Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24760476›Full record

ReviewCurrent neurology and neuroscience reports2014

Mechanisms for alternative treatments in Parkinson's disease: acupuncture, tai chi, and other treatments.

Bijan D Ghaffari, Benzi Kluger

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Current neurology and neuroscience reports, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
4.7field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 59 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Health benefits of tai chi: What is the evidence?Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2016
    Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Article
  7. Parkinson's disease · 2025
    Review
  8. Neurology international · 2024
    Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Effect of Taijiquan Exercise on Rehabilitation of Male Amphetamine-Type Addicts.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2020
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Signal Transduction Pathways of Acupuncture for Treating Some Nervous System Diseases.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2019
    Review
  18. Editorial: Integrative Approach to Parkinson's Disease.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2019
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Bijan D GhaffariDepartment of Neurology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Academic Office 1, Mail Stop B-185 12631 East 17th Avenue, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA, bijan.ghaffari@ucdenver.edu.
Benzi Kluger
University of Colorado Denver · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

At least 40% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) use one or more forms of alternative therapy (AT) to complement standard treatments. This article reviews the commonest forms of AT for PD, including acupuncture, tai chi, yoga, mindfulness, massage, herbal medicine, and cannabis. We discuss the current evidence for the clinical efficacy of each AT and discuss potential mechanisms, including those suggested by animal and human studies. With a few notable exceptions, none of the treatments examined were investigated rigorously enough to draw definitive conclusions about efficacy or mechanism. Tai chi, acupuncture, Mucuna pruriens, cannabinoids, and music therapy have all been proposed to work through specific mechanisms, although current evidence is insufficient to support or refute these claims, with the possible exception of Mucuna pruriens (which contains levodopa). It is likely that most ATs predominantly treat PD patients through general mechanisms, including placebo effects, stress reduction, and improved mood and sleep, and AT may provide patients with a greater locus of control regarding their illness.

Indexed as

Complementary TherapiesAcupuncture TherapyAnimalsHumansParkinson DiseaseRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTai Ji

Identifiers

PMID24760476
OpenAlexW2037659187

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.