Acupoint Catgut Embedding Therapy Research Articles

Acupoint catgut embedding therapy for functional constipation: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background:This review will assess current evidence related to the effectiveness and safety of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for functional constipation (FC) and provide efficacy assessments for clinical applications.Methods:We will search the following databases for relevant trials: PubMed, EMBASE OVID, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, OVID MEDLINE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane library, and Scopus. We will also search the following Chinese databases for trials published in the Chinese literature: China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals Database, Wan Fang Database, Chinese Biomedicine and other resources from inception to December 2020. Only randomized controlled trials comparing acupoint catgut embedding versus acupuncture or sham acupuncture or placebo or other therapies will be included. The outcomes involved mean spontaneous bowel movements, complete spontaneous bowel movements, the Bristol Stool Form Scale, the Cleveland Clinic Score, Patient Assessment of Constipation symptom and so on. The risk of bias assessment and quality of evidence for outcomes will be appraised using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation guidelines. RevMan 5.3 software will be employed for the meta-analysis.Results:This work will compare and arrange the comparative efficacy of acupoint catgut embedding with different treatments for FC by summarizing the current evidences.Conclusion:The results of this meta-analysis may help doctors determine the best treatments for patients to manage FC.Ethics and dissemination:This is a protocol with no patient recruitment and personal information collection, approval by the ethics committee is not required.OSF Registration number:DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/XTKE2.

Acupoint Catgut Embedding as Adjunctive Therapy for Patients With Gallstones.

Aims of This Study:A randomized clinical trial was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of acupoint catgut embedding (ACE) as adjunctive therapy to tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) therapy on gallbladder emptying and clinical symptoms in patients with gallstone disease.Materials and Methods:Between August 2018 and January 2019, 70 patients with gallstones in our hospital were enrolled in this prospective clinical trial. All the patients were randomly divided into the ACE group (ACE+TUDCA treatment for 8 wk) and the Sham group (Sham ACE+TUDCA treatment for 8 wk). In the ACE group, all the patients were nightly given ACE every 2 weeks, and in 2 groups, every patient took TUDCA 500 mg at bedtime. The parameters about gallbladder emptying were detected by ultrasound before and after the treatment, and the clinical symptom scores were recorded at the same time points.Results:A total of 63 patients with gallstone disease were included in our study, with 33 patients in the ACE group and 30 patients in the Sham group. In the ACE group, the empty volume (EV) and gallbladder ejection fraction (GBEF) were improved after treatment (P<0.05). Almost every symptom score (except symptom 7, P=0.15) and total score were decreased (P<0.05). In the Sham group, the symptom 1, 2, 4, 5 scores, and total score were significantly decreased (P<0.05). Moreover, the residual volume in the ACE group was significantly lower than in the Sham group (P=0.008). The EV and GBEF in the ACE group were higher than that in the Sham group (P<0.05). The score of symptom 6 in the ACE group was lower than that in the Sham group (P=0.008).Conclusion:ACE therapy could more effectively improve the gallbladder emptying with a shorter treatment course. Therefore, ACE+TUDCA therapy might be a time-saving treatment for gallstones.

Acupoint catgut embedding for the treatment of sciatica: A protocol for a systematic review.

Background:Sciatica is a common and frequent peripheral neuropathic pain disease, which causes a great burden on peoples life. Recently, acupoint catgut embedding (ACE) has been widely applied for treating sciatica in China, however, there is no enough evidence to prove the efficiency and safety of ACE for sciatica. Our study aims to evaluate the efficiency and safety of ACE for sciatica.Methods and analysis:Searches of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Springer Medline, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan-Fang Data (WANFANG), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), and Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP databases) will be performed from inception to November 2020. The main outcomes are the pain intensity and the whole efficiency assessment. The secondary outcomes will include Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), life quality, physical examination, and adverse events. Two reviewers will separately conduct the study selection, data extraction and study quality assessments. RevMan 5.3 software will be used for meta-analysisResults:This study will provide an evidence-based review of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for sciatica according to the pain intensity, the whole efficiency assessment, life quality, DOI index and adverse events.Conclusions:This systematic review will present the current evidence for acupoint catgut embedding therapy for sciatica.Ethics and dissemination:Ethical approval is unnecessary as this protocol is only for systematic review and does not involve privacy data. The findings of this study will be disseminated electronically through a peer-review publication or presented at a relevant conference.Trial registration number:INPLASY2020110087.

