Randomized controlled trial of acupuncture versus sham acupuncture in autism spectrum disorder
Virginia Chun-Nei Wong1, Jie-Guang Sun
1Division of Child Neurology/Developmental Pediatrics/Neurohabilitation, Department of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. vcnwong@hku.hk
Insights
Acupuncture shows promise for improving developmental and behavioral aspects in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While improvements were noted in both groups, the treatment group experienced greater gains, particularly in self-care and cognition.
Area of Science:
- Integrative Medicine
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neurology
Background:
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents complex developmental and behavioral challenges.
- Exploring complementary therapies like acupuncture is crucial for managing ASD symptoms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of tongue acupuncture compared to sham acupuncture in children with ASD.
- To assess acupuncture's impact on various developmental and behavioral domains.
Main Methods:
- A single-blind randomized controlled trial involving 50 children with ASD.
- Treatment group received 40 sessions of tongue acupuncture over 8 weeks.
- Control group received sham tongue acupuncture on nonacupoints.
Main Results:
- Both groups showed improvements across multiple developmental and behavioral measures.
- The treatment group demonstrated greater improvements in areas like eye-hand coordination, sensory-motor skills, and language.
- Statistically significant improvements were observed in the self-care and cognition domains of the Functional Independence Measure for children in the treatment group.
Conclusions:
- A short course of acupuncture demonstrated efficacy in enhancing developmental and behavioral aspects of children with ASD.
- Further research is warranted to explore the long-term functional gains of acupuncture in this population.
Objective:
We aim to study the efficacy of acupuncture versus sham acupuncture in children with autism spectrum disorder.
Methods:
A single-blind randomized control trial was conducted in 50 children. These children were randomly assigned to the treatment group with tongue acupuncture (40 sessions over 8 weeks) or the control group (sham tongue acupuncture to nonacupoints in the tongue).
Results:
There was improvement in both the treatment and control groups in all assessed measures but more so in the treatment than in the control group: (1) eye-hand coordination, performance, and practical reasoning of Griffiths Mental Developmental Scale; (2) sensory-motor, social, affectual, language, and total score of Ritvo-Freeman Real Life Scale; (3) Comprehension Language age in the Reynell Language Developmental Scale; and (4) Total Score and Mental Age in Symbolic Play Test. The only statistically significant improvement in the treatment as compared to the control group was seen in self-care and cognition domains of the Functional Independence Measure for children.
Conclusions:
We had demonstrated that a short course of acupuncture had efficacy in improving various developmental and behavioral aspects of children with autism. The long-term efficacy in functional gain needs to be further explored.
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