Acupuncture therapy is shown to be more effective than
conventional medication for gouty arthritis in a clinical study which was
recently reported in the journal of Chinese Medicine Report.
Gouty arthritis is caused by a build-up of a substance
called uric acid in the blood, resulting in the formation of small crystal
deposits in and around the joints. It's estimated that 1-2% people are affected
by gout in the developed countries. Men over 30 and women after the menopause
are more likely affected. Gout is seen more common in men than women. People
with obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and chronic
renal disease are prone to developing gout. Conventional medications help
relief pain and reduce hyperuricaemia. However, long term use of such
medications could cause many adverse effects. Acupuncture has been used to
effectively treat gout for a long time.
A clinical study has been recently conducted to assess
the efficacy of acupuncture on the gout in comparison with conventional
medication. A total of 92 patients with acute gouty arthritis were recruited
and randomly allocated to either acupuncture group (n=46) or the medication
group (n=46). In acupuncture group the filiform needles were applied on the
following primary acupoints bilaterally: Zusanli (ST36), Sanyinjiao (SP6),
Yinlingquan (SP9), Quchi (LI11) and ashi points for 30 mins a day for 5
consecutive days, then 2-day break followed by another 5-day consecutive
treatment. In addition some secondary acupoints were applied according to
patient’s affected joints. In medication group, patients were given
indomethacin enteric-coated 75 mg tablets twice daily for 10 days. The study’s
outcome measures included a VAS (visual analog scale) for pain, serum levels of
uric acid and pro-inflammatory chemokine interleukin 8 (IL-8), and monitored at
the beginning and end of the study.
Results showed that mean VAS scores were 4.26 in the medication
group and 4.31 in the acupuncture group before treatment. The scores fell to
1.61 and 0.78 respectively at the end of treatment, indicating significant
decrease in pain in both groups. However, pain reduction in the acupuncture
group is greater (p<0.05) than medication group. Mean uric acid levels were
519.92 µmol/L in the medication group and 525.06 µmol/L in the acupuncture
group respectively before treatment. Uric acid levels fell to 437.28 µmol/L and
426.53 µmol/L respectively following treatment. Mean IL-8 levels were 38.24
µg/L in the medication group and 38.81 µg/L in the acupuncture group before
treatment, then, IL-8 levels fell to 26.23 µg/L and 26.04 µg/L respectively
after treatment. The clinical symptoms e.g. mean mobility scores were 1.57, redness
and swelling were 1.92 and joint function was 1.63 in medication group before
treatment. In acupuncture group corresponding scores were 1.59, 1.99, and 1.65
respectively before treatment. At the end of treatment, these scores fell to
0.89, 1.25, and 0.92 in the medication group and 0.56, 0.72, and 0.72 in the
acupuncture group. Although both groups demonstrated improvements in clinical conditions,
symptom relief was significantly greater in the acupuncture group (p<0.05)
than that of medication group.
Present study demonstrated that acupuncture markedly
improved clinical symptoms and reduced both serum uric acid and IL-8 levels in
patients with gouty arthritis and offers an effective and well-tolerated alternative
treatment for gout.
Reference:
Z Chen (2019) “Clinical Observation on Acupuncture
Treatment of Acute Gout Arthritis” Chinese Medicine Research Vol.16(3)
pp.75-78.