Clinical Observation on Acupoint Catgut Embedding Combined With Electroacupuncture in the Treatment of Obese Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

To investigate the clinical efficacy of acupoint catgut embedding combined with electroacupuncture in the treatment of obese patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. A total of 102 obese patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease were randomly divided into control group (n=51) and treatment group (n=51). The patients in control group were given acupoint catgut embedding therapy, once every 2 w, for 3 mo; while the treatment group was given electroacupuncture therapy on the basis of the control group, once a d for 10 min, for 3 mo. The biochemical parameters, body shape parameters, liver imaging indexes, clinical efficacy and adverse reactions of the two groups were observed before and after treatment. After treatment, the basic parameters (body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, body fat percentage), liver fat (controlled attenuation parameters, liver stiffness measurement), liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase), fasting (fasting insulin, fasting blood glucose) and blood lipids (high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, triglyceride, total cholesterol) of the treatment group were significantly improved (p<0.05); the body parameters (body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, body fat percentage), liver fat (controlled attenuation parameters, liver stiffness measurement), liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase), fasting (fasting insulin) and blood lipids (high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, triglyceride, total cholesterol) of the control group were significantly improved (p<0.05) Lipid metabolism (high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, triglyceride, total cholesterol) was significantly improved (p<0.05). The improvement of body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, controlled attenuation parameters and alanine aminotransferase in the treatment group was better than that in the control group (p<0.05). Acupoint catgut embedding combined with electroacupuncture in the treatment of simple obesity complicated with fatty liver can improve the treatment effect of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, correct the state of fatty liver and improve clinical symptoms, with more exact curative effect and more significant advantages, which is worthy of clinical promotion.

Acupoint catgut embedding for obesity: A protocol of systematic review.

Background:Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease in which patients are overweight due to the excessive accumulation of fat in the body. As a subtype of acupuncture, catgut embedding at acupoints has increased in clinical application for obesity. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for simple obesity.Methods and analysis:Electronic searches of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Springer Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan-Fang Data (WANFANG), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), and Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP databases) will be performed. The Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Center and the ClinicalTrials.gov registry will also be searched for ongoing trials. Databases will be searched from inception to August 2020.Randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) will be included if acupoint catgut embedding was evaluated as the sole treatment (diet or exercise therapy as the control group will be allowed) for simple obesity. The primary outcomes will consist of the improvement rate and reduction in body weight (BW). The secondary outcomes will include body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), fat percentage (F %) and adverse effects. Two reviewers will undertake the study selection, data extraction and assessments of study quality. After screening the studies, the quality of the included studies will be assessed according to the quality criteria specified by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (version 5.1.0). Meta-analysis will be performed by RevMan 5.3 software.Results:According to the data of improvement rate and reduction in BW, BMI, WC, and F %, this study will provide an evidence-based review of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for simply.Conclusions:This systematic review will present the current evidence for acupoint catgut embedding therapy for obesity.Ethics and dissemination:Ethical approval is not necessary since this protocol is only for systematic review and does not involve privacy data. The findings of this study will be disseminated electronically through a peer-review publication or presented at a relevant conference.Trial registration number:INPLASY2020110045.

