Electrodermal measurement of acupuncture points for testing daily doses of sofosbuvir in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection

Abstract

Acupuncture has been practiced widely for treating different medical conditions. The basis of the acupuncture method is the doctrine of acupuncture points, one of the features of which is their unique electrical properties on the measurement of which the methods of electropuncture diagnostics are based. The purpose of the study was to explore the possibilities of a medicament testing technique for determining daily doses of the antiviral drug Sofosbuvir and comparing the tested daily doses of Sofosbuvir with the level of viral load in the blood of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Medicament testing of Sofosbuvir was performed on two points of point of acupunctures. This pilot study included 61 patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Electrodermal measurement points of acupuncture of Liver meridian and EAV Circulation meridian and the correlation between tested doses of Sofosbuvir and viral load in the patients’ blood were analyzed. The points of acupuncture of Liver and EAV Circulation meridians demonstrated the possibility to apply them as measuring points to determine daily doses of Sofosbuvir. Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection showed a significant positive correlation between tested daily doses of Sofosbuvir and viral load, which was gradually lost with an increase in viral load. The mean values of the tested doses of Sofosbuvir did not vary in different PA and significantly differed depending on viral load. This study showed that points of acupuncture serve as a diagnostic window in a process of medicament testing and can help to determine the daily doses of the antiviral drugs and also serve as an indirect method for assessing the level of viral load in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. There is the correlation between the tested doses of Sofosbuvir and viral load levels in these patients.