May 9, 2026

@michaelokun

Could a specialized acupuncture approach improve Parkinson’s disease? Spoiler alert: YES. Sham controlled means the comparison group received a procedure designed to mimic treatment while minimizing the active biological effect. Single blind means participants did not know which treatment they received. Peng and colleagues describe in a new paper in Movement Disorders how Qihuang needle therapy impacted motor symptoms, non-motor symptoms and quality of life in Parkinson’s disease. Key points: - Qihuang needle therapy produced significantly greater improvements in UPDRS motor scores compared to sham acupuncture after 6 weeks of treatment. - Benefits extended beyond motor symptoms and included improvements in non-motor symptoms and quality of life measures. - The greatest effects were observed in folks w/ postural instability and gait disorder dominant Parkinson’s disease. My take: Acupuncture studies in Parkinson’s disease have frequently generated debate because placebo responses can be strong and trial design can be challenging. This study was carefully designed and employed a sham control and some blinding. The size of the reported motor improvement is intriguing and deserves attention. The mismatch between UPDRS and objective gait measures was not completely surprising. I wonder whether this paper will stimulate additional multicenter studies and mechanistic work. Here are 5 points that resonated w/ me: 1- Adjunctive therapies for Parkinson’s disease remain important because medications frequently incompletely address gait, balance and quality of life. The disconnect between UPDRS and objective gait parameters should be explored. 2- The reported improvement in UPDRS-III motor scores exceeded what is usually considered clinically meaningful. 3- Folks w/ gait and balance predominant Parkinson’s disease may potentially respond differently than tremor dominant subtypes. Objective measure may be critical. 4- The sham acupuncture response was substantial, highlighting how important study design is in complementary therapy trials. 5- Future studies: biomarkers, gait technology and imaging. #michaelokun #fixelinstitute #michaelokun