Acupoint Catgut-embedding Therapy Attenuates Lipopolysaccharide-induced Inflammatory and Hypoglycaemic Responses and Mortality in Septic Mice

Acupoint Catgut-embedding Therapy Attenuates Lipopolysaccharide-induced Inflammatory and Hypoglycaemic Responses and Mortality in Septic Mice

The effectiveness and safety of acupoint catgut embedding for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background:Primary dysmenorrhea (PD), also regarded as functional dysmenorrhea, refers to dysmenorrhea without obvious organic lesions in the reproductive system. It accounts for more than 90% of dysmenorrhea and seriously affects womens life and work. Previous studies have proved that acupoint catgut embedding therapy is effective and safe for PD patients. It could relieve the pain rapidly and work for a long time in multiple mechanisms. This protocol aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupoint catgut embedding therapy on PD systematically. With the latest published evidence, a systematic review and meta-analysis of catgut embedding for patients with PD would be carried out in this study.Methods:All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to acupoint catgut embedding therapy on PD will be searched in the following electronic databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Wed of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chongqing VIP Database, Wanfang Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literatures Database (CBM), from inception to September 2020. The primary outcomes contain visual analog scale (VAS), dysmenorrhea symptom score, and clinical effectiveness rate, while the secondary outcomes consist of adverse events and the recurrence rate. Two reviewers will independently perform data selection, data synthesis, and quality assessment. Assessment of risk of bias and data synthesis would be performed with Review Manager 5.3 software.Result:This systematic review will summarize the current and high-quality evidence of acupoint catgut embedding therapy on PD.Conclusion:This systematic review aims to offer the latest persuasive evidence for clinical practitioners that using acupoint catgut embedding therapy on PD is effective and safe.PROSPERO registration number:CRD42020156362.

Efficacy and safety of acupoint catgut-embedding for ulcerative colitis: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background:Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a refractory intestinal disease prone to recurrent attacks, with a high rate of canceration, which seriously affects life treatment. Routine treatment has disadvantages such as long course of treatment, high cost, easy recurrence and limited effectiveness. Clinical practice shows that acupoint catgut embedding therapy has certain therapeutic advantages but lacks evidence of evidence-based medicine. The purpose of this study is to systematically study the effectiveness and safety of acupoint catgut embedding for ulcerative colitis.Methods:Retrieve English database (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library) and Chinese database (CNKI, CDDB, CQVIP, CBM) by computer, and manually retrieve Baidu and Google Academy for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for ulcerative colitis from the time of construction of database to September 2020. Two researchers independently extracted data and evaluated the quality of the literature included in the study, and used RevMan 5.3 software for meta-analysis of the included literature.Result:The study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of acupoint catgut embedding for ulcerative colitis through efficiency, symptom score, colonoscopy score, mucosal healing rate, recurrence rate, incidence of adverse reactions, etc.Conclusion:This study will provide reliable evidence-based evidence for clinical application of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for ulcerative colitis.OSF Registration number:DOI 10.17605/ OSF.IO / 7T4QV.

Surface Coating Modified Polyglycolide (PGA) Braided Threads as Potential Thread-embedding Materials

Polyglycolic acid (PGA) braided threads offer numerous advantages, including good biocompatibility and biodegradability for the application of acupoint catgut-embedding therapy (ACET). However, the surfaces of PGA threads are relatively smooth and lack some function characteristics in the clinical practice. In this study, four types of PGA braided threads with different strands (n=2, 4, 6 and 8) were fabricated firstly, and then to deposit chitosan molecules on their surfaces. Afterwards, characterizations such surface morphology, swelling, mechanical, antibacterial and cytotoxicity properties of threads were fully explored. The results showed that PGA threads after chitosan coating treatment showed larger weight and diameter changing, and swelling ratio. Mechanical properties (breaking strength, breaking elongation and flexibility) had been greatly improved after coating treatment. As for the biological experiments, modified PGA threads have better cell viability and antibacterial activity comparted to that of unmodified ones. In conclusion, surface coating method warrant further study to develop novel PGA embedding materials with outstanding clinical efficacy.

Advances in Acupuncture and its Associated Therapies for the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Obesity type 2 diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disease in clinical practice, and its prevalence is increasing rapidly with the aging of the population and changes in lifestyle. Acupuncture, as a distinctive therapy, has its unique advantages in the treatment of obesity type 2 diabetes and has an irreplaceable role in a variety of treatment methods. The author organized the literature on acupuncture and its related therapies to prevent and treat obesity type 2 diabetes in recent years and found that acupuncture and its associated therapies to prevent and treat obesity type 2 diabetes mainly include: simple acupuncture, electroacupuncture, acupoint catgut embedding therapy, auricular-plaster therapy and other treatments, all of which can safely and effectively improve clinical symptoms, acupuncture and its related therapies to treat obesity type 2 diabetes has a broad prospect, worthy of further clinical promotion.

