Acupuncture effectiveness as a complementary therapy in functional dyspepsia patients

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Integrative Medicine
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common gastrointestinal disorder with uncertain pathophysiology, often linked to visceral hypersensitivity, motility issues, and psychological factors.
• FD is classified by Rome III criteria into epigastric pain or postprandial discomfort syndromes.
• Current treatments focus on managing symptoms, but effective long-term solutions remain a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture as an adjunct to conventional treatment for functional dyspepsia.
• To compare specific acupuncture combined with drug therapy against non-specific acupuncture with drug therapy.

Main Methods:

• A randomized clinical trial enrolled patients diagnosed with functional dyspepsia according to Rome III criteria.
• Participants were assigned to either drug therapy with specific acupuncture (Group I) or drug therapy with non-specific acupuncture (Group II).
• Outcomes assessed included gastrointestinal symptoms, psychiatric disorders, and quality of life at the end of treatment and three months post-treatment.

Main Results:

• Both groups showed initial improvement in gastrointestinal symptoms after 4 weeks.
• Group I (specific acupuncture) demonstrated significantly greater improvements in gastrointestinal symptoms and quality of life compared to Group II.
• Anxiety and depression levels were significantly lower in Group I post-treatment, with symptom improvements sustained at three months.

Conclusions:

• Complementary acupuncture treatment is superior to conventional treatment for functional dyspepsia.
• Specific acupuncture offers significant benefits for symptom relief, psychological well-being, and quality of life in FD patients.
• Further large-scale studies are recommended to validate these findings and establish acupuncture as a standard complementary therapy for FD.