Mechanism of Qihuang needle therapy in the management of tic disorders: a clinical trial protocol.

Background: Qihuang needle therapy is a newly developed acupuncture therapy to treat tic disorders in clinical practice. However, the mechanism to reduce tic severity remains unknown. Changes in intestinal flora and circulation metabolites are perhaps the potential pathogenesis of tic disorders.

Case report: Tongdu Xingshen acupuncture for a patient with persistent vegetative state after herpes simplex virus encephalitis.

Introduction: A persistent vegetative state (PVS) can be caused by traumatic or non-traumatic brain injury. PVS is a complex clinical condition with numerous complications. Nursing care, medical treatment, and comprehensive rehabilitation are necessary to improve the outcomes of PVS.

[Effect of acupoint catgut embedding therapy on joint attention and social communication in children with autism spectrum disorder: a randomized controlled trial].

Objective: To compare the clinical effect on the joint attention and social communication in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) between the combined treatment of acupoint catgut embedding therapy with rehabilitation training and the simple application of rehabilitation training.

Methods: A total of 60 children with ASD were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each one. In the control group, the routine ASD rehabilitation training was adopted, including conductive education, speech training and music therapy, once a day.

[Effect of acupoint thread-embedding therapy on the sitting ability of ataxia children with cerebral palsy].

Objective: To investigate the effective of acupoint thread-embedding therapy for ataxia children with cerebral palsy.

Methods: A total of 70 ataxia children with cerebral palsy and a Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM, Dimension B) score of <35 were enrolled and randomly divided into thread-embedding group and control group, with 35 children in each group, and 2 children in the thread-embedding group were lost to follow-up. The children in the control group were given routine rehabilitation treatment, including physical therapy, spleen-strengthening, kidney-nourishing, and Governor Vessel-regulating massage, vibroacoustic therapy, and scalp acupuncture, and those in the thread-embedding group were given thread-embedding therapy at the acupoints of Jianyu (LI15), Jianliao (SJ14), Tianzong (SI11), Tianshu (ST25), and HuatuoJiaji points (C, L and L) in addition to the treatment in the control group, with 6-8 acupoints selected each time, once a week.

[Effects of scalp acupuncture on brain injury in premature infants with different months of age].

Objective: To explore the clinical efficacy differences of scalp acupuncture on brain injury in premature infants with different months of age.

Methods: According to the corrected months of age, 90 cases of premature infants with brain injury were divided into a group A (3 through 6 corrected months of age), a group B (7 through 9 corrected months of age) and group C (10 through 12 corrected months of age), 30 patients in each one. Based on the conventional early intervention, the infants in the group A were treated with scalp acupuncture at , motor area; the infants in the group B were treated with scalp acupuncture at , motor area and foot motor sensory area; the infants in the group C were treated with scalp acupuncture at , motor area, foot motor sensory area and balance area.

[Study of optimal parameters of scalp electroacupuncture for rehabilitation effect on children of cerebral palsy].

Objective: To analyze the effect difference of wave, intensity, time and treatment frequency by orthogonal design so as to explore the optimal parameters of scalp electroacupuncture (EA) for rehabilitation effect on children of cerebral palsy.

Methods: Ninety children of cerebral palsy were assigned into 9 groups by orthogonal design, 10 cases in each one. The acupoints were bilateral excitable area, foot motor sensory area, speech two area, speech three area, balance area, and intelligent nine acupoints, including Shenting (GV 24), Sishencong (EX-HN 1), and bilateral Benshen (GB 13) and Touwei (ST 8).

[Scalp acupuncture for epileptiform discharges of children with cerebral palsy].

Objective: To explore the effect of scalp acupuncture for children with cerebral palsy whose video-electroencephalogram(VEEG) showed epileptiform discharges.

Methods: A total of 184 children with cerebral palsy whose VEEG showed epileptiform discharges or those combined with epilepsy were randomly assigned into a combination group (99 cases) and a rehabilitation group (85 cases). All the cases were treated with the original antiepileptic drugs.

[Acupuncture based on nourishing spleen and kidney and dredging the governor vessel for motor function and ADL in children with spastic cerebral palsy].

Objective: To compare the effects of acupuncture based on nourishing spleen and kidney and dre-dging the governor vessel (GV) combined with rehabilitation and simple rehabilitation for children with spastic cere-bral palsy.

Methods: One hundred and twenty patients were randomly assigned into an observation group and a control group, 60 cases in each one. Physicotherapeutics and hand function training were used in the control group for 3 sessions with 20 d at the interval, 20 times as one session, once a day.

[Analysis on factors for effects of motor function of cerebral palsy children assisted by acupuncture-Retrospective analysis with 520 cases attached].

Objective: To analyze the effects of motor function of cerebral palsy children by the adjuvant therapy of acupuncture and its factors retrospectively.

Methods: Five hundred and twenty cerebral palsy children in hospital (from January 2005 to December 2014) who meet the criteria were selected through Doctor Workstation of our hospital. The cases were divided into groups according to the type of cerebral palsy, gestational age, complication, treatment time and age.

[Impacts on adductor muscle tension in children of spasmodic cerebral palsy treated with acupuncture at the three-spasm-needle therapy].

Objective: To explore the effective therapeutic method for reducing adductor muscle tension in the children of spasmodic cerebral palsy.

Methods: One hundred and forty cases of spasmodic cerebral palsy met the inclusive criteria were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 70 cases in each one. In the control group, the conventional physical therapies (Bobath therapy and lower extremities therapy) and scalp acupuncture (seven-intelligent needles, motor area, sensory area, foot-motor-sensory area and balance area) were adopted.

[Treatment of autism with scalp acupunctur].

Objective: To verify the efficacy on autism treated with scalp acupuncture for regaining the consciousness and opening the orifice in children.

Methods: Seventy cases of child autism were divided into an observation group (30 cases) and a control group (40 cases). In observation group, the cases were treated with scalp acupuncture for regaining the consciousness and opening the orifice, in combination with music therapy and structure education method.

[Progress in researches on the specificity of acupoints].

In the present paper, the authors introduce the development of researches on the specificity of acupoints in morphological structure (nerves, blood vessels, musculotendons, connective tissues, etc), biophysical characteristics (electricity, sonics, photology, thermology, electromagnetism), pathological response, and effectiveness. However, the aforementioned researches are basically at the stage of phenomenon-observation, some key factors influencing acupoint specificity and the underlying mechanisms have no definite or lack convincing results. Further studies should aim at those acupoints for some effective diseases (or symptoms) of acupuncture by using multiple modern scientific techniques.