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. 2014:2014:329746.
doi: 10.1155/2014/329746. Epub 2014 Mar 23.

Can tongue acupuncture enhance body acupuncture? First results from heart rate variability and clinical scores in patients with depression

Xian Shi  1 , Huan Wang  1 , Lu Wang  2 , Zengkai Zhao  1 , Daniela Litscher  2 , Jingqiao Tao  1 , Ingrid Gaischek  3 , Zemin Sheng  4 , Gerhard Litscher  2
Affiliations

Can tongue acupuncture enhance body acupuncture? First results from heart rate variability and clinical scores in patients with depression

Xian Shi et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2014.

Abstract

Tongue acupuncture (TA) is a method which is not used in western medicine and even in China it is applied very rarely in clinical practice. This study aimed at investigating whether additional TA can improve the efficacy of body acupuncture (BA) in patients with depression. Twenty patients with a mean age of ± SD of 42.9 ± 11.2 years were randomly divided into two groups (n = 10 patients each), one group receiving BA (Zusanli, Sanyinjiao, Neiguan, Shenting, Yintang, and Baihui) and the other receiving BA and TA (Liver, Heart, and Brain). The quantitative and qualitative outcome measures were heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), and different clinical scores. We found that in both groups all scores and HR improved significantly, whereas HRV increased partly significantly. It seems that TA can enhance acute and treatment effects of BA in patients with depression. The investigation of de qi sensation in TA needs further attention.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Use of different acupuncture approaches (http://www.pubmed.gov/): A … acupuncture; BA … body acupuncture; and TA … tongue acupuncture.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Tongue acupuncture at the Military Acupuncture Training Centre at the People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Tongue acupuncture points used in this study.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Measurement procedure for body acupuncture.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Box plots displaying the changes in mean heart rate (HR). Within the single treatment sessions, no significant effects could be found. When comparing the values of the first session to those of the last session, however, HR had decreased significantly. The ends of the boxes define the 25th and 75th percentiles with a line at the median and error bars defining the 10th and 90th percentiles.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Changes in total heart rate variability (HRV). For further explanations, see Figure 5.
Figure 7
Figure 7
The low frequency (LF)/high frequency (HF) ratio did not change significantly when comparing the first and last treatment. For further explanations, see Figure 5.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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