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Objective: To compare the clinical effect on the joint attention and social communication in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) between the combined treatment of acupoint catgut embedding therapy with rehabilitation training and the simple application of rehabilitation training., Methods: A total of 60 children with ASD were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each one. In the control group, the routine ASD rehabilitation training was adopted, including conductive education, speech training and music therapy, once a day. In the observation group, on the base of the treatment as the control group, the catgut embedding therapy was applied to Shenting (GV 24), Baihui (GV 20), Shenmen (HT 7) and the optic area (the point of scalp acupuncture), once a week. In the two groups, the treatment for 4 weeks was as one course, at the interval of 1 week between the courses. A total of 3 courses of treatment were required. The social domain of the autism treatment evaluation checklist (ATEC) and the autism behavior checklist (ABC) were adopted to assess the therapeutic effect of the two groups., Results: After treatment, the scores of each item of the social domain in ATEC and the scores of ABC (feeling, communication, physical movement, language and healthy behavior) were all lower than those before treatment in the two groups ( P <0.01). The scores of each item in the observation group were lower than those in the control group after treatment ( P <0.05)., Conclusion: The combined treatment of acupoint catgut embedding therapy with the rehabilitation training effectively improves in the joint attention and social communication. The therapeutic effect of this combined treatment is better than the simple application of rehabilitation training.

Rationale: Dysphagia following stroke is a major complaint among patients, and effective treatment of post-stroke dysphagia can be difficult. We present a case report describing a new treatment for dysphagia, namely, quick needle insertion at pharyngeal acupoints., Patient Concerns: A 70-year-old man developed pharyngeal dysphagia after a stroke. Three months after the patient experienced a sudden stroke leading to liquid dysphagia, acupuncture, one of the most important therapies in Traditional Chinese Medicine, was used to treat the patient., Diagnoses: A diagnosis of cerebral infarction and bulbar paralysis was made., Interventions: Quick needle insertion was performed at five pharyngeal acupoints, once a day, 6 times a week for 6 weeks., Outcomes: The patient subsequently showed significant improvement in the pharyngeal phase of swallowing. His performance in the drinking water test reduced to level 1 from level 4. The functional oral intake scale score changed from level 2 to level 7. In the video fluoroscopic swallowing study, no spillage occurred, but aspiration was present. The residue of the contrast agent was reduced., Lessons: Quick needle insertion at pharyngeal acupoints can be an efficient way to treat post-stroke dysphagia., (Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To explore the effect of scalp acupuncture for children with cerebral palsy whose video-electroencephalogram(VEEG) showed epileptiform discharges., Methods: A total of 184 children with cerebral palsy whose VEEG showed epileptiform discharges or those combined with epilepsy were randomly assigned into a combination group (99 cases) and a rehabilitation group (85 cases). All the cases were treated with the original antiepileptic drugs. The conventional physical training and massage were applied in the rehabilitation group for 3 courses with 20 d at the interval, once a day, 5 times a week and 15 times as one course. Based on the treatment as the rehabilitation group, scalp acupuncture was used in the combination group for 3 courses with 15 d at the interval, once the other day and 10 times as one course. Shenting (GV 24), Benshen (GB 13), Sishencong (EX-HN 1) were selected as the main acupoints, combined with motor zone, foot motor-sensory area, balance zone,and temple-three-needle etc. Clinical onset and VEEG results were observed before and after treatment., Results: After treatment in the combination group, 27 cases improved; 47 cases had no effect; 25 cases aggravated. While in the rehabilitation group, 11 cases improved; 46 cases had no effect; 28 cases aggravated. There was no statistically significance between the two groups ( P >0.05). As for the cases with epilepsy onset in the combination group, 8 cases improved; 4 cases had no effect; 4 cases aggravated. In the rehabilitation group, 4 cases had no effect; 7 cases aggravated. The result in the combination group was better than that in the rehabilitation group ( P <0.05). As for the cases with epileptiform discharges in the combination group, 19 cases improved; 43 cases had no effect; 21 cases aggravated. In the rehabilitation group, 11 cases improved; 42 cases had no effect; 21 cases aggravated. There was no significance between the two groups ( P >0.05)., Conclusions: Scalp acupuncture therapy does not increase the risk of onset or epileptiform discharges in the children with cerebral palsy combined with epilepsy or epileptiform discharges. Scalp acupuncture combined with rehabilitation is better than simple rehabilitation for thosewith cerebral palsy and epilepsy onset.

