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dc.contributor.authorKim, Tae-Hun
dc.contributor.authorLee, Myeong Soo
dc.contributor.authorBirch, Stephen
dc.contributor.authorAlræk, Terje
dc.date.accessioned2022-09-07T07:10:25Z
dc.date.available2022-09-07T07:10:25Z
dc.date.issued2022-02-03
dc.description.abstractIntroduction: Sham acupuncture was developed to be used as an inert control intervention in clinical trials of acupuncture. However, controversies exist regarding the validity of sham acupuncture. In this systematic review (SR) of acupuncture trials, we assessed whether serum biomarkers showed significant differences after sham and verum acupuncture treatments.<p> <p>Methods: Any acupuncture clinical trials that evaluated serum biomarker changes between sham acupuncture and verum acupuncture were included in this review. Relevant literature was searched in the PubMed database, EMBASE, and The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) database from inception until June 2021. The Cochrane risk of bias was assessed. Summary effect estimates for each biomarker between groups were calculated with a random effect model.<p> <p>Results: From 51 sham acupuncture trials, we found that there were no significant differences in most of the 36 serum biomarkers after sham acupuncture and verum acupuncture needling. Only VEGF, IG-E, TNF-a, NGF, GABA, NPY, and VIP serum levels were identified as being different between the groups. The overall risk of bias of the included studies and the limited numbers of studies for meta-analysis do not strongly support the results of this SR.<p> <p>Conclusion: Sham acupuncture techniques might have similar effects on biomarkers as the so-called “real acupuncture” techniques, which indicates that sham acupuncture, as an inert intervention similar to a placebo drug, needs to be reconsidered.en_US
dc.identifier.citationKim, Lee, Birch, Alræk. Plausible Mechanism of Sham Acupuncture Based on Biomarkers: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2022;16:1-7en_US
dc.identifier.cristinIDFRIDAID 2019245
dc.identifier.doi10.3389/fnins.2022.834112
dc.identifier.issn1662-4548
dc.identifier.issn1662-453X
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10037/26688
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherFrontiers Mediaen_US
dc.relation.journalFrontiers in Neuroscience
dc.rights.accessRightsopenAccessen_US
dc.rights.holderCopyright 2022 The Author(s)en_US
dc.titlePlausible Mechanism of Sham Acupuncture Based on Biomarkers: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trialsen_US
dc.type.versionpublishedVersionen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.typeTidsskriftartikkelen_US
dc.typePeer revieweden_US


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