Carthami-Semen acupuncture point injection for XXXX : a pilot, randomised, double-blind, controlled trial.

@entity4361 @entity10 @entity2794
OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to examine the possibility of Carthami-Semen (CS, Safflower seed) acupuncture point injection as a new promising treatment for @entity2794 ( @entity2794 ). METHODS: A total of 40 subjects with @entity2794 were recruited and randomised to a CS acupuncture point injection group or a @entity4361 ( @entity4361 ) acupuncture point injection group. Acupuncture point injections were applied twice a week during 4 weeks to the bilateral Fengchi (GB20), Jianjing (GB21) and Taiyang (EX-HN5) acupoints with CS extract or @entity4361 . OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measure was @entity10 -related quality of life (QoL), assessed using the @entity10 ( @entity10 ). Secondary outcome measures were the changes in the number of @entity10 -free days and health status as assessed with the Short Form (36) Health Survey (SF-36). RESULTS: @entity10 scores decreased by 14.9 points in the CS acupuncture point injection group compared with 7.9 points in the @entity4361 acupuncture point injection group (p=0.013). @entity10 -free days increased by 32.6% in the CS acupuncture point injection group compared with 17.4% in the @entity4361 acupuncture point injection group (p=0.045). There were significant increases in SF-36 scores compared with baseline in both groups, but the mean improvement was greater in the CS acupuncture point injection group. No serious adverse events (AEs) were reported. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that the CS acupuncture point injection could be a new safe and promising treatment for @entity2794 . A larger and long-term follow-up trial is needed to determine more definitely the efficacy of CS acupuncture point injection and to elucidate how long the effect lasts.
