Author: Musil F1, Pokladnikova J1,2, Pavelek Z3, Wang B4, Guan X4, Valis M3
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>Czech-Chinese Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic.
<sup>2</sup>Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Kralove, Charles University, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic.
<sup>3</sup>Department of Neurology, University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic.
<sup>4</sup>Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Conference/Journal: Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat.
Date published: 2018 May 10
Other:
Volume ID: 14 , Pages: 1221-1228 , Special Notes: doi: 10.2147/NDT.S155119. eCollection 2018. , Word Count: 244
Background: Adjuvant acupuncture for the symptomatic treatment of migraine reduces the frequency of headaches and may be at least similarly effective to treatment with prophylactic drugs.
Methods: This article describes an open-label randomized controlled clinical trial with two groups: the intervention group (n=42) and the waiting-list control group (n=44). This study occurred at the Czech-Chinese Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine at the University Hospital Hradec Kralove between October 2015 and April 2017.
Results: After 12 weeks of acupuncture, the number of migraine days was reduced by 5.5 and 2.0 days in the acupuncture and the waiting-list control groups, respectively, with a statistically significant inter-group difference of 2.0 migraine days (95% CI: -4 to -1). A significantly greater reduction in the number of migraine days per 4 weeks was reached at the end of the 6-month follow-up period in the acupuncture vs. control groups (Δ -4.0; 95% CI: -6 to -2). A statistically significant difference was observed in the number of responders to treatment (response defined as at least a 50% reduction in average monthly migraine day frequency) in the acupuncture vs waiting-list control groups (50% vs 27%; p<0.05) at the end of the intervention. A significantly greater percentage of responders to treatment was noted in the intervention vs control groups at the 6-month follow-up (81% vs 36%; p<0.001).
Conclusion: Acupuncture can reduce symptoms and medication use, both short term and long term, as an adjuvant treatment in migraine prophylaxis in Czech patients.
KEYWORDS: Traditional Chinese medicine; acupuncture; effectiveness; migraine; prophylaxis; treatment
PMID: 29785113 PMCID: PMC5955045 DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S155119