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Review
. 2014:2014:187484.
doi: 10.1155/2014/187484. Epub 2014 Mar 13.

Effectiveness of Stimulation of Acupoint KI 1 by Artemisia vulgaris (Moxa) for the Treatment of Essential Hypertension: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Xiaochen Yang  1 , Xingjiang Xiong  1 , Guoyan Yang  2 , Jie Wang  1
Affiliations
Review

Effectiveness of Stimulation of Acupoint KI 1 by Artemisia vulgaris (Moxa) for the Treatment of Essential Hypertension: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Xiaochen Yang et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2014.

Abstract

Objective. A systematic review of randomized controlled trials has been performed to assess the effectiveness of stimulation of acupoint KI 1 by Artemisia vulgaris (the Japanese name is moxa) to lower blood pressure compared to antihypertensive drugs. Methods and Findings. Articles published from 1980 to August 2013 in databases of CENTRAL, Pubmed, CBM, CNKI, VIP, and online clinical trial registry websites were searched. Studies included were randomized controlled trials (RCTs); moxibustion-type intervention on KI 1 compared with antihypertensive drugs; meta-analysis showed superior effects of moxibustion plus antihypertensive drugs on systolic blood pressure (WMD: -4.91 [-7.54, -2.28]; P = 0.0003) but no superior effects on diastolic blood pressure (WMD: -6.38 [-17.17, 4.41]; P = 0.25). Conclusions. Our systematic review of the current literature shows a beneficial effect of using moxibustion interventions on KI 1 to lower blood pressure compared to antihypertensive drugs. However, the results are influenced by the existing differences in design of the current trials.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Location of Yongquan, kidney 1; (b) moxibustion of Yongquan, kidney 1; (c) Artemisia vulgaris (the Chinese name is Ai); (d) moxibustion, a traditional Chinese method that uses the heat generated by burning herbal preparations containing Artemisia vulgaris to stimulate acupuncture points.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flow diagram of the literature searching and study selection.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The forest plot of comparison of two groups for the outcome of systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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