Acupuncture for Tourette Syndrome: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder that affects both children and adults. We searched for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) using acupuncture to treat TS written in English or Chinese without restrictions on publication status. Study selection, data extraction, and assessment of study quality were conducted independently by two reviewers. Meta-analyses were performed using Review Manager (RevMan) 5.3 software from the Cochrane Collaboration. Data were combined with the fixed-effect model based on a heterogeneity test. Results were presented as risk ratios for dichotomous data and mean differences (MDs) for continuous data. This review included 7 RCTs with a total of 564 participants. The combined results showed that acupuncture may have better short-term effect than Western medicine for TS and that acupuncture may be an effective adjuvant therapy in improving the effect of Western medicine on TS, but the evidence is limited because of existing biases. Rigorous high-quality RCTs are needed to verify these findings.

Electro‐acupuncture alleviates adolescent cocaine exposure‐enhanced anxiety‐like behaviors in adult mice by attenuating the activities of PV interneurons in PrL

“…According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, stimulations at the acupoints along Governor Vessel (GV) carry out beneficial effects against brain diseases. In clinic, acupunctures at the points at Yintang (GV29, located midway between the medial ends of the two eyebrows) and Baihui (GV20, located in the midpoint between the auricular apices) have been convinced to be beneficial for the treatment of depression, 25,26 Alzheimer's disease 27,28 and Tourette syndrome 29,30 …”

Effects of orthopedic treatment using temporomandibular joint balancing appliance (TBA) at improving the symptoms of tic/Tourette syndrome: case report

“…Acupuncture treatment and herbal formula were also applied for these patients. A recent systematic review of the efficacy of acupuncture treatment for tic disorder reported that the short-term efficacy of acupuncture treatment was better than Western medicine 19 but the patients in this case report were treated with a long-term strategy. Another systematic report of the efficacy of herbal medicine reported that herbal medicine had only potential efficacy for tic disorder 8 .…”

Current Status, Diagnosis, and Treatment Recommendation for Tic Disorders in China

“…There has been a standardized national guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of TD using TCM in China since 2012, and an updated version in 2019 (22). Some meta-analyses have supported the efficacy and safety of TCM alone and TCM plus Western Medicine in treating patients with TD/TS (112)(113)(114)(115)(116). For example, a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical study investigated the short-term effectiveness and safety of one premade TCM medication, Ningdong (ND) Granule in pediatric subjects (aged 7-18 years) with TS, showed a 41.39% reduction in the total tic score, while the placebo group showed a 10.79% decrease (117).…”

“…Similarly, acupuncture has been demonstrated to be an effective alternative therapy for TD/TS in China ( 114 , 115 ). Two meta-analyses of seven and ten randomized clinical trials (564 participants and 703 participants, respectively) in China have shown that compared with Western medicine (e.g., haloperidol and risperidone), acupuncture seemed to be more effective in short-term to improve the YGTSS [MD −4.60, 95% CI −5.80 to −3.40) ( 114 ) or SMD -0.71, 95%Cl (-1.10, -0.33), Z=3.65, P = 0.0003) ( 115 )]; and the response rate, compared to haloperidol or risperidone [(RR = 1.15, 95% CI (1.05,1.25), Z = 3.05, P = 0.002 ( 115 ) or RR = 1.19 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.31, Z = 3.42, P = 0.0006) ( 114 )]. Acupuncture could also be used as an adjuvant therapy to enhance the effect of Western medicine in improving the YGTSS (MD −7.11, 95% CI −8.74 to −5.47) ( 114 ).…”