Antibacterial Polylactic-co-glycolic Acid Braided Threads Using Plasma and Coating Modifications for Acupoint Catgut Embedding Therapy Applications

Polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) thread is frequently used for acupoint catgut embedding therapy (ACET), but the poor hydrophilicity and biocompatibility largely limited its wider applications. The aim of this study is to functionalize the PLGA braided thread and improve its cell adhesion property. The PLGA strands are first processed into threads on a circular braiding machine, and then, antibacterial treatment was introduced with and without oxygen plasma treatments. Afterward, functional characterizations such as antibacterial activity (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli), cytotoxicity, cell attachment and cell morphology, histological observation, and biodegradation experiments of threads were measured. Moreover, tensile properties and flexibility of the threads were determined to evaluate their mechanical properties. The modified threads showed rougher surfaces than those of the unmodified ones from SEM observations, and the weights and fiber diameters of the threads increased correspondingly, together with the improved surface hydrophilicity. All coated sutures showed durable antimicrobial function and slow drug releasing features for more than 5 days and good cell viability (more than 75%), according to the standard of ISO 10993-5:2009. Besides, cell attachment, tissue growth, and collagen regeneration of plasma-treated samples were greatly improved compared to those of without the plasma treatment. The threads presented slow degradation behavior after the antibacterial treatment. The threads with only plasma-treated revealed a promising prospect for clinical applications.

Ammonium hydroxide modification of polylactic acid and polyglycolic acid monofilaments for acupoint catgut embedding therapy

Polylactic acid (PLA) and polyglycolic acid (PGA) monofilaments have attracted much attention for their wide usage in acupoint catgut embedding therapy (ACET). Their application is restricted, however, by their poor hydrophilicity and cell attachment properties. In this study, PLA and PGA monofilaments were produced from polymer chips, and then modified by the application of an ammonium hydroxide solution to the surface. The modified PLA and PGA monofilaments were fully characterized with respect to their structural, mechanical, and in-vitro properties. The results showed that the surface roughness and hydrophilicity of the materials were greatly increased; surface modified samples of both materials exhibited the smallest contact angle values: 79.2° ± 2.5° (sample PLA2) and 75.9° ± 1.4° (sample PGA2). The weights and diameters and the tensile and flexibility properties of the materials changed little with surface modification, but their swelling ratios increased significantly. All the prepared samples were non-toxic (more than 75% of cells being viable). Surface modification also enhanced cell attachment: PLA2 (48.15% ± 2.16%) and PGA2 (59.43% ± 3.18%) showed the largest cell attachment values (cultured for 48 h) among the samples. In summary, the study proves the feasibility of ammonium hydroxide modification of PLA and PGA, which is beneficial for guiding future work on developing functional PLA or PGA materials for ACET.

Analysis of adverse reactions of acupoint catgut embedding therapy

To objectively evaluate the safety of acupoint catgut embedding therapy. A total of 331 patients who received acupoint catgut embedding therapy were enrolled and summarized through the inpatient medical record system, follow-up record and adverse reaction report card. The statistical analysis was performed from the aspects of patients' gender, age, marital status, history of allergy, history of diabetes and the time, symptoms, duration and prognosis of adverse reactions, etc. Among 331 patients who received acupoint catgut embedding therapy, 70 patients had adverse reactions, which were divided into 9 types, including post-treatment discomfort, local hematoma or subcutaneous hemorrhage, local swelling, local induration, severe pain, thread-body rejection, local pruritus, post-treatment body temperature rising, local redness, swelling, fever and pain. The incidence rate of adverse events was 21.15%, and the incidence of serious adverse events was 0. Among the patients with adverse reactions, 58 patients (82.86%) relieved without treatment, and 12 patients (17.14%) received after symptomatic treatment; all patients had no sequelae. The acupoint catgut embedding therapy is relatively safe and the incidence of adverse reactions is low.

