A new study has been published. journal American Medical Association Acupuncture, when used in combination with standard anti-Parkinson’s medication, has been shown to significantly improve sleep quality and overall quality of life in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that is often accompanied by a worsening of many symptoms, including poor sleep quality. This sleep disturbance can severely impact a patient’s quality of life and may accelerate the worsening of symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease. Current treatments for sleep problems in Parkinson’s patients are limited, but recent updates on acupuncture have identified it as a promising complementary therapy.
The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of real acupuncture (RA) and sham acupuncture (SA) for improving sleep quality in PD patients. The study by Mingyue Yan and team provided strong clinical evidence for whether acupuncture could be a potential add-on to conventional PD treatment.
This single-center randomized clinical trial was conducted from February 18, 2022 to February 18, 2023 in patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Participants with Parkinson’s disease and sleep-related complaints were randomly assigned to receive real or sham acupuncture treatment for 4 weeks. A total of 83 patients were enrolled, and 78 completed the intervention and were included in the final analysis. The primary efficacy measure was the change in Parkinson’s Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS) scores. These scores were recorded at three key time points: baseline, 4 weeks after treatment, and 8 weeks of follow-up.
The study found that both real and simulated acupuncture led to increases in PDSS scores and improved sleep quality. This improvement was significantly greater in the group that received real acupuncture. Additionally, patients in the RA group experienced an average increase in PDSS scores of 29.65 points from baseline, compared with an increase of 10.47 points in the SA group. This significant difference was seen both at the end of the 4-week treatment period and at the 8-week follow-up, suggesting that the benefits of acupuncture are not only immediate but also sustained. Overall, the results of this study provide strong evidence that acupuncture can be a beneficial adjunct therapy to improve sleep quality and quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
sauce:
Yan, M., Fan, J., Liu, X., Li, Y., Wang, Y., Tan, W., Chen, Y., He, J., & Zhuang, L. (2024). Acupuncture and sleep quality in patients with Parkinson’s disease. JAMA Network Open (Vol. 7, Issue 6, p. e2417862). American Medical Association (AMA). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.17862
