Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 7, 2026
The Dyspepsia Educational Tool As a Novel Aid in Dyspepsia Management
Published on: June 29, 2019
The central mechanism of acupuncture treatment with a long-lasting effect for functional dyspepsia: study protocol
Ruirui Sun1, Xiaojuan Hong1, Jing Guo1
1Acupuncture and Tuina School/The 3rd Teaching Hospital, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 37# Shierqiao Road, Chengdu, 610075, Sichuan, China.
Background:
The mechanism of the long-lasting effect and the relationship between the long-lasting effect and the deqi sensation, which is the key of achieving the acupuncture effect, has not been well investigated. This trial focuses on investigating the possible central mechanism of the long-lasting effect influenced by the deqi sensation.
Methods:
A randomized controlled functional brain imaging trial is currently being conducted in Sichuan, China. In total 105 functional dyspepsia (FD) patients will be allocated into three groups: an acupuncture with deqi group, an acupuncture without deqi group, and a wait-list group. This trial will include a 2-week baseline period, a 4-week treatment period, and a 4-week follow-up period. During the 4-week treatment, patients in two acupuncture groups will receive 20 sessions of acupuncture treatment with or without deqi. The Nepean Dyspepsia Index (NDI) and the short form Leeds Dyspepsia Questionnaire (SF-LDQ) will be used to evaluate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture treatment at baseline, the end of treatment, and the end of the follow-up. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans will be performed to detect cerebral functional changes in 25 patients in each group at three time points mentioned above. The clinical data and fMRI data will be analyzed, respectively. Correlation analysis will be conducted to investigate the relationship between cerebral functional changes and symptom improvement.
Discussion:
The results of this trial will allow us to compare the changes of acupuncture therapeutic effect at three time points (the baseline vs. the end of treatment vs. the end of follow-up), and investigate the potential central mechanism of the long-lasting effect influenced by acupuncture with deqi. This trial aims to re-identify the long-lasting effect of acupuncture and investigate its central mechanism, and to further explore the central influence of deqi sensation on the long-lasting effect.
Trial Registration:
Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, IDF: ChiCTR-IOR-15006523 . Registered on 5 June 2015.
Related Concept Videos
01:58Mechanical Protein Functions
01:58Mechanical Protein Function
01:20Bioequivalence Experimental Study Designs: Completely Randomized and Randomized Block Designs
01:25The Central Dogma
01:21Transfer Function in Control Systems
To derive the transfer function, consider a general nth-order linear time-invariant...
01:23Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...