Introduction: The described systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for psoriasis., Methods and Analysis: We will electronically search for randomised controlled trials in the following databases from inception to 31 March 2015: OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Medical Current Content, Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP database), Wan-Fang Database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. We will also try to obtain literature by manually searching reference lists, conference proceedings and registers of clinical trials (eg, the Meta Register of Controlled Trials and the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry). Changes in disease status as evaluated by clinical signs or any available tool will be measured as the primary outcome. Global changes as well as changes in participant status (as evaluated by quality of life), safety (as measured by the prevalence and severity of adverse effects or adverse events) and costs (if available) will be measured as secondary outcomes. Two researchers will independently undertake selection of studies, data extraction and assessment of the quality of included studies. Data synthesis and subgroup analyses will be performed using special software (Review Manager). Data will be combined with a random effect model. Results will be presented as risk ratios for dichotomous data and the standardised mean difference for continuous data., Ethics and Dissemination: Ethical approval will not be required as this is a protocol for a systematic review. The systematic review will evaluate the current evidence regarding acupuncture therapy for psoriasis. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations., Trial Registration Number: PROSPERO CRD 42014013695., (Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.)

Objective: To explore the effective therapeutic method for reducing adductor muscle tension in the children of spasmodic cerebral palsy., Methods: One hundred and forty cases of spasmodic cerebral palsy met the inclusive criteria were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 70 cases in each one. In the control group, the conventional physical therapies (Bobath therapy and lower extremities therapy) and scalp acupuncture (seven-intelligent needles, motor area, sensory area, foot-motor-sensory area and balance area) were adopted. In the observation group, on the basis of the treatment as the control group, the three-spasm-needle therapy was applied to Jiejian, Xuehaishang and Houxuehai. The physical therapies were given once every day, acupuncture was given once every two days, the treatment of 20 days made one session. There were 15 to 20 days at the interval among the sessions and 3 sessions were required totally. Separately before and after treatment, the modified Ashworth scale was used to evaluate the adductor muscle tension, and measure the adductor muscle angle, and D and E regions of gross motor function measure (GMFM-88) were adopted for clinical efficacy evaluation., Results: After treatment, the scores of the adductor muscle tension were decreased to different extends in the two groups (both P<0.01), the adductor muscle angle was increased as compared with that before treatment (both P<0.01) and the scores of D and F regions in GMFM-88 were all improved (all P<0.01). The efficacy in the observation group was more significant than that in the control group (all P<0.01)., Conclusion: The three-spasm-needle therapy effectively reduces adductor muscle tension and improves the range of motion in hip joint, independent walking, running and jumping abilities in the children of spasmodic cerebral palsy.

Objective: To verify the efficacy on autism treated with scalp acupuncture for regaining the consciousness and opening the orifice in children., Methods: Seventy cases of child autism were divided into an observation group (30 cases) and a control group (40 cases). In observation group, the cases were treated with scalp acupuncture for regaining the consciousness and opening the orifice, in combination with music therapy and structure education method. Scalp acupuncture was applied to intelligent nine needles (frontal five needles, Sishencong (EX-HN 1)), affection area, heart and liver area, once a day, at the interval once every one week. Totally, 60 treatments made one session. In control group, music therapy and structure education method were applied simply. Clancy Autism Behavior Scale, Childhood Autism Behavior Scale (CARS), Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) and Gesell Developmental Scale (social adaptive behaviors and language development) were adopted to assess the scores before treatment and after 1 session of treatment., Results: After treatment, the scores in Clancy Autism Behavior Scale, CARS and ABC were lower apparently in observation group as compared with those before treatment (all P < 0.01), and the scores in Clancy Autism Behavior Scale and ABC were lower than those in control group (both P < 0.01). In observation group, the scores of social adaptive behavior scale and language development scale were improved obviously after treatment (both P < 0.01), which were all higher than those in control group (both P < 0.01). In observation, between the group aged from 4 to 6 years and the group aged from 2 to 3 years, the value differences in Clancy Autism Behavior Scale, ABC and social adaptive development scale did not present statistical significance in group comparison before and after treatment (all P > 0.05)., Conclusion: Scalp acupuncture for regaining the consciousness and opening the orifice can significantly improve the efficacy on autism, effectively relieve child autism symptoms and enhance the intelligence, language ability and social adaptive ability. Moreover, the efficacy cannot be impacted by child's age.

