Lin Jiahui, Gu Zhilin, Zhou Peng, Huang Weikang, Ou Aihua, Zhao Qi, Xu Zhenhua
The second Clinical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Department of Acupuncture, Shenzhen Bao'an Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China.
J Pain Res. 2025 Apr 11;18:1963-1973. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S512989. eCollection 2025.
This study aims to explore the central mechanisms of shallow acupuncture for chronic neck pain (CNP) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), an innovative approach not commonly applied in shallow acupuncture research.
This multi-center randomized controlled trial will recruit 252 CNP patients from three centers (84 per center). Participants will be randomly assigned to three groups: shallow acupuncture, drug control (celecoxib capsules), or waiting list group, with 84 patients per group. The primary outcomes include total effective rate, visual analogue scale (VAS), Neck Disability Index (NDI), and brain imaging results (20 randomly selected patients per group). Secondary outcomes include the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Short Form 36 Questionnaire (SF-36), and cervical range of motion (CROM). Data will be collected at baseline, after 2 weeks, and at 3-month follow-up. fMRI and DTI data will be collected at baseline and after 2 weeks. Analyses will include regional homogeneity (ReHo), amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), functional connectivity (FC), fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusivity (MD) within and between groups. An additional 20 healthy volunteers will provide baseline fMRI and DTI data for comparison.
This study will validate the clinical efficacy of shallow acupuncture for CNP and explore its central mechanisms using fMRI and DTI. The findings may provide neuroimaging evidence supporting the broader clinical application of shallow acupuncture in treating CNS-related diseases.
本研究旨在利用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）和扩散张量成像（DTI）探索浅针治疗慢性颈部疼痛（CNP）的中枢机制，这是一种在浅针研究中不常用的创新方法。
这项多中心随机对照试验将从三个中心招募252名CNP患者（每个中心84名）。参与者将被随机分为三组：浅针组、药物对照组（塞来昔布胶囊）或等待列表组，每组84名患者。主要结局包括总有效率、视觉模拟量表（VAS）、颈部功能障碍指数（NDI）和脑成像结果（每组随机选取20名患者）。次要结局包括自评焦虑量表（SAS）、简短健康调查量表（SF-36）和颈椎活动度（CROM）。数据将在基线、2周后和3个月随访时收集。fMRI和DTI数据将在基线和2周后收集。分析将包括组内和组间的局部一致性（ReHo）、低频振幅（ALFF）、功能连接（FC）、分数各向异性（FA）和平均扩散率（MD）。另外20名健康志愿者将提供基线fMRI和DTI数据用于比较。
本研究将验证浅针治疗CNP的临床疗效，并利用fMRI和DTI探索其中枢机制。研究结果可能为浅针在治疗中枢神经系统相关疾病中的更广泛临床应用提供神经影像学证据。
