Effect of Electroacupuncture Treatment for Itching and Skin Condition of Patients with Atopic Dermatitis; A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of electroacupuncture(EA) in patients with atopic dermatitis(AD).Methods: Patients with AD were randomized to an intervention group(EA with standard of care) or a control group(standard of care alone). The intervention group were underwent 15 min of high-frequency(100Hz) EA once a week for 5 weeks. Assessments were performed before and after treatment. Measurements of a visual analogue scale(VAS) to evaluate severity of itch, a skin condition(that contained transepidermal water loss, stratum corneum water content, stratum corneum TARC level and the average projected area of corneocytes), the quality of life(QOL), and the patient oriented scoring atopic dermatitis(PO-SCORAD) were obtained.Results: Twenty patients were enrolled. The EA group showed statistically significant improvements on the skin condition(the average of corneocytes) compared with the control group(p=0.01). In other outcomes the EA group showed improvement effect, but there was no signify changes.Discussion/Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that 100 Hz electroacupuncture for AD patients may affect skin turnover, which implies a non-immunological aspect rather than an immunological aspect.明治国際医療大学2016年