Objective: To observe the effect of acupuncture of Zusanli (ST 36) on electroencephalogram (EEG) so as to probe into its law in regulating the interconnectivity of brain functional network., Methods: A total of 9 healthy young volunteer students (6 male, 3 female) participated in the present study. They were asked to take a dorsal position on a test-bed. EEG signals were acquired from 22 surface scalp electrodes (Fp1, Fp2, F7, F3, F2, F4, F8, A1, T3, C3, C2, C4, T4, A2, T5, P3, P2, P4, T6, O2, O1 and O2) fixed on the subject's head. Acupuncture stimulation was applied to the right Zusanli (ST 36) by manipulating the filiform needle with uniform reducing-reinforcing method and at a frequency of about 50 cycles/min for 2 min. Then the stimulation was stopped for 10 min, and repeated once again (needle-twirling frequency: 150 and 200 cycles/min), 3 times altogether. The acquired EEG data were analyzed by using coherence estimation method, average path length, average clustering coefficient, and the average degree of the articulation points (nodes) for analyzing the synchronization of EEG signals before, during and after acupuncture., Results: In comparison with pre-acupuncture, the coherence amplitude values of EEG-delta (1-4 Hz) and y (31-47 Hz) waves were increased significantly after acupuncture of ST 36. No significant changes were found in the amplitude values of EEG-theta (5-8 Hz), -alpha (9-13 Hz) and-beta (14-30 Hz) waves after acupuncture stimulation. During and after acupuncture, the synchronism values of EEG-delta waves of different leads and numbers of interconnectivity between every two brain functional regions in majority of the 9 volunteers were increased clearly. In all volunteers, the degree values of all nodes except A1 and A2, the average clustering coefficients along with the increase of the threshold (r), and the average path lengths of the brain functional network of EEG-delta waves during and after acupuncture were also increased evidently (the latter two items, P < 0.05), suggesting an increase of the information exchange and functional connectivity of different brain regions., Conclusion: Acupuncture of Zusanli (ST 36) can increase the amplitude and synchronization of EEG-delta waves of different leads, and potentiate the functional interconnectivity of brain functional network.

Wavelet energy entropy derived from wavelet multi-revolution decomposition, reconstruction and Shannon entropy can signify the complexity of unsteady EEG signals in both time domain and frequency domain. Firstly, the paper gives an introduction of the methods about wavelet energy entropy. Then the EEG signals when acupuncture is analyzed and some conclusions are addressed by using wavelet energy entropy, relative wavelet energy entropy and the time evolution of them.

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Objective To observe clinical efficacy of acupuncture at Jing -well point combined with educational training for the treatment of children with severe mental retardation. Methods Sixty children with severe mental retardation were randomly divided into jing- well point acupuncture plus simple special education and language training group (group A) and simple special education and language training group (group B) with 30 child patients in each group according to registration order. All the patients were treated once every other day, 10 times as a course of treatment. There were 20 days of interval between each course of treatment. Curative effect was analyzed after 3 courses of treatment. Gesell Developmental Scale test was conducted for all children before and after treatment. Development quotient at the functional area of social adaptability, large motor, fine motor, language skill and social behavior of individuals was recorded and compared between groups and before and after treatment to evaluate the curative effect. Results Social adaptability and fine motor of children were improved in the group B after treatment. And in the group A, social adaptability, fine motor, language skill and social behavior of individuals were improved after treatment. Meanwhile, the group A was superior to the group B in curative effect of overall social adaptability and language skill (both P <0.05). The overall response rate in group B was 23.3% (7/30) and in group A was 46.6% (14/30, P <0.05). Conclusion Acupuncture at jing -well point combined with educational training can effectively improve the intelligence level of children with severe mental retardation and its curative effect is better than that of simply education and training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]