TY - JOUR
T1 - Acupuncture-based modalities
T2 - Novel alternative approaches in the treatment of gastrointestinal dysmotility in patients with systemic sclerosis
AU - Sallam, Hanaa S.
AU - McNearney, Terry A.
AU - Chen, Jiande D.Z.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: The research performed at UTMB was supported by a Mind-Body Grant (TAM) from R21 AG023951 NIH National Institute on Aging (Sierpina) and the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) at the UTMB, Galveston, funded by Grant MO1 RR 00073 from the National Center for Research Resources .
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Background The gastrointestinal (GI) dysmotility of systemic sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma) patients requires careful evaluation and intervention. The lack of effective prokinetic drugs motivate researchers to search for alternative treatments. Objectives We present an overview of the pathophysiology of SSc GI dysmotility and the advances in its management, with particular focus on acupuncture-related modalities and innovative therapies. Data sources Original research articles were identified based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline methodology. We have searched the MEDLINE database using Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) for all English and non-English articles with an English abstract from 2005 to October 2012. Results Only four original articles of various study designs were found studying Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies for SSc patients. Despite the small patient study numbers, CAM treatments, acupressure, and transcutaneous electroacupuncture, showed self-reported and physiologic evidence of improvement of GI functioning and/or symptoms in SSc patients. Conclusions CAM therapies include experimental modalities with the potential to offer relief of symptoms from GI dysmotility. Larger studies are needed to investigate their optimal use in patient subsets to tailor therapies to patient needs.
AB - Background The gastrointestinal (GI) dysmotility of systemic sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma) patients requires careful evaluation and intervention. The lack of effective prokinetic drugs motivate researchers to search for alternative treatments. Objectives We present an overview of the pathophysiology of SSc GI dysmotility and the advances in its management, with particular focus on acupuncture-related modalities and innovative therapies. Data sources Original research articles were identified based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline methodology. We have searched the MEDLINE database using Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) for all English and non-English articles with an English abstract from 2005 to October 2012. Results Only four original articles of various study designs were found studying Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies for SSc patients. Despite the small patient study numbers, CAM treatments, acupressure, and transcutaneous electroacupuncture, showed self-reported and physiologic evidence of improvement of GI functioning and/or symptoms in SSc patients. Conclusions CAM therapies include experimental modalities with the potential to offer relief of symptoms from GI dysmotility. Larger studies are needed to investigate their optimal use in patient subsets to tailor therapies to patient needs.
KW - Gastrointestinal motility
KW - TENS
KW - acupuncture
KW - gastric electrical stimulation
KW - sacral nerve stimulation
KW - transcutaneous electroacupuncture
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U2 - 10.1016/j.explore.2013.10.001
DO - 10.1016/j.explore.2013.10.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 24439095
AN - SCOPUS:84892528196
SN - 1550-8307
VL - 10
SP - 44
EP - 52
JO - Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing
JF - Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing
IS - 1
ER -