Is Traditional Chinese Medicine Effective in Treating Tic Disorders (Tourette Syndrome)? A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract

Background: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a type of alternative medicine that has been widely utilized in the prevention and treatment of mental diseases such as schizophrenia, ADHD, Alzheimer's disease, and Tourette's syndrome (TS) in many countries. However, the evidence regarding TCM's effectiveness and safety in treating TS are conflicting. Therefore, the goal of the present study is to analyze and summarize the available literature related to the efficacy of TCM in the treatment of TIC disorders especially, TS. Materials and Methods: Relevant articles for the meta-analysis were searched using appropriate keywords from PubMed, MEDLINE, and CENTRAL databases. Event data for TCM for the treatment of TS in the control and intervention arms were determined from the RCTs, and Diagnostic odds ratio and risk of bias analysis were performed. Meta-analysis was performed using MedCalc software, and suitable parameters to assess heterogeneity were computed. Results: Twelve randomized clinical trials with a total of 1681 Tourette syndrome patients were included as per the inclusion criteria. The patient's clinical symptoms were improved to a greater extent, and the pooled diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of 1.311 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) value ranging from 0.804 to 2.139 I2 value of 72.04 % was obtained. The pooled relative risk was 1.09, with a 95%CI value ranging from 0.97 to 1.268. The data heterogeneity was assessed, and we achieved the Q value of 33.54, p-value 0.0004, and I2 value of 67.21% with a 95% CI value of 32.91 to 82.10. All these values are statistically significant, with p <0.005, and confirmed the effectiveness of TCM for TICS patients Conclusion: The present meta-analysis on account of these statistically significant results highly recommends using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat Tourette syndrome.