Research status and prospects of acupuncture for autism spectrum disorders
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder and has a predilection for children. Its symptoms, such as lifelong social communication deficits and repetitive sensory-motor behaviors, put a huge burden on the patient’s family and society. Currently, there is no cure for ASD, and so...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.942069/full |
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| author | Xiang Li Ji-Cheng Li Ji-Cheng Li Ji-Cheng Li Ji-Cheng Li Qi-Qi Lu Fan Zhang Shan-Qiang Zhang Shan-Qiang Zhang Shan-Qiang Zhang |
| author_facet | Xiang Li Ji-Cheng Li Ji-Cheng Li Ji-Cheng Li Ji-Cheng Li Qi-Qi Lu Fan Zhang Shan-Qiang Zhang Shan-Qiang Zhang Shan-Qiang Zhang |
| author_sort | Xiang Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder and has a predilection for children. Its symptoms, such as lifelong social communication deficits and repetitive sensory-motor behaviors, put a huge burden on the patient’s family and society. Currently, there is no cure for ASD, and some medications that can improve its symptoms are often accompanied by adverse effects. Among many complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, acupuncture has shown promising application potential, but after years of practice, it has not been recognized as the preferred CAM therapy for ASD. Therefore, we analyzed and discussed the clinical study reports of acupuncture in the treatment of ASD in the past 15 years from the aspects of study subjects, group setting, intervention modalities, acupoint selection, outcome evaluation, and safety. The data accumulated at present are not sufficient to support the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture in ASD and to justify its use in clinical practice. They provide, however, initial evidence of possible effectiveness and encourage further investigation in order to reach firm conclusions. Based on a comprehensive analysis, we believed that following the Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) and Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT), screening the optimal combination of acupoints applying a rigorous scientific study design, and performing the related functional experiments may be the effective way to convincingly test the hypothesis that acupuncture may be beneficial in ASD patients. The significance of this review is to provide a reference for researchers to carry out high-quality clinical trials of acupuncture in the treatment of ASD from the perspective of the combination of modern medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:38:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6a578bd7a6d94d46a66ba393a7d0ecd2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:38:23Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-6a578bd7a6d94d46a66ba393a7d0ecd22023-05-25T04:59:44ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402023-05-011410.3389/fpsyt.2023.942069942069Research status and prospects of acupuncture for autism spectrum disordersXiang Li0Ji-Cheng Li1Ji-Cheng Li2Ji-Cheng Li3Ji-Cheng Li4Qi-Qi Lu5Fan Zhang6Shan-Qiang Zhang7Shan-Qiang Zhang8Shan-Qiang Zhang9Clinical Research Institute, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, ChinaClinical Research Institute, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Anatomy, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, ChinaMedical Research Center, Yuebei People’s Hospital, Shantou University Medical College, Shaoguan, ChinaInstitute of Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, ChinaMedical Research Center, Yuebei People’s Hospital, Shantou University Medical College, Shaoguan, ChinaMedical Research Center, Yuebei People’s Hospital, Shantou University Medical College, Shaoguan, ChinaClinical Research Institute, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, ChinaDepartment of Anatomy, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, ChinaMedical Research Center, Yuebei People’s Hospital, Shantou University Medical College, Shaoguan, ChinaAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder and has a predilection for children. Its symptoms, such as lifelong social communication deficits and repetitive sensory-motor behaviors, put a huge burden on the patient’s family and society. Currently, there is no cure for ASD, and some medications that can improve its symptoms are often accompanied by adverse effects. Among many complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, acupuncture has shown promising application potential, but after years of practice, it has not been recognized as the preferred CAM therapy for ASD. Therefore, we analyzed and discussed the clinical study reports of acupuncture in the treatment of ASD in the past 15 years from the aspects of study subjects, group setting, intervention modalities, acupoint selection, outcome evaluation, and safety. The data accumulated at present are not sufficient to support the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture in ASD and to justify its use in clinical practice. They provide, however, initial evidence of possible effectiveness and encourage further investigation in order to reach firm conclusions. Based on a comprehensive analysis, we believed that following the Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) and Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT), screening the optimal combination of acupoints applying a rigorous scientific study design, and performing the related functional experiments may be the effective way to convincingly test the hypothesis that acupuncture may be beneficial in ASD patients. The significance of this review is to provide a reference for researchers to carry out high-quality clinical trials of acupuncture in the treatment of ASD from the perspective of the combination of modern medicine and traditional Chinese medicine.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.942069/fullautism spectrum disordertraditional Chinese medicineclinical trialacupuncturemeridian |
| spellingShingle | Xiang Li Ji-Cheng Li Ji-Cheng Li Ji-Cheng Li Ji-Cheng Li Qi-Qi Lu Fan Zhang Shan-Qiang Zhang Shan-Qiang Zhang Shan-Qiang Zhang Research status and prospects of acupuncture for autism spectrum disorders Frontiers in Psychiatry autism spectrum disorder traditional Chinese medicine clinical trial acupuncture meridian |
| title | Research status and prospects of acupuncture for autism spectrum disorders |
| title_full | Research status and prospects of acupuncture for autism spectrum disorders |
| title_fullStr | Research status and prospects of acupuncture for autism spectrum disorders |
| title_full_unstemmed | Research status and prospects of acupuncture for autism spectrum disorders |
| title_short | Research status and prospects of acupuncture for autism spectrum disorders |
| title_sort | research status and prospects of acupuncture for autism spectrum disorders |
| topic | autism spectrum disorder traditional Chinese medicine clinical trial acupuncture meridian |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.942069/full |
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