[Clinical effect of acupuncture combined with medication on diabetic peripheral neuropathy and its influence on serum lipid metabolism].

OBJECTIVE

To observe the clinical effect on diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) treated with acupuncture combined with medication and explore its effect mechanism.

METHODS

Sixty-two patients of DPN were randomly divided into a combined therapy group (31 cases) and a medication group (31 cases, 2 cases dropped out); besides, 20 healthy subjects were recruited as a normal group. On the base of routine intervention, in the medication group, thioctic acid capsules were administrated orally, 0.2 g each time, 3 times a day. In the combined therapy group, besides the medication as the medication group, acupuncture was performed on bilateral Quchi (LI 11), Waiguan (TE 5), Hegu (LI 4), Tianshu (ST 25), Zusanli (ST 36), Sanyinjiao (SP 6) and Taichong (LR 3) and the needles were retained for 30 min, acupuncture was delivered once daily, 6 times a week. The duration of treatment was 4 weeks in the two groups. The score of Toronto clinical scoring system (TCSS), the nerve conduction velocity of median nerve (MN) and common peroneal nerve (CPN) were observed before and after treatment in the two intervention groups; and the serum lipid metabolism was detected before and after treatment in the two intervention groups and the normal group.

RESULTS

Compared with that before treatment, the scores of TCSS were reduced in the combined therapy group and the medication group (<0.05) after treatment, and the score decrease in the combined therapy group was larger than that of the medication group (<0.001). The motor nerve conduction velocity and the sensory nerve conductive velocity of MN and CPN after treatment all increased in the combined therapy group and the medication group compared with those before treatment (<0.05), and the improvements in the combined therapy group were larger than those of the medication group (<0.001). Before treatment DPN patients had 365 differential lipid metabolites, including sphingosine (SPH, d18:0), involved in the inositol phosphate metabolism, compared with the subjects of the normal group. There were 103 differential lipid metabolites in the medication group before and after treatment, including lysophosphatidyl ethanolamine (LPE, 18:1/0:0), participated in glycerophospholipid metabolism. In the combined therapy group, before and after treatment, there were 99 differential lipid metabolites, including lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC, 18:0/0:0), participated in the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction. Acupuncture greatly affected 50 lipid metabolites such as lysophosphatidic acid (LPA, 0:0/22:6), LPA(0:0/18:2) and LPC(O-18:0), which was mainly involved in glycerophospholipid metabolism.

CONCLUSION

Acupuncture combined with medication ameliorates the symptoms and the nerve conduction velocity in DPN patients, which may be related to the regulation of serum lipid metabolism.