Acupuncture Treatment for Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Longitudinal Case-Control Double Blinded Study

• 来源期刊: 中国结合医学杂志（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2017,（11）
• 页码范围: 829-836
• 页数: 8页
• 语种: 英文
• DOI: 10.1007/s11655-017-2786-0

摘要

Objective:To evaluate the treatment effect of acupuncture on patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN) by case-control longitudinal blinded study.Methods:Sixty ITN patients and 30 healthy subjects were included.The ITN patients were randomly assigned to acupuncture group (15 cases),sham-acupuncture group (15 cases) and carbamazepine group (30 cases),respectively.Clinical orofacial evaluation (including pain intensity and medication doses),research diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorders (RDC/TMD) and Helkimo indexes (for functional evaluation of the masticatory system),and quantitative sensory testing for sensory thresholds (gustative,olfactory,cold,warm,touch,vibration and superficial and deep pain) were evaluated before treatment,immediately after treatment,and 6 months after treatment.Results:The mean pain intensity by the Visual Analogue Scale only decreased in the acupuncture group at the last evaluation (P=0.012).Patients in the sham-acupuncture group had an increase in carbamazepine doses according to the prescriptions (P＜0.01).There was a reduction in secondary myofascial pain and mandibular limitations at the acupuncture and sham-acupuncture groups,however only the acupuncture group kept the changes after 6 months (P＜0.01,P=0.023).There was a decrease in mechanical thresholds in the acupuncture group (tactile,P＜0.01;vibration,P=0.027) and an increase in deep pain thresholds in both acupuncture and sham-acupuncture groups (P=0.013).Conclusion:Acupuncture can be an option in the treatment of ITN due to its analgesic effect in both ITN and secondary myofascial pain associated with it.