AUTHOR=Li Xinyu , Zhou Jingpei , He Renxiu , Lian Jiahui , Jia Jie , Hsu Chialin , Yuan Shihua , Chen Zhenhu 

TITLE=A study on the effects of the Qihuang Needle therapy on patients with Parkinson's disease

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.1022057

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2022.1022057

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=Objective
To evaluate the effectiveness of Qihuang needle (QHN) therapy as an adjuvant treatment for Parkinson's disease, and compare the effectiveness of sham acupuncture and QHN therapy.
Design, setting, and participants
This was an 8-week randomized clinical trial (4 weeks of treatment followed by 4 weeks of follow-up). The trial was conducted from January 2021 to July 2022 in outpatient settings at 3 clinical sites in Guangzhou, China. 34 participants, 40 to 80 years old, with PD based on Parkinson's disease were diagnosed according to the diagnostic criteria formulated by the brain bank of the British Parkinson's disease society in 1992.
Interventions
Patients in the treatment and control group both received 6 sessions within four weeks of QHN therapy or SA therapy (twice per week for the first 2 consecutive weeks and once per week for the following 2 consecutive weeks) for 4 weeks. 
Main outcomes and measures
The primary outcome was the change in the Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale-Part III Motor Examination (UPDRS Ⅲ) between baseline and 8 weeks after randomization. Secondary outcome measures included Non-Motor Symptoms Scale for Parkinson’s Disease (NMSS) and Parkinson’s Disease Daily Quality of Life-39 (PDQ-39). In addition, Real-time shear wave elastography（SWE） were assessed at baseline and at the 4-week. 
Results 
A total of 40 participants 40 to 80 years old were enrolled, and 34 were included in the intention-to-treat analyses. Baseline characteristics were comparable across the 2 groups. The mean (SD) change in PD evaluation differed significantly among the 2 groups at 6 weeks after randomization (P < 0.05); the mean (SD) UPDRS Ⅲ decreased in the QHN group, in the sham acupuncture group. A greater reduction of shear wave scoring was observed in the true acupuncture than in the sham acupuncture group.
Conclusions
Compared with the SA group, QHN therapy manifested persisting superiority and clinically relevant benefits for at least 8 weeks in Parkinson's disease, including reducing the Motor and non-motor symptoms and significantly improved muscle stiffness.