Acupuncture Points Stimulation for Meniere’s Disease/Syndrome: A Promising Therapeutic Approach

Abstract

Objective. This study aims to explore evidence for acupuncture points stimulation (APS) in treatment of Meniere's disease (MD). Method. A literature search was conducted in seven databases including EMBASE, Medline, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI, and WangFang database and the data analysis was performed by using the RevMan version 5.3. Results. 12 RCTs with 993 participants were acquired after the search. The quality of most eligible studies was very low which limited the value of the meta-analysis. Compared with western medicine comprehensive treatment (WMCT), the APS alone or in combination with WMCT had a significant positive effect in controlling vertigo; however, the result was negative in hearing improvement and DHI. No adverse events were reported in the studies. Conclusion. The APS might be a promising therapeutic approach for MD. However, the currently available evidence is insufficient to make a definitive conclusion for the poor quality of included studies. More high-quality researches with larger sample size are urgently needed to assess the effectiveness and safety.

Clinical Practice Guideline: Ménière’s Disease

“…The most recent found that acupuncture might be a promising therapeutic approach for MD, with some positive findings in vertigo control (negative for effect in hearing improvement and DHI), but currently available evidence is insufficient to make a definitive conclusion, with studies of poor quality. 225 An earlier review included Chinese language articles, finding studies of varying quality but an overall weight of evidence suggesting that there may be beneficial effects from acupuncture for those who are in an acute phase or who have had MD for years. 226 In addition, 1 RCT was found that compared Diaoshi Jifa acupressure with Ginkgo and oral betahistine and a control group that took only Ginkgo and oral betahistine.…”

The Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture for Prophylaxis of Vestibular Migraine: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Thus, it is critical to seek an effective and safe non-pharmacological therapy for VM prophylaxis, which can improve the quality of life of VM patients and reduce the side effects of pharmacotherapies and medical expense. On one hand, increasing the trials has favored the therapeutic effect of acupuncture for treating the major symptoms [i.e., vertigo/dizziness (13,25) and migraine (14,15)] and common comorbidities [e.g., anxiety (16) and depression (17)] of VM. On the other hand, although the pathogenesis of VM remains inconclusive, it is not only related to the central system but also a kind of recurrent peripheral vestibular disorders (9,38).…”

“…Given that the acupoint selection has a close correlation with the efficacy maximization of acupuncture, the acupoint prescription of our study is carefully schemed. The rationales for the acupoint prescription are mainly based on consensus with experienced acupuncture experts, which are highly overlapping with those adopted in previously published trials involving acupuncture for treating migraine (15), vertigo/dizziness (13), and emotional disorders (16,17). The acupoint selection in our study targets at alleviating major symptoms (i.e., migraine and vertigo/dizziness) and common comorbidities (i.e., emotional disorders) in VM patients, given that VM affects both the central and peripheral parts of the nervous system and previous studies revealed that Du meridian plays a vital role in treating various nervous system diseases (39,40), including vertigo and headache.…”

“…The rationales for the acupoint selection are based on consensus with experienced acupuncture experts, which target at alleviating major symptoms (i.e., migraine and vertigo/dizziness) and common comorbidities (i.e., emotional disorders) in VM patients. The acupoint selection of our study is highly overlapping with that in previously published trials involving acupuncture for treating migraine (14,15), vertigo/dizziness (13,25), and emotional disorders (16). As shown in Table 2, the selected acupoints include Baihui (DU20), Qianding (DU21), Yintang (EX-HN3), Fengchi (GB20), Shuaigu (GB8), Hegu (LI4), Neiguan (PC6), Shenmen (HT7), Fenglong (ST40), and Taichong (LR3).…”

“…Acupuncture may be a potential treatment option for VM prophylaxis, the rationales of which include two major considerations. First, previous studies have reported encouraging results favoring acupuncture for treating vertigo/dizziness (13) and migraine (14,15), which are major clinical symptoms of VM. Meanwhile, there are several reports indicating that acupuncture is beneficial to psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression (16,17), which are common comorbidities of VM.…”