Trial reportEuropean radiology2016
The effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for tinnitus: a randomized controlled trial using (99m)Tc-ECD SPECT.
Trial report in European radiology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of acupuncture for tinnitus with anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of Electronic Acupuncture Shoes for Chronic Low Back Pain: Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Trial
- Hemodynamic Changes Following Acupuncture and Moxibustion in Patients with Subjective Tinnitus: An Acceleration Photoplethysmography and Pulsed-Wave Doppler Ultrasound Study.Audiology research · 2026Article
- Research Progress on Pathogenesis, Modern Interventions and Neuromodulatory Mechanisms of Acupuncture for Tinnitus.International journal of general medicine · 2026Review
- Korean medicine combination treatment for chronic tinnitus unresponsive to conventional treatment: A case report and review of literature.World journal of clinical cases · 2025Article
- From bidirectional pathophysiology to integrative therapeutics: current status and future perspectives of acupuncture for tinnitus-insomnia comorbidity.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Effects of Physical Interventions on Subjective Tinnitus, a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- Methodological Aspects of Randomized Controlled Trials for Tinnitus: A Systematic Review and How a Decision Support System Could Overcome Barriers.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Review
- Acupuncture Treatment Decreased Temporal Variability of Dynamic Functional Connectivity in Chronic Tinnitus.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Article
- Altered Neurovascular Coupling in Unilateral Pulsatile Tinnitus.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Article
- Acupuncture Treatment in Patients with Chronic Subjective Tinnitus: A Prospective, Randomized Study.Medical acupuncture · 2020Article
- BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF ACUPUNCTURE RESEARCH FRONTS AND THEIR WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION OVER THREE DECADES.African journal of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicines : AJTCAM · 2017Article
- Outcomes of Triple-Combination Therapy for Chronic Tinnitus.In vivo (Athens, Greece)Article
- Tinnitus and sound intolerance: evidence and experience of a Brazilian group.Brazilian journal of otorhinolaryngologyReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveInvestigate the effect of acupuncture on brain perfusion using ethyl cysteinate dimer single-photon emission computed tomography ((99m)Tc-ECD SPECT) in patients with tinnitus.
methodsThis randomized, single-blind, sham-control study examined patients (18-60 years old) with normal hearing and chronic, idiopathic, continuous tinnitus. Fifty-seven subjects were randomly assigned to true (n = 30) or sham (n = 27) acupuncture (ACP); (99m)Tc-ECD SPECT examinations were performed before and after 12 twice-weekly ACP sessions. Secondary outcomes included changes in the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Imaging data were analysed using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM8) software. Regression models were used to examine secondary outcomes via two paradigms: intention-to-treat (ITT; where multiple imputations were conducted because of study attrition) and complete cases.
resultsNo between-group brain perfusion differences were observed. However, a significant improvement in THI scores was observed at the end of true ACP treatment for all domains (all p values < 0.01) except the catastrophic scale.
conclusionsACP might reduce the effects of tinnitus on daily life; however, additional studies should be conducted to verify the effects of ACP on the neural architecture and brain function of tinnitus patients. KEY POINTS: • Efficacy of acupuncture on brain perfusion and symptoms of tinnitus patients. • Acupuncture improved the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory scores in tinnitus patients. • No significant changes in brain perfusion were observed after 12 twice-weekly sessions. • Perfusion changes would reflect changes in neuronal function.
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