Acupuncture's Effect on Well-Being, Anxiety Symptoms in Patients With Parkinson Disease

Among patients diagnosed with both Parkinson disease (PD) and anxiety, researchers determined acupuncture to be an effective treatment option, according to findings published in JAMA Network Open.

Enrolled participants were randomly allocated to receive acupuncture or sham acupuncture for 8 weeks as part of a randomized, double-blinded, clinical trial between June 20, 2021, and February 26, 2022, with a final follow-up on April 15, 2022.

Patients, as well as acupuncture operators, statistical analysts, and outcomes measures evaluators were blinded for the groupings.

The Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) score was the primary study outcome and secondary outcomes included scores on the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), a 39-item Parkinson Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), and serum levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol (CORT).

Of the 70 included patients, 64 patients (91%) completed the intervention and 8-week follow-up. Of 64 patients, 30 were women (46.9%), 34 were men (53.1%), and the mean age was 61.84 (8.47) years.

Per results, the variation of HAM-A score between the real acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups was 0.22 (95% CI, -0.63 to 1.07; P = .62) at the end of treatment.

“At the end of follow-up, the real acupuncture group had a significant 7.03-point greater (95% CI, 6.18 to 7.88; P < .001) reduction in HAM-A score compared with the sham acupuncture group,” reported study authors.

Researchers noted that during the study, 4 mild adverse reactions including bleeding post needle injection and difficulty removing the needle due to mental tension and muscle spasm occurred. No serious adverse events were recorded.

“These findings suggest that acupuncture may enhance the wellbeing of patients who have Parkinson disease and anxiety,” concluded study authors.

Reference:
Fan J, Lu W, Tan W, et al. Effectiveness of acupuncture for anxiety among patients with Parkinson disease, a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(9):e2232133. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.32133