Beneficial Acupuncture Treatment For Systemic Sclerosis which was Non-Responsive To Medications

Abstract

Although various drugs have been used in the treatment of systemic sclerosis, a disease-modifying drug that can be a gold standard is yet to be defined. The effects of acupuncture treatment used in inflammatory diseases on systemic sclerosis patients are not clearly known. This report presents the successful outcome of acupuncture treatment applied to two female systemic sclerosis patients who had suffered from the disease for seven years (aged 54 years) and 30 years (aged 65 years), despite the use of various drugs.

Complementary therapies for patients with systemic sclerosis

“…A case report describes two SSc patients with disease duration 7 and 30 years, refractory to immunosuppressive therapy, who experienced subjective improvement in joint pain, heart burn severity, and fatigue as well as mRSS reduction and widening of maximal oral aperture after the addition of acupuncture. 93 Maeda et al 94 studied 11 SSc patients (four dcSSc, seven lcSSc), six scleroderma spectrum disorder patients, and seven healthy controls and found electrical acupuncture-stimulation therapy led to increased skin surface temperature (typically 1−1.5°C) in 14 of 17 patients with SSc or scleroderma spectrum disorder and none of the healthy controls. However, no other clinical outcomes were reported, including RP frequency.…”