A new study published online on June 26 in JAMA Network Open suggests that acupuncture may significantly improve sleep quality in patients with Parkinson’s disease. The research, conducted by Mingyue Yan, Ph.D., from the First Clinical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine in China, offers encouraging findings for managing sleep-related issues in Parkinson’s patients.
In this randomized clinical trial, 78 patients with Parkinson’s disease and poor sleep quality were assigned to either real or sham acupuncture for a duration of four weeks. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in enhancing sleep quality and overall quality of life for these patients.
The study observed a significant increase in Parkinson Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS) scores from baseline in both the real and sham acupuncture groups. However, the real acupuncture group showed a notable improvement in PDSS scores at the end of the four-week treatment and continued to display enhanced scores even at the eight-week follow-up, compared to the sham group.
Importantly, there were no severe adverse events reported in either group, and all moderate adverse events were well managed, indicating the safety of the acupuncture treatment.
“In this randomized clinical trial, acupuncture improved sleep quality and overall quality of life for individuals with Parkinson disease,” the authors wrote. “The therapeutic effects persisted for up to four weeks, underscoring the potential of acupuncture as a beneficial adjunct in managing sleep-related issues among patients with Parkinson disease.”
The authors emphasized the need for future research to include diverse participant samples to ensure the broader applicability of the results to the general population of Parkinson’s patients. This could help validate acupuncture as a viable therapeutic option for improving sleep quality in this demographic.
It is noted that two authors of the study hold patents related to the sham needle used in this trial, which should be considered when interpreting the findings.
This study provides promising evidence supporting the use of acupuncture to enhance sleep quality and overall quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s disease. As sleep disturbances are a common and challenging aspect of Parkinson’s, these findings could lead to more widespread adoption of acupuncture as an adjunctive treatment.
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