Multimodal Laser Stimulation and Traditional Needle Acupuncture in Post-Stroke Patients—A Pilot Cross-Over Study with Results from Near Infrared Spectroscopy

Litscher, Gerhard; Zhang, Xiaoning; Sheng, Zemin; Jing, Xiang-Hong; Wang, Lu

doi:10.3390/medicines6040115

Open AccessLetter

Multimodal Laser Stimulation and Traditional Needle Acupuncture in Post-Stroke Patients—A Pilot Cross-Over Study with Results from Near Infrared Spectroscopy

by

Gerhard Litscher

^1,2,*,†

,

Xiaoning Zhang

^1,2,†,

Zemin Sheng

³,

Xiang-Hong Jing

² and

Lu Wang

¹

Research Unit of Biomedical Engineering in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Research Unit for Complementary and Integrative Laser Medicine, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Research Center Graz, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria

²

Institute of Acupuncture-Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China

³

Department of TCM, Privatclinic Lassnitzhoehe, 8301 Lassnitzhoehe, Austria

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

The authors contributed equally to this letter.

Medicines 2019, 6(4), 115; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicines6040115

Submission received: 14 October 2019 / Revised: 9 December 2019 / Accepted: 13 December 2019 / Published: 16 December 2019

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Laser Medicine and Traditional Acupuncture Therapy)

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Abstract

Background: The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the cerebral effects of laser stimulation and traditional needle acupuncture in patients after stroke. Methods: Seventeen stroke patients (12 female and five male; mean age ± SD: 66.5 ± 12.9 years) were randomly selected in a stroke rehabilitation hospital. Patients’ regional cerebral blood oxygen saturation (rSO2) values were recorded before, during, and after needle acupuncture (scalp, ear and body) as well as before, during, and after corresponding laser stimulation (red laser, four points: 100 mW, 658 nm, 500 µm; yellow laser, one point: 50 mW, 589 nm, 500 µm; infrared laser, three points: 100 mW, 810 nm, 500 µm; green laser, one point: 5 mW, 532 nm, 500 µm) in a cross-over study design. Results: There were no significant changes after needle acupuncture in the phases immediately after needle insertion or during acupuncture stimulation. However, after manual needle acupuncture and after laser stimulation, the majority of the rSO2 values showed increases. The highest value (+3%) was reached after laser stimulation treatment. Heart rate and blood pressure before and after the treatments did not show significant alterations. Conclusions: Changes in local cerebral oxygen saturation could be quantified, although confirmation may only be expected after extensive follow-up studies.

Keywords: laser stimulation; acupuncture; stroke; near infrared spectroscopy; ear acupuncture; body acupuncture; scalp acupuncture

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MDPI and ACS Style

Litscher, G.; Zhang, X.; Sheng, Z.; Jing, X.-H.; Wang, L. Multimodal Laser Stimulation and Traditional Needle Acupuncture in Post-Stroke Patients—A Pilot Cross-Over Study with Results from Near Infrared Spectroscopy. Medicines 2019, 6, 115. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicines6040115

AMA Style

Litscher G, Zhang X, Sheng Z, Jing X-H, Wang L. Multimodal Laser Stimulation and Traditional Needle Acupuncture in Post-Stroke Patients—A Pilot Cross-Over Study with Results from Near Infrared Spectroscopy. Medicines. 2019; 6(4):115. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicines6040115

Chicago/Turabian Style

Litscher, Gerhard, Xiaoning Zhang, Zemin Sheng, Xiang-Hong Jing, and Lu Wang. 2019. "Multimodal Laser Stimulation and Traditional Needle Acupuncture in Post-Stroke Patients—A Pilot Cross-Over Study with Results from Near Infrared Spectroscopy" Medicines 6, no. 4: 115. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicines6040115

APA Style

Litscher, G., Zhang, X., Sheng, Z., Jing, X.-H., & Wang, L. (2019). Multimodal Laser Stimulation and Traditional Needle Acupuncture in Post-Stroke Patients—A Pilot Cross-Over Study with Results from Near Infrared Spectroscopy. Medicines, 6(4), 115. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicines6040115

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Multimodal Laser Stimulation and Traditional Needle Acupuncture in Post-Stroke Patients—A Pilot Cross-Over Study with Results from Near Infrared Spectroscopy

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