title: Acupuncture for the treatment of chronic painful peripheral diabetic neuropathy: a long-term study.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Manchester Royal Infirmary, University of Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: B B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Abuaisha
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Costanzi
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Boulton
mesh_terms: D015667:Acupuncture Analgesia; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications; D003929:Diabetic Neuropathies / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D059408:Pain Management; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin