Acupuncture for Early Parkinson's Motor Symptoms: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Integrative Medicine
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Pharmacological treatments for early Parkinson's disease (PD) face limitations.
• Acupuncture shows potential as a non-pharmacological therapy for PD motor disorders.
• High-quality evidence on acupuncture's efficacy in PD is currently lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To clarify the efficacy of acupuncture for early Parkinson's disease (PD) motor symptoms.
• To explore the underlying mechanisms of acupuncture's therapeutic effects in PD using multi-omics.
• To provide evidence-based data through a randomized controlled trial (RCT).

Main Methods:

• A multi-center, blinded, randomized controlled trial (RCT) with 136 participants.
• Comparison between acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups over 4 weeks (12 sessions).
• Primary outcome: motor function (UPDRS-III); Secondary outcomes: gait, disease stage, quality of life, and metabolomics/proteomics.

Main Results:

• Primary outcome: motor function assessed by UPDRS-III.
• Secondary outcomes included objective gait metrics, disease staging (Hoehn and Yahr), quality of life (ADL, PDQ-39), and changes in levodopa dosage.
• Exploratory analyses included LC-MS/MS untargeted metabolomics and deep proteomics.

Conclusions:

• The study aims to establish the efficacy of acupuncture for early PD motor symptoms.
• Investigating molecular mechanisms through multi-omics will provide deeper insights.
• Results will contribute evidence-based data to the field of complementary and alternative medicine for PD.