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Objectives: The negative impact of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) on affected males is substantial. This study aims to assess whether a combined auriculotherapy (AT) using laser AT (LAT) and magneto-AT (MAT) is more effective than using MAT alone or placebo for managing LUTS of aging males. Methods: A randomized controlled, double-blinded trial was conducted. Sixty-two aging males with moderate or severe LUTS symptoms were randomly allocated into groups: Group 1, placebo LAT plus placebo MAT ( n  = 20); Group 2, combined AT approach using LAT plus MAT ( n  = 20); and Group 3, placebo LAT followed by MAT ( n  = 22). Six ear acupoints assumed to be suitable for alleviating LUTS were used. The total treatment period was 4 weeks, with follow-up visits till 3 months. Generalized estimating equations model was used for the examination of the interactions among the groups over time. Results: A combined AT approach exhibited a stronger treatment effect in relieving voiding problems, improving the peak urinary flow rate, and reducing the post-void residual urine than the placebo group or MAT alone. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the AT protocol used in this study for aging males with LUTS is feasible and can be adopted in future study of increased scale.

Background: Osteoarthritic knee (OA knee) is a common condition in the elderly. Exploration of non-invasive complementary therapies for OA knee is warranted given the limitations of pharmacologic therapies. Auriculotherapy (AT) is a therapeutic method in which specific points on the auricle are stimulated to treat various disorders of the body, and the therapeutic value and synergistic effect of laser auriculotherapy (LAT) when combined with magneto-auriculotherapy (MAT) merits further investigation., Methods: This study adopted a double-blinded four-arm randomized placebo design. The aims of study are (1) to assess the feasibility of AT among elders with OA knee in a future large-scale study, including the use of blinding in subjects and evaluators, acceptance of treatment protocol, and estimating the effect size and attrition rate; and (2) to evaluate the preliminary effect of AT in elders with OA knee. Subjects were randomly divided into four groups with different modes of AT with/without placebo objects. A total of 43 subjects completed the 6-week intervention and post-assessment. Assessments included a numerical rating scale of pain (NRS), the timed-up-and-go test (TUGT), and standard goniometer measurements during knee flexion and extension, Kruskal-Wallis test was used to evaluate differences among groups, and Wilcoxon sign-ranked test for examining within-group comparison., Results: Preliminary results indicated the absence of differences in the NRS, TUGT, and active/passive knee flexion and extension at baseline, as well as post-therapy, between the four groups. Even though the differences of these parameters between groups were not significant, the relative differences of NRS and TUGT in subjects who received combined MAT plus LAT were higher than those treated with MAT or LAT alone, or the placebo group. Four of the six parameters demonstrated significant within group differences in subjects who received MAT and/or LAT, whereas no significant differences were found in the placebo group., Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the AT protocol adopted in this study for elders with OA knee is feasible and could be applied in future larger-scale study. Larger sample size should be considered in a future trial to determine the causal relationship between treatment and effect., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02352636 . Registered on 23 January 2015.