Effect of acupoint catgut embedding therapy on joint attention and social communication in children with autism spectrum disorder: a randomized controlled trial

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. 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. 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). 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.

Effectiveness of Electroacupuncture for Simple Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of electroacupuncture in the treatment of simple obesity. Methods Randomized clinical trials concerning electroacupuncture as a treatment of simple obesity published prior to October 31, 2019, were searched in the following Chinese and English databases: Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus. After data collection and quality evaluation, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software and Stata 15.0 software. Results A total of 13 studies involving 937 patients with simple obesity were included in the meta-analysis. Results revealed that the total effective rate (RR = 1.29, 95% CI [1.13, 1.48]; P=0.0002), BMI (MD = −1.82, 95% CI [−2.21, −1.43]; P < 0.000), waist circumference (MD = −2.39, 95% CI [−3.95, −0.84]; P=0.003), hip circumference (MD = 0.31, 95% CI [−2.37, 2.99]; P=0.82), waist-hip ratio (MD = −0.05, 95% CI [−0.07, −0.03]; P < 0.00), and body fat rate (MD = −1.56, 95% CI [−2.35, −0.78]; P=0.0001) in the electroacupuncture group were superior to those in the control group. Analysis of acupoint clustering and correlation using SPSS 24.0 and Clementine 12.0 revealed the highest statistical support for acupoint groups CV12-CV4 and CV12-ST25-CV4, while ST36-CV12-ST25, SP6, and ST40-ST24-SP15-ST37-CV4 were found to be validly clustered acupoints. Conclusion For treating simple obesity, electroacupuncture is superior to other interventions such as acupuncture, acupoint catgut embedding therapy, and simple lifestyle modification for improvement in body fat rate, waist circumference, and waist-hip ratio, although not hip circumference. Acupoint analysis revealed that ST25, CV12, CV4, SP6, and ST36 can form the basis for electroacupuncture therapy for the treatment of simple obesity.

Acupoint catgut embedding for asthma in adults: Protocol for a systematic review.

Background:Asthma exacerbations can do a lot of harm to the patients and consume large amounts of medical resources. Although some studies have evaluated acupuncture for asthma in children, few studies have estimated acupoint catgut embedding therapy. We aim to assess the efficacy and safety of acupoint catgut embedding for asthma in adults.Methods:The following databases will be searched from inception to December, 2019: Medline, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, EMBASE, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), the Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP database), and the Wan-fang database. We will also search relevant conference abstracts, and registers of clinical trials. Two reviewers will independently undertake study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. Data will be synthesized by either the fixed-effects or random-effects model according to a heterogeneity test. The Revman V5.3 software will be used to conduct meta-analysis.Results:The primary outcome was lung function, forced expiratory volume in one second and forced vital capacity (FVC) were the most commonly used parameters to evaluate lung function. The safety assessment includes the incidence of adverse events.Conclusion:This systematic review will retrieve clinical randomized controlled trials (RCT) on acupoint catgut embedding for asthma in 7 databases, aiming to describe and update existing evidence on the efficacy and safety of acupoint catgut embedding for asthma in adults.PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019148401.

A Case of Foreign Body Granuloma Caused by Acupoint Catgut Embedding Therapy for Obesity.

A Case of Foreign Body Granuloma Caused by Acupoint Catgut Embedding Therapy for Obesity.

