Background: Abdominal obesity (AO) is not only a health issue, but also a serious impact on women's work and life. The article of acupoint catgut embedding (ACE) on AO has already been accepted to be published and showed significant effect. However, whether ACE is effective for abdominally obese female with strong appetite is still unclear. Methods: This is a mixed analysis of a multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial.Which was conducted in China between July 2018 and March 2020 (n = 101), while with the supplementary samples (n = 22) between April 2020 and June 2022. According to the appetite and intervention methods, 123 abdominally obese female were divided into ACE group with strong appetite (n = 27) and moderate appetite (n = 31), control (non-acupoint catgut embedding) group with strong appetite (n = 37) and moderate appetite (n = 28). Four subgroups were given a 12-week actual intervention period and a 4-week follow-up. Waist circumference (WC), appetite, body weight and BMI were applied and assessed at baseline and after 6, 12 and 16 weeks. Results: In this study, the mean onset age of abdominal obesity in females was 25.27 (8.19) years old. The longer duration of AO, the lower the appetite in females (p<0.05). At 12 and 16 weeks, ACE group with strong appetite showed significant decrease in WC and appetite than control group with strong appetite (p<0.01). However, ACE group with moderate appetite showed no significant decrease than control group with moderate appetite in WC, appetite, body weight and BMI (p>0.05). At 12 and 16 weeks, there was no significant difference in appetite between the ACE groups (strong and moderate appetite)(p>0.05), while there was still a difference between the control groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: Younger abdominally obese female had a stronger appetite. ACE own the remarkable therapeutic effects for younger abdominally obese female and showed the perfect effect on appetite-reduction.
Background: Acupoint catgut embedding (ACE) has been proven to be effective and safe in the treatment of obesity, but few studies have been conducted involving its central mechanisms. Our previous study has demonstrated the effectiveness of Shu-Mu ACE in the treatment of abdominal obesity (AO). However, the neurological mechanism of Shu-Mu ACE for weight loss has not yet been elucidated. The mechanism of the combination of the Shu and Mu acupoints may be related to the central integrative effects of the brain. This paper aims to explore the potential neural mechanisms of Shu-Mu ACE in female patients with AO. Methods and Analysis: A total of 100 eligible female AO patients and 20 healthy female subjects will be recruited for this study. 100 AO patients will be randomly allocated to five groups: Shu-Mu ACE (Group A), Shu ACE (Group B), Mu ACE (Group C), sham ACE (Group D), and waiting-list (Group E). Treatment will be administrated once every two weeks for 12 weeks. The body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), Visual Analog Scales (VAS) of appetite, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) will be utilized to evaluate the clinical efficacy. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and at each time point of treatment. Multimodal MRI will be performed at baseline and after 12-week treatment and the results will be used to investigate the neural mechanisms of ACE for obesity. Neurological changes and clinical data will be analysed for correlation. Discussions: This study hypothesized that Shu-Mu ACE therapy has a synergistic effect and may treat AO by modulating the neuropathological alterations in the brain. Our findings will demonstrate the neurological mechanism of AO treated by "Shu-Mu" Acupoint Catgut Embedding and compatibility relation. Trial Registration: This trial is registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registration Center (No. ChiCTR2100048920).
IntroductionMigraine is a common neurological disorder with a higher prevalence occurring in women. Migraine without aura (MwoA) is the most common type of migraine. In recent years, the safety and effectiveness of acupuncture for migraines have been internationally recognised. Contralateral acupuncture (CAT) (Jùcì) is an ancient classic acupuncture technique from Huang Di Nei Jing that refers to the acupoints on the right side (healthy side) selected for diseases on the left (affected side) and vice versa. Some studies have shown that efficacy of CAT on the painful disorder is even better than ipsilateral acupuncture (IAT), but there remains a lack of high-quality evidence to support it.Methods and analysisThis is a single-centre, randomised and sham-controlled clinical trial in China with three parallel groups that aim to evaluate the efficacy of CAT in women with unilateral MwoA. 243 participants will be randomly divided into the experimental group (CAT group), control group 1 (IAT group) and control group 2 (sham acupuncture group) (1:1:1 allocation ratio). Each group will be given 30-minute treatment sessions, once every other day, approximately three times per week, for a total of 24 treatments and follow-up visits two times. The primary outcome is the changes in days of migraine attacks. The secondary outcomes are frequency of migraine attacks, intensity of migraine, migraine duration, the dose of intake of acute medication, the Migraine-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire, the Migraine Disability Assessment Score, the Headache Impact Test-6 and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The data will be collected at the baseline time (week 0), end of treatment (week 4–8) and the follow-up time (week 12–16). Adverse events will be collected and recorded during each treatment.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Sports Trauma Specialist Hospital of Yunnan Province (2021-01). All participants will provide written informed consent before randomisation. The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at conferences.Trial registration numberChinese Clinical Trial Registration Center (ChiCTR2100051479).
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