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Li X, Li JC, Lu QQ, Zhang F, Zhang SQ. Research status and prospects of acupuncture for autism spectrum disorders. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:942069. [PMID: 37304438 PMCID: PMC10248508 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.942069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder and has a predilection for children. Its symptoms, such as lifelong social communication deficits and repetitive sensory-motor behaviors, put a huge burden on the patient's family and society. Currently, there is no cure for ASD, and some medications that can improve its symptoms are often accompanied by adverse effects. Among many complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, acupuncture has shown promising application potential, but after years of practice, it has not been recognized as the preferred CAM therapy for ASD. Therefore, we analyzed and discussed the clinical study reports of acupuncture in the treatment of ASD in the past 15 years from the aspects of study subjects, group setting, intervention modalities, acupoint selection, outcome evaluation, and safety. The data accumulated at present are not sufficient to support the clinical effectiveness of acupuncture in ASD and to justify its use in clinical practice. They provide, however, initial evidence of possible effectiveness and encourage further investigation in order to reach firm conclusions. Based on a comprehensive analysis, we believed that following the Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA) and Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT), screening the optimal combination of acupoints applying a rigorous scientific study design, and performing the related functional experiments may be the effective way to convincingly test the hypothesis that acupuncture may be beneficial in ASD patients. The significance of this review is to provide a reference for researchers to carry out high-quality clinical trials of acupuncture in the treatment of ASD from the perspective of the combination of modern medicine and traditional Chinese medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Li
- Clinical Research Institute, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ji-Cheng Li
- Clinical Research Institute, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China
- Department of Anatomy, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China
- Medical Research Center, Yuebei People’s Hospital, Shantou University Medical College, Shaoguan, China
- Institute of Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qi-Qi Lu
- Medical Research Center, Yuebei People’s Hospital, Shantou University Medical College, Shaoguan, China
| | - Fan Zhang
- Medical Research Center, Yuebei People’s Hospital, Shantou University Medical College, Shaoguan, China
| | - Shan-Qiang Zhang
- Clinical Research Institute, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China
- Department of Anatomy, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China
- Medical Research Center, Yuebei People’s Hospital, Shantou University Medical College, Shaoguan, China
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