Allam Hemat, ElDine Nirvana Gamal, Helmy Ghada
Complementary Medicine Department, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
J Altern Complement Med. 2008 Mar;14(2):109-14. doi: 10.1089/acm.2007.0508.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests in delays in social interaction, language used in social communication, and symbolic or imaginative play, with an onset prior to age 3 years. Language therapy (LT) for children with autism is the main form of rehabilitation, because it emphasizes its major presenting symptom (i.e., language impairment). Scalp acupuncture (scalp AP) is a modality based on the physiologic function of different brain areas, where different scalp zones are stimulated with needles so as to stimulate the reflexively related nervous tissue. This study aimed to evaluate the role of scalp AP as a complementary modality to LT in rehabilitation of children with autism.
The study involved 20 children (divided into 2 equal groups: A and B), diagnosed as autistic according to DSM IV classification. Their ages ranged between 4 and 7 years old. All subjects underwent LT twice weekly, aiming at stimulation of cognitive and verbal abilities. Group B only was subjected to scalp AP sessions--twice weekly--as a rehabilitation complementary tool during the 9-month period of the study. The acupoints used were: Du 20, 26, GV17; three temple needles; and Yamamoto's New Scalp Acupuncture cerebrum and aphasia points (acupuncture needles 0.3 x 30 mm). A language test was performed before and after therapy to monitor cognition and expression (an Arabic test was included).
Both groups, whose mean age range was 5.5 years+/-1.22 years, showed a significant improvement in cognitive and expressive language skills pre- and post-therapy, which was highly significant among group B children treated with scalp AP (attention 2.8+/-0.8 in group A versus 3.5+/-0.8 in group B; receptive semantics were 7+/-3.8 in group A versus 9.4+/-3.1 in group B). Expressive semantics significantly improved in both groups.
Scalp AP is a safe complementary modality when combined with LT and has a significantly positive effect on language development in children with autism.
自闭症是一种神经发育障碍，表现为社交互动、社交沟通中使用的语言以及象征性或想象性游戏出现延迟，发病于3岁之前。针对自闭症儿童的语言治疗（LT）是主要的康复形式，因为它着重于其主要症状（即语言障碍）。头皮针疗法（scalp AP）是一种基于不同脑区生理功能的治疗方法，通过针刺刺激不同的头皮区域，从而刺激与之反射相关的神经组织。本研究旨在评估头皮针疗法作为语言治疗的辅助手段在自闭症儿童康复中的作用。
本研究纳入20名儿童（分为A、B两组，每组10名），根据《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第四版（DSM-IV）分类被诊断为自闭症。他们的年龄在4至7岁之间。所有受试者每周接受两次语言治疗，旨在刺激认知和语言能力。在为期9个月的研究期间，仅B组每周接受两次头皮针治疗作为康复辅助手段。使用的穴位为：百会（Du 20）、神庭（Du 26）、神道（GV17）；三针（三个太阳穴处）；以及山本新头皮针大脑和失语症穴位（0.3×30mm针灸针）。治疗前后进行语言测试以监测认知和表达能力（包括一项阿拉伯语测试）。
两组儿童的平均年龄为5.5岁±1.22岁，治疗前后认知和表达语言能力均有显著改善，在接受头皮针治疗的B组儿童中改善更为显著（A组注意力评分为2.8±0.8，B组为3.5±0.8；A组接受性语义评分为7±3.8，B组为9.4±3.1）。两组的表达性语义均有显著改善。
头皮针疗法与语言治疗相结合时是一种安全的辅助手段，对自闭症儿童的语言发展有显著的积极影响。
