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-P2X receptor signaling influences muscle contraction. The aim of this study was to determine whether ATP-P2X signaling affects the mechanism by which electroacupuncture (EA) influences excessive detrusor muscle contraction in a rat model of NB.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Forty-eight rats were divided into CON (n = 8), SHAM (n = 8) and MODEL (n = 32) groups. After the latter group underwent model establishment, 24 successfully modeled rats were randomly divided into the NB, pyridoxalphosphate-6-azophenyl-2',4'-disulfonic acid (PPADS; P2X_1/2 receptor antagonist) and EA groups (n = 8 each). The NB model was established using a modified Hassan Shaker spinal cord transection method. One week after EA treatment, urodynamic tests were used to assess bladder function, morphological changes were evaluated in hematoxylin and eosin stained bladder sections, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to measure ATP concentrations, and Western blotting was used to analyze the protein levels of P2X₁, P2X₂, phosphorylated myosin light chain kinase (p-MLCK) and phosphorylated myosin light chain (p-MLC).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>NB treatment led to morphological abnormalities, impaired urodynamics, increased ATP/P2X₁/P2X₂/p-MLC levels (<i>p</i> < 0.01) and decreased p-MLCK protein levels (<i>p</i> < 0.01). EA treatment significantly improved the morphological abnormalities and impaired urodynamics. Compared with NB, both EA and PPADS significantly reduced ATP/P2X1/P2X2/p-MLC levels (<i>p</i> < 0.01) and increased the expression of p-MLCK (<i>p</i> < 0.01).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The ATP-P2X signaling pathway may be involved in the mitigating effect of EA on excessive detrusor contractions in this rat model of NB.</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"280-287"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147866394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Immediate effect of acupuncture on abnormal antagonist activity in a chronic post-stroke patient: a case report.","authors":"Ruka Nobe","doi":"10.1177/09645284261415899","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284261415899","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"298-299"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146096810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of acupuncture, movement therapies and imaging costs among Veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain.","authors":"Stephen Frochen, Stephanie L Taylor, Scott Coggeshall, Claire Chen, Steven B Zeliadt","doi":"10.1177/09645284261453946","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284261453946","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Some complementary and integrative health (CIH) therapies are recommended for the management of chronic musculoskeletal pain, but little research has evaluated how these alternatives affect downstream healthcare utilization, including imaging costs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration electronic health record data, we conducted propensity score modeling, allocating 2,215,231 Veterans with chronic pain using the VA from 2018 to 2022 into two therapy exposure groups - acupuncture with and without movement therapies (yoga or Tai Chi/Qigong) - compared with conventional care, or primary care management alone, to examine differences in imaging costs during a 6-month period following indexing. We calculated the probability of treatment in either exposure group based on demographic and clinical characteristics, and applied a nearest neighbor matching algorithm for subsequent estimation of average treatment effects.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Veterans using acupuncture with or without movement therapies had sizable baseline clinical needs and healthcare utilization. After matching, we found that imaging costs and visits were higher among Veterans using acupuncture with CIH movement therapies (cost difference $140, 95% confidence interval (CI) $97-$183; visit difference 0.37; 95% CI 0.30-0.45) and without CIH movement therapies (cost difference $155, 95% CI $147-$163; visit difference 0.34; 95% CI 0.33-0.35) during the 6-month follow-up period, compared with those using conventional care.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Veterans using acupuncture with or without CIH movement therapies had greater imaging costs than those using conventional care, possibly reflecting higher usage of healthcare among integrative therapy patients. These results also suggest unobserved patterns of comorbidity, recovery or access and/or radiology inefficiencies leading to an imaging loop effect as potential considerations for future investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"263-279"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148410162","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Acupuncture for postoperative weakness of ankle dorsiflexion: a case report.","authors":"Hao Li, Ming-Jie Li, Xin Zhou, Lu Ren","doi":"10.1177/09645284261433569","DOIUrl":"10.1177/09645284261433569","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"300-302"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147759287","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Acupuncture is associated with reduced cholecystectomy rate and preservation of hepatobiliary and renal function in biliary disorders: A propensity score-matched real-world cohort study.","authors":"Chao-Yang Chen, Chung-Kai Hung, He-Yuan Shi, Yu Luo, Chung-Yu Huang, Kuo-Sheng Hung","doi":"10.1177/09645284261484972","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09645284261484972","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To investigate the association between acupuncture and 5-year cholecystectomy rate, alongside hepatorenal function preservation, in a large-scale real-world cohort of patients with biliary disorders.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the TriNetX US Collaborative Network. After 1:1 propensity score matching, 7930 patients who had received manual acupuncture were compared with 7930 matched controls. The primary outcome was 5-year cumulative cholecystectomy rate, assessed by Kaplan-Meier analysis and risk ratio.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After matching, all baseline covariates achieved a standardized mean difference below 0.1. The acupuncture group demonstrated significantly lower 5-year cumulative cholecystectomy rate (7.585% vs 13.454%; risk ratio: 0.564, 95% confidence interval: 0.511-0.622; hazard ratio: 0.525, 95% confidence interval: 0.473-0.582; p < 0.0001). Acupuncture was also associated with significantly lower risk across all seven secondary outcomes, including markers of systemic inflammation, cholestasis, and hepatorenal impairment (all p < 0.0001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In this large-scale propensity score-matched cohort, manual acupuncture was significantly associated with reduced 5-year cholecystectomy rate and preservation of hepatobiliary and renal function in patients with biliary disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":7257,"journal":{"name":"Acupuncture in Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"9645284261484972"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149069095","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}