Effects of Acupuncture-Related Therapies in the Rehabilitation of Patients With Post-Stroke Aphasia-A Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Brain Sciences
Liang, P., Li, Y., et al. (2022).
Brain Sciences, 12(10), 1282.
This systematic review investigates the effects of speech-language training and acupuncture in individuals with post-stroke aphasia.
National Natural Science Foundation of China; Science and Technology Development Project of Shandong Province (China); National Prestigious Chinese Medicine Doctor Studio of Xinlu Wang Project (China); Science and Technology Development Project of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Shandong Province (China); National Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (China)
From database inception to April 4, 2022
Randomized-controlled trials
69 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis; 69 in the network meta-analysis
<div>Findings demonstrated no significant difference in expressive language outcomes between speech-language therapy and tongue acupuncture. Additional findings included:</div>
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<li>Body acupuncture alone (SMD = 21.22) and combined treatments of tongue acupuncture and body acupuncture (SMD = 18.08) were associated with improved gains in expressive language when compared to language therapy alone.</li>
<li>No significant difference in comprehension scores were noted between combined treatments of body acupuncture and tongue acupuncture and speech-language therapy.</li>
<li>Findings suggest that acupuncture may be used as complementary therapy to speech-language therapy to promote functional recovery. </li>
</ul>
<div>These results should be interpreted with caution due to a lack of clear definition for what is considered to be "speech-language therapy," significant risk of bias within included studies, and heterogeneity between studies.</div>
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