Bee venom acupuncture point injection for central post stroke pain: a preliminary single-blind randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE

We investigated apipuncture, or acupuncture point injection with diluted bee venom, as a promising new treatment for central post stroke pain (CPSP).

METHODS

Bee venom, diluted to 0.005% in normal saline, was administered to the treatment group, and normal saline given to control group as twice-weekly injections for three weeks. The points were LI15, GB21, LI11, GB31, ST36 and GB39 of the affected side and the amount of injection was 0.05 ml at each point.

RESULTS

Eight patients in each group were included in the analysis. After three weeks there were significant decreases in visual analogue pain scores compared with baseline in both groups and the treatment group improved more significantly than the control group (p = 0.009).

CONCLUSION

Apipuncture significantly improved CPSP in this pilot trial. Further studies of its mechanisms and a larger and long-term follow-up trial will be needed to determine more definitely the efficacy of apipuncture and to elucidate duration of improvement.