Scalp acupuncture effect on language development in children with autism: a pilot study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests in delays in social interaction, language used in social communication, and symbolic or imaginative play, with an onset prior to age 3 years. Language therapy (LT) for children with autism is the main form of rehabilitation, because it emphasizes its major presenting symptom (i.e., language impairment). Scalp acupuncture (scalp AP) is a modality based on the physiologic function of different brain areas, where different scalp zones are stimulated with needles so as to stimulate the reflexively related nervous tissue. This study aimed to evaluate the role of scalp AP as a complementary modality to LT in rehabilitation of children with autism.

SUBJECTS AND DESIGN: The study involved 20 children (divided into 2 equal groups: A and B), diagnosed as autistic according to DSM IV classification. Their ages ranged between 4 and 7 years old. All subjects underwent LT twice weekly, aiming at stimulation of cognitive and verbal abilities. Group B only was subjected to scalp AP sessions--twice weekly--as a rehabilitation complementary tool during the 9-month period of the study. The acupoints used were: Du 20, 26, GV17; three temple needles; and Yamamoto's New Scalp Acupuncture cerebrum and aphasia points (acupuncture needles 0.3 x 30 mm). A language test was performed before and after therapy to monitor cognition and expression (an Arabic test was included). 

RESULTS: Both groups, whose mean age range was 5.5 years+/-1.22 years, showed a significant improvement in cognitive and expressive language skills pre- and post-therapy, which was highly significant among group B children treated with scalp AP (attention 2.8+/-0.8 in group A versus 3.5+/-0.8 in group B; receptive semantics were 7+/-3.8 in group A versus 9.4+/-3.1 in group B). Expressive semantics significantly improved in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Scalp AP is a safe complementary modality when combined with LT and has a significantly positive effect on language development in children with autism.

 J Altern Complement Med. 2008 Mar;14(2):109-14Allam H, ElDine NG, Helmy G.

SourceComplementary Medicine Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt. hematallam@yahoo.com

Randomized controlled trial of electro-acupuncture for autism spectrum disorder.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy, safety, and compliance of short-term electro-acupuncture for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

DESIGN: Randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, clinical trial.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Children with ASD were randomly assigned to an electro-acupuncture (EA) group (n=30) or a sham electro-acupuncture (SEA) group (n=25) matched by age and severity of autism. The EA group received electro-acupuncture for selected acupoints while the SEA group received sham electro-acupuncture to sham acupoints. A total of 12 EA and SEA sessions over four weeks were given. Primary outcome measures included Functional Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM), Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI), Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised (Leiter-R), and Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) scale. Secondary outcome measures consisted of Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC), Ritvo-Freeman Real Life Scale (RFRLS), Reynell Developmental Language Scale (RDLS), and a standardized parental report. Data were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney test.

RESULTS: There were significant improvements in the language comprehension domain of WeeFIM (p=0.02), self-care caregiver assistant domain of PEDI (p=0.028), and CGI-I (p=0.003) in the EA group compared to the SEA group. As for the parental report, the EA group also showed significantly better social initiation (p=0.01), receptive language (p=0.006), motor skills (p=0.034), coordination (p=0.07), and attention span (p=0.003). More than 70 percent of children with ASD adapted to acupuncture easily, while eight percent had poor acupuncture compliance. Mild side effects of minor superficial bleeding or irritability during acupuncture were observed.

CONCLUSION: A short, four-week (12 sessions) course of electro-acupuncture is useful to improve specific functions in children with ASD, especially for language comprehension and self-care ability.

Altern Med Rev. 2010 Jul;15(2):136-46.Wong VC, Chen WX.

SourceDepartment of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. vcnwong@hku.hk

Acupressure versus oxybutinin in the treatment of enuresis.

Abstract

We aimed to assess the efficacy of acupressure for treating nocturnal enuresis, compared with oxybutinin. Acupressure was administered to 12 patients by their parents, who had been taught the technique. Pressure was applied at acupuncture points Gv4, Gv15, Gv20, B23, B28, B32, H7, H9, St36, Sp4, Sp6, Sp12, Ren2, Ren3, Ren6, K3 and K5. Twelve control patients received 0.4 mg/kg oxybutinin. Parents were asked to record incidences of bed-wetting and patients and/or parents completed a questionnaire 15 days and 1, 3 and 6 months after the start of treatment. Complete and partial responses after 6 months of treatment were seen in 83.3% and 16.7%, respectively, of patients treated with acupressure, and in 58.3% and 33.3%, respectively, of children who received oxybutinin. In conclusion, nocturnal enuresis can be partially treated by oxybutinin but acupressure could be an alternative non-drug therapy. Acupressure has the advantages of being non-invasive, painless and cost-effective.

