One study found that six weeks of acupuncture significantly improved language function, quality of life, and neurological deficits in people with speech impairment after stroke. With improvements seen even after six months, acupuncture may be a safe and effective adjunct therapy to help stroke patients regain their voice.
In the acute phase after stroke, approximately one-third of survivors experience post-stroke motor aphasia, an inability to speak or organize muscle movements for language, and 61% A year later, I’m still affected. Impaired language and communication skills have a negative impact on quality of life.
The first-line rehabilitation treatment for motor aphasia after stroke is behavioral speech therapy. In China, acupuncture is regularly recommended as a complementary and alternative therapy for post-stroke aphasia. A new study by researchers at the First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China investigated the effects of acupuncture on language function, quality of life, and neurological deficits in patients with post-stroke motor aphasia.
Researchers enrolled 252 participants (78.6% male) aged 45 to 75 who were diagnosed with aphasia after a first ischemic stroke. According to the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE), patients with aphasia lasting from 15 to 90 days and an aphasia severity score of 0 to 3 are eligible. This shows that it is not that serious. . Participants were randomly assigned to receive manual acupuncture or “sham” acupuncture (using non-meridian acupoints and shallow needle insertion).
Both groups received 30 30-minute sessions, five times a week for six consecutive weeks, combining language training with traditional therapy.Manual acupuncture according to standards Shinnao Kaichao protocol and De Chi sensations evoked.of De Chi In traditional Chinese medicine theory, the sensations considered to be the key to the success of acupuncture are the patient’s subjective sensations and objective body reactions when the needles are inserted into specific acupuncture points; Furthermore, it refers to the acupuncturist’s perception.
The primary endpoints were Western Aphasia Battery Aphasia Quotient (AQ) and Chinese Functional Communication Profile (CFCP) scores at week 6. The AQ is a sensitive, valid, and reliable measure of performance in aphasia, with lower scores (range: 0–100) indicating more severe impairment of language function. The CFCP measures functional communication ability in Chinese, with higher scores (range: 0-250) indicating better ability. Secondary outcomes included assessment of participants’ stroke-specific quality of life and extent of neurological deficits.
In the manual acupuncture group, the mean AQ score at week 6 was 69.66, an average improvement from baseline of 29.60 points, while in the sham acupuncture group it was 61.68, an average improvement of 17.88 points. The manual acupuncture group had a clinically significant increase in AQ score of 7.99 points compared to the sham group. The mean CFCP score at week 6 was 167.60 in the manual acupuncture group and 144.08 in the sham acupuncture group, a mean improvement from baseline of 72.68 and 50.52, respectively. The subject in the manual acupuncture group also showed significant improvement in his AQ and CFCP scores at the end of follow-up after 6 months.
Compared to sham acupuncture, manual acupuncture resulted in significant and sustained improvements in language function, quality of life, and neurological deficits through follow-up 6 months after aphasia onset. Three treatment-related side effects occurred in the manual acupuncture group and three in the sham acupuncture group, but they were temporary and not serious.
To the researchers’ knowledge, their study is the first randomized controlled trial with long-term follow-up to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in patients with motor aphasia after stroke. Examining the reasons for acupuncture’s effectiveness in improving speech disorders, they concluded that 30 treatments provided a “sufficient acupuncture dose” and that the effectiveness was a result of strict adherence to standard treatment protocols. I thought there was.
“Study results confirm that post-stroke motor aphasia is the main symptom affected by acupuncture and indicate that acupuncture may serve as an adjunctive treatment for patients with post-stroke motor aphasia.” the researchers said. “Additionally, the clinical efficacy and safety results provide evidence for policy makers, clinicians, and patients regarding the management of post-stroke aphasia with acupuncture.”
The study was published in the journal JAMA network open.
Source: First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, via Scimex
