Therapeutic effects and central mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion for treating functional dyspepsia: study protocol for an fMRI-based randomized controlled trial

作者：Pan Zhang, Tao Yin, Yangke Mao, Zhaoxuan He, Sha Yang, Siqin Huang, Ruirui Sun, Fang Zeng · 发表于：Trials · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1186/s13063-022-06411-9 · 被引用次数：10 · 研究领域：Gastrointestinal motility and disorders、Traditional Chinese Medicine Studies、Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies

BACKGROUND: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders, with a high prevalence and significant influence on the quality of life (QoL). Either acupuncture or moxibustion is effective for dyspepsia, which is confirmed by both ancient documents and modern research. However, the therapeutic advantage and underlying mechanism between acupuncture and moxibustion for FD remain unclear. METHODS: This randomized controlled fMRI trial aims to (i) evaluate the therapeutic advantages of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment for FD, (ii) investigate the similarities and differences in cerebral activity elicited by acupuncture and moxibustion, and (iii) analyze the possible correlations between brain responses and clinical variables thus to explore the potential central mechanism of acupuncture and moxibustion for treating FD. Ninety-two FD patients will be randomly assigned to either the acupuncture group or the moxibustion group in a 1:1 ratio. Twenty sessions of acupuncture or moxibustion treatment over 4 weeks will be performed on each patient. The short form Leeds Dyspepsia Questionnaire, the Nepean Dyspepsia Index, etc., are used to evaluate the therapeutic effects. The heart rate variability will be analyzed to investigate the autonomic nerve function. Thirty-six FD patients in each group will be randomly selected for the fMRI scan to detect cerebral activity changes. DISCUSSION: We expect the results will deepen our knowledge on the cl...