J Int Med Res. 2003 Nov-Dec;31(6):552-6.Yuksek MS, Erdem AF, Atalay C, Demirel A.

SourceDepartment of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation, School of Medicine, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey. yuksek@hotmail.com

Laser acupuncture therapy for primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis.

PURPOSE: Monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis is the nighttime bed-wetting that occurs among children without lower urinary tract symptoms or bladder dysfunction, and affects a considerable part of the population. In our study the effect of laser acupuncture therapy on patients with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis was evaluated in a prospective, randomized, placebo controlled, single-blind study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 91 children with a mean age of 8.6 years who presented to our outpatient clinic with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis and had not received any medical therapy were included in the study. The children were randomized into 2 groups. In group 1 laser acupuncture was performed 3 times a week for 4 weeks, whereas the same program via a nonlaser light to the same points was performed on the children in group 2 (placebo group). The number of weekly bed-wetting episodes before therapy was recorded, and the children were reevaluated 15, 30, 90 and 180 days after treatment.

RESULTS: The mean number of bed-wetting episodes was 1.7 per week 6 months after laser therapy. In the placebo group the mean number of weekly bed-wetting episodes was 3.1. Laser acupuncture therapy was significantly more beneficial compared to placebo in terms of complete dryness, partial improvement and a decrease in the mean number of weekly bed-wetting episodes.

CONCLUSIONS: Laser acupuncture therapy, a noninvasive, painless, short-term therapy with a low cost, can be considered as an alternative therapy for patients with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis.

 J Urol. 2011 May;185(5):1852-6. Epub 2011 Mar 21.Karaman MI, Koca O, Küçük EV, Oztürk M, Güneş M, Kaya C.Department of Urology, Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.



Adjunctive Effect of Acupuncture to Refractive Correction on Anisometropic Amblyopia One-Year Results of a Randomized Crossover Trial.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the safety and adjunctive effect of acupuncture added to refractive correction for anisometropic amblyopia in younger children.

DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, controlled, crossover trial.

PARTICIPANTS: We included 83 children aged 3 to <7 years with untreated anisometropic amblyopia and baseline best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/40 to 20/200 in the amblyopic eye.

METHODS: Participants were randomized to receive spectacles alone (group 1; n = 42) or spectacles + acupuncture (group 2; n = 41) for 15 weeks, and were then crossed over to receive the other regimen for another 15 weeks. The BCVA in both eyes was measured at baseline and every 5 (±1) weeks for the initial 45 weeks and at 60 (±1) weeks.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: BCVA in the amblyopic eye at 15, 30, and 60 weeks.

RESULTS: The mean baseline BCVA in the amblyopic eye was 0.50 and 0.49 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution logMAR in groups 1 and 2, respectively. After 15 weeks of treatment, the BCVA had improved by a mean of 2.2 lines in group 1 and 2.9 lines in group 2. The mean difference in BCVA between groups was 0.77 lines (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.29-1.3; P = 0.0020) with baseline adjustment. BCVA of ≤0.1 logMAR was achieved in 14.6% of the patients in group 1 and 57.5% in group 2 (P<0.00010). After the regimens were crossed over at 30 weeks, group 1 had a mean of 1.2 (95% CI, 0.98-1.48; P = 2.0 × 10(-12)) lines additional improvement from the 15-week BCVA, whereas in group 2 the mean improvement was 0.4 (95% CI, 0.19-0.63; P = 0.0010) lines. The proportions of responders, resolution, and participants achieving a BCVA of ≤0.1 logMAR at 30 weeks were similar between groups. After completion of acupuncture, only 1 participant had >1 line of VA decrease to 60 weeks. Acupuncture was well-tolerated by all children, and no severe adverse effect was encountered.

CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture is a potentially useful complementary treatment modality that may provide sustainable adjunctive effect to refractive correction for anisometropic amblyopia in young children. Further large-scale studies seem warranted.

Ophthalmology. 2011 Apr 2. [Epub ahead of print]Lam DS, Zhao J, Chen LJ, Wang Y, Zheng C, Lin Q, Rao SK, Fan DS, Zhang M, Leung PC, Ritch R.

SourceDepartment of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Joint Shantou International Eye Center of Shantou University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shantou, China; Institute of Chinese Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.