Treatment of stroke with "five-center needling": clinical observation of 78 cases.

Objective: To observe the efficacy of "five center needling" in the management of stroke.

Method: Seventy-eight patients suffering stroke were divided into 2 groups to receive either routine acupuncture (control group, n=38) treatment or "five-center needing" therapy besides the routine treatment (treatment group, n=40). The curative effect between the 2 groups was compared after 30 days treatment.

Result: No significant differences were noted between the 2 groups in terms of the curative effect in general (P>0.05). But "five-center needling" showed better effect in treating the syndromes of wind-fire stirring up the orifices and phlegm stagnation leading to mental disorder, and was more effective in the management of hemorrhagic stroke than in ischemic stroke, and in treating the left-side cerebral injuries than in treating those on right side (P<0.05).