The Effectiveness and Safety of Acupoint Catgut Embedding for the Treatment of Postmenopausal Osteoporosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Purpose To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupoint catgut embedding therapy (ACET) in postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP). Methods Review of some databases from their inception to June 2018 and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which ACET with PMOP were included. Two researchers extracted and evaluated the information independently. Cochrane Collaboration's tool and Jadad scale were used to evaluate the quality of the studies. RevMan V.5.3.3 software was used to carry out the meta-analysis while trial sequential analysis (TSA) performed with TSA 0.9 software. Results 12 RCTs with 876 participants were included in this review. Meta-analysis showed that ACET alone was not superior to medication in effectiveness rate (RR= 1.11; 95% CI (0.89, 1.40); P=0.35) and E2 (SMD= 0.20; 95% CI (-0.17, 0.57); P=0.28; I2=20%) while ACET combining medication was more effective on the effectiveness rate (RR= 1.32; 95% CI (1.20, 1.46); P<0.000 01) and E2 (SMD= 1.24; 95% CI (0.63, 1.84); P<0.0001). Additionally, ACET combining calcium could increase the bone mineral density (BMD) of the L2~4 vertebrae and femur-neck [WMDL2~4 = 0.03; 95% CI (0.01, 0.05); P=0.003; and WMDFemur-neck = 0.07; 95% CI (0.03, 0.10); P = 0.0006], reduce TCM syndrome score [WMD = -1.85; 95% CI (-2.13, -1.57); P<0.000 01], improve patient's quality of life [WMDthree months = 6.90; 95% CI (3.90, 9.89); P<0.000 01; and WMDsix months = 12.34; 95% CI (5.09, 19.60); P=0.0009], and relieve pain [WMDVAS = -1.26; 95% CI (-1.66, -0.85); P<0.000 01; and WMDPain score = -2.59; 95% CI (-4.76, -0.43); P= 0.02]. The TSA showed that the effectiveness of ACET for PMOP was demonstrated accurately. Conclusions ACET combining medication but not ACET alone is more effective than medication as comparison in the treatment of PMOP. As a novel treatment, ACET shows the potential of effectiveness and deserves further high quality of well-designed study.

The Effectiveness of Acupoint Catgut Embedding Therapy for Abdominal Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Acupoint catgut embedding is a useful therapy for weight management and widely applied in China. This review aimed to systematically evaluate the effects of acupoint catgut embedding on abdominal obesity. We searched the PubMed, Cochrane-Library, Embase, OVID, MEDLINE, ISI (web of science), Wanfang, VIP, CBM, and CNKI for randomized controlled trials that used acupoint catgut embedding to treat abdominal obesity before April 2019 with the language restriction of Chinese and English. The combination subject terms of abdominal obesity (or central obesity) and acupoint catgut embedding (or catgut implantation, catgut embedding) were used. We found 15 studies involving 1584 individuals. When acupoint catgut embedding plus electroacupuncture is compared with electroacupuncture alone, significant reductions in improvement rate (RR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.99~1.08), body weight (MD = 5.20, 95%CI = 1.16~9.25), body mass index (MD = 1.73, 95%CI = 0.70~2.76), waist circumference (MD = 2.91, 95%CI = 1.36~4.46), and hip circumference (MD = 1.06, 95%CI = -0.18~2.30) were found. Mean values of body weight by acupoint catgut embedding were 1.35 kg compared with electroacupuncture. Less adverse events were reported in all included articles. In summary, pooled outcomes of acupoint catgut embedding presented a tendency of equal effects to other kinds of acupuncture, whereas acupoint catgut embedding plus electroacupuncture is more effective for abdominal obesity. This study is registered with PROSPERO 2017 (CRD42017082357).

Development and characterizations of polylactic acid (PLA) and polyglycolide acid (PGA) monofilaments for acupoint catgut embedding therapy applications

Polylactic acid (PLA) and polyglycolide acid (PGA) are known for good biocompatibility. These features have resulted into significant academic and industrial research interest in various areas. However, in the acupoint catgut embedding therapy field, the existing PLA and PGA can't satisfy usage requirements due to their poor properties. This work designed novel melt-spinning system to produce different PLA and PGA monofilaments, and effects of spinning conditions on their comprehensive performances were characterized. The results showed that samples had the smooth surfaces and diameters decreased with spinning parameters. PLA-2 (Strength = 78.63 cN; Elongation = 57.28%) and PGA-2 (Strength = 57.34 cN; Elongation= 18.42%) perform the best mechanical properties. All the samples were non-toxicity, and PLA group degraded much slower than that of PGA group. In conclusion, this melt-spinning system showed potential in ACET application the optimum parameters (v = 150 m/min, n = 6) were proved to have the higher prospect.