Abstract
Forty-six diabetic patients with chronic painful peripheral neuropathy were treated
with acupuncture analgesia to determine its efficacy and long-term effectiveness.
Twenty-nine (63%) patients were already on standard medical treatment for painful
neuropathy. Patients initially received up to six courses of classical acupuncture
analgesia over a period of 10 weeks, using traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture
points. Forty-four patients completed the study with 34 (77%) showing significant
improvement in their primary and/or secondary symptoms (P<0.01). These patients were followed up for a period of 18–52 weeks with 67% were
able to stop or reduce their medications significantly. During the follow-up period
only eight (24%) patients required further acupuncture treatment. Although 34 (77%)
patients noted significant improvement in their symptoms, only seven (21%) noted that
their symptoms cleared completely. All the patients but one finished the full course
of acupuncture treatment without reported or observed side effects. There were no
significant changes either in the peripheral neurological examination scores, VPT
or in HbA1c during the course of treatment. These data suggest that acupuncture is
a safe and effective therapy for the long-term management of painful diabetic neuropathy,
although its mechanism of action remains speculative.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
November 25,
1997
Received in revised form:
November 12,
1997
Received:
July 3,
1997
Identification
Copyright
© 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
