Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27136447›Full record

Trial reportNutrition & diabetes2016

Comparative evaluation of the therapeutic effect of metformin monotherapy with metformin and acupuncture combined therapy on weight loss and insulin sensitivity in diabetic patients.

A Firouzjaei, G-C Li, N Wang, W-X Liu, B-M Zhu

Open access · goldFull text readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Nutrition & diabetes, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
54citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
12.2field-weighted citation impact, top 2% 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

54 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 93 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

A FirouzjaeiKey Laboratory of Acupuncture and Medicine Research of Minister of Education, The Second Clinical School, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
G-C LiEpidemiology and Biostatistics Department, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
N WangKey Laboratory of Acupuncture and Medicine Research of Minister of Education, The Second Clinical School, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
W-X LiuKey Laboratory of Acupuncture and Medicine Research of Minister of Education, The Second Clinical School, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
B-M ZhuKey Laboratory of Acupuncture and Medicine Research of Minister of Education, The Second Clinical School, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveObesity induces insulin resistance (IR), the key etiologic defect of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, an incidence of obesity-induced diabetes is expected to decrease if obesity is controlled. Although Metformin is currently one of the main treatment options for T2DM in obese patients, resulting in an average of 5% weight loss, adequate weight control in all patients cannot be achieved with Metformin alone. Thus, additional therapies with a weight loss effect, such as acupuncture, may improve the effectiveness of Metformin.Subjective:We designed this randomized clinical trial (RCT) to compare the effects of Metformin monotherapy with that of Metformin and acupuncture combined therapy on weight loss and insulin sensitivity among overweight/obese T2DM patients, to understand whether acupuncture plus Metformin is a better approach than Metformin only on treating diabetes. To understand whether acupuncture can be an insulin sensitizer and, if so, its therapeutic mechanism.

resultsOur results show that Metformin and acupuncture combined therapy significantly improves body weight