Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2015 Jul 29:16:320.
doi: 10.1186/s13063-015-0873-0.

The effectiveness and safety of plum-blossom needle therapy for Tourette syndrome: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Jinna Yu  1 , Yongming Ye  2 , Shanshan Li  3 , Jun Liu  4 , Yanbing Zhai  5 , Min Zhang  6 , Zhishun Liu  7
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The effectiveness and safety of plum-blossom needle therapy for Tourette syndrome: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Jinna Yu et al. Trials. .

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have indicated that acupuncture can alleviate the symptoms of Tourette syndrome (TS), but the evidence is insufficient. So far, there have been no reports on plum-blossom needle therapy for TS. Here we present a protocol for a randomized controlled trial using plum-blossom needle therapy to treat TS.

Methods/design: Sixty patients will be randomly allocated into either the plum-blossom needle therapy group or the habit reversal training (HRT) group. All patients in each group will be given 12 weeks of treatment, with follow-up at the 24th week. The primary outcome measure will be the mean change from baseline in the total tic score on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) at the 12th week. Secondary outcome measures will include the scores on the TS Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI) and the mean changes from baseline in the YGTSS score and the Children and Adolescents' Quality of Life Scale (CAQOL) at other time points. Safety will also be evaluated.

Discussion: This trial will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of plum-blossom needle therapy for TS compared with HRT. A limitation of this trial is that patients and acupuncturists cannot be blinded.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02403258 (Date of registration: March 31, 2015).

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of the proposed trial procedure
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Proposed timeline of the trial
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Composition of the plum-blossom needle with a detachable head. Each needle head will be used for a specific patient and will be sterilized at high pressure after each use
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Manipulation of the plum-blossom needle
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR. Washington: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Prevalence of diagnosed Tourette Syndrome in persons aged 6–17 years - United States, 2007. MMWR Morb and Mortal Wkly Rep. 2009;58(21):581–5. - PubMed
    1. Stern JS, Burza S, Robertson MM. Gilles de la Tourette’s syndrome and its impact in the UK. Postgrad Med J. 2005;81(951):12–9. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.2004.023614. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Scharf JM, Miller LL, Gauvin CA, Alabiso J, Mathews CA, Ben-shlomo Y. Population prevalence of Tourette syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Mov Disord. 2015;30(2):221–8. doi: 10.1002/mds.26089. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Stern J. Tourette Syndrome. Paediatrics and Child Health. 2014;24(10):447–51. doi: 10.1016/j.paed.2014.03.003. - DOI

Publication types

Substances

Associated data