Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Western society. It is also a main cause of adult disability and dependency. Acupuncture for stroke has been used in China for hundreds of years and is increasingly practiced in some Western countries.

A review produced by The Cochrane Collaboration has assessed the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for patients with stroke in the subacute or chronic stage.

Five trials ( 368 patients ) met the inclusion criteria.
Methodological quality was considered inadequate in all trials.
Although the overall estimate from four trials suggested the odds of improvement in global neurological deficit was higher in the acupuncture group compared with the control group ( odds ratio, OR = 6.55 ), this estimate may not be reliable since there was substantial heterogeneity.
One trial showed no significant improvement of motor function between the real acupuncture group and the sham acupuncture group, but the confidence interval was wide and included clinically significant effects in both directions.

No data on death, dependency, institutional care, change of neurological deficit score, quality of life or adverse events were available.

The authors conclude: “ Currently there is no clear evidence on the effects of acupuncture on subacute or chronic stroke.”

Source: The Cochrane Library, 2006


XagenaMedicine2006