Exploring the rationality of non-acupoint shallow needling control setting based on chronic spontaneous urticaria
10.3969/j.issn.1006-2157.2025.05.019
- VernacularTitle:基于慢性自发性荨麻疹探讨非穴浅刺假针刺对照设置的合理性
- Author:
Yunzhou SHI
1
;
Xianjun XIAO
;
Haiyan QIN
;
Di QIN
;
Zihao ZOU
;
Xiaofeng LYU
;
Qing JIANG
;
Ying LI
Author Information
1. 成都中医药大学针灸推拿学院 成都 610075
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
chronic spontaneous urticaria;
acupuncture;
sham acupuncture;
control setting;
rationality
- From:
Journal of Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
2025;48(5):724-734
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To explore the similarities and differences in clinical efficacy and mRNA transcriptomics characteristics between acupuncture and shallow needling at non-acupoints and to provide a basis for determining whether shallow needling at non-acupoints is suitable as a sham acupuncture control in acupuncture clinical trials.Methods Eighty patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria(CSU)who visited the Dermatology Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine between July 8,2018 and to July 29,2019,were included.The patients were randomly divided into the acupuncture group(n=41)and the sham acupuncture group(n=39)using a computerized complete random design.Additionally,12 healthy individuals were included as the healthy control group.For patients in the acupuncture group,"Baihui(GV20),""Shenting(GV24),""Zhongwan(CV12),"and bilateral"Quchi(LI11),""Tianshu(ST25),""Xuehai(SP10),""Zusanli(ST36),"and"Sanyinjiao(SP6)"were selected for regular acupuncture.The sham acupuncture group received non-acupoint shallow needling at eight non-acupoints on the head,upper limbs,lower limbs,and abdomen.Both groups underwent daily treatment,with five consecutive days constituting one treatment course followed by a two-day interval.A total of two courses were administered.The urticaria activity score(UAS)was used to evaluate wheals and pruritus,whereas the visual analog scale(VAS)score was used to evaluate the degree of pruritus.Blinding effectiveness was also evaluated.Based on clinical evaluation and sample quality,serum samples from six patients in each treatment group before and after the intervention,along with those from six healthy individuals,were selected for RNA sequencing using the BGISEQ-500 sequencer.Differentially expressed mRNAs were identified using the"DEGseq"software package,and the similarities and differences in mRNA expression between the two groups were analyzed.Results UAS and VAS scores decreased in both groups at 1,2,3,and 4 weeks of treatment compared with before treatment(P＜0.01).The decrease in UAS and VAS scores in both groups was time-dependent(P＜0.01)but not related to the grouping or the interaction between grouping and time(P＞0.05).By the end of the second week of treatment,the number of patients in both groups who believed they had received true acupuncture was similar between the two groups,with no significant difference.mRNA transcriptomic sequencing revealed that,before and after treatment,the enrichment types and degrees of differentially expressed mRNA were similar between the acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups at the biological process,cellular component,and molecular function levels.In terms of biological processes,both groups were commonly enriched in coagulation,hematoma,oxygen transport,and gas transport.In terms of cellular components,both groups exhibited enrichment in hemoglobin complexes,platelet alpha granules,extracellular exosomes,extracellular organelles,and extracellular vesicles.At the molecular function level,both groups were commonly enriched in actin filament-binding substances,haptoglobin,peroxidase activity,and oxygen blood binding.In the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway enrichment analysis,both groups showed common enrichment in multiple entries such as cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction,ECM-receptor interaction,microRNAs in cancer,proteoglycans in cancer,bladder cancer,and malaria.Conclusion Acupuncture and sham acupuncture exhibited similar clinical treatment effects and mRNA transcriptomics profiles.In the design of acupuncture clinical trials,disease specificity should be carefully considered.Sham acupuncture control using non-acupoint shallow needling may not be suitable for skin diseases such as urticaria.
