Herrmann Amanda A, Chrenka Ella A, Chung Lap Pui, Bouwens Sophia G, Tansey Ellie K, Qin Lixin, Wolf Ayla A, Farrell Marny T, Sherman Samantha J, Svitak Aleta L, Hanson Leah R, Guliani Gaurav K
HealthPartners Institute, Bloomington, MN, USA.
HealthPartners Institute Neuroscience Research Center, St. Paul, MN, USA.
Glob Adv Integr Med Health. 2025 Aug 29;14:27536130251375341. doi: 10.1177/27536130251375341. eCollection 2025 Jan-Dec.
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a rare autoimmune disease resulting in muscle weakness. Although pharmacologic treatments are typically effective at managing symptoms, prolonged use is associated with safety issues. Acupuncture treatment may have a significant positive effect in treating MG symptoms and may enhance the efficacy of medications.
The overall goal was to examine the feasibility and safety of a pilot randomized controlled trial of acupuncture treatment in individuals with MG.
Participants were randomized into 2 arms: (1) immediate start and (2) delayed start. Participants in the immediate start arm underwent twice weekly acupuncture for 12 weeks, whereas participants in the delayed start arm underwent a 12-week delay period, followed by twice weekly acupuncture for 12 weeks. A base treatment of 21 acupoints was used for all study participants. Acupuncturists made a Traditional Chinese Medicine differential diagnosis to determine whether the patient was yang deficient, yin deficient, or stagnation pronounced, and could add up to 9 additional acupoints. Participants received the same acupuncture protocol for all 24 treatments.
Twenty-four individuals with MG were enrolled in the study. The average age of participants was 62 (SD = 13) with an average of 8 years (SD = 9) between diagnosis and enrollment. Seventeen of the 24 individuals who signed the consent form completed 100% of acupuncture treatment sessions and completed the full study. Only 17 adverse events were determined to be definitely or probably related to treatment, which were mostly mild site reactions. Barriers to participation included transportation issues, travel time, and the overall time commitment.
The results demonstrated that acupuncture treatment was overall feasible and safe in individuals with MG. Participants also self-reported improvements in MG symptoms. Next steps will include development of an efficacy RCT with a rigorous study design to examine the clinical significance and efficacy of acupuncture for MG.
重症肌无力（MG）是一种导致肌肉无力的罕见自身免疫性疾病。尽管药物治疗通常能有效控制症状，但长期使用会带来安全问题。针灸治疗可能对治疗MG症状有显著的积极作用，并可能提高药物疗效。
总体目标是检验针对MG患者进行针灸治疗的一项试点随机对照试验的可行性和安全性。
参与者被随机分为两组：（1）立即开始组和（2）延迟开始组。立即开始组的参与者每周接受两次针灸，共12周，而延迟开始组的参与者有12周的延迟期，之后每周接受两次针灸，共12周。所有研究参与者均采用21个穴位的基础治疗。针灸师进行中医辨证诊断，以确定患者是阳虚、阴虚还是气滞明显，并可额外增加多达9个穴位。所有24次治疗中，参与者接受相同的针灸方案。
24名MG患者参与了该研究。参与者的平均年龄为62岁（标准差=13），从诊断到入组的平均时间为8年（标准差=9）。签署同意书的24人中，有17人完成了100%的针灸治疗疗程并完成了整个研究。仅确定17例不良事件肯定或可能与治疗有关，大多为轻微的局部反应。参与的障碍包括交通问题、出行时间和总的时间投入。
结果表明，针灸治疗对MG患者总体上是可行且安全的。参与者还自我报告MG症状有所改善。下一步将包括开展一项设计严谨的疗效随机对照试验，以检验针灸治疗MG的临床意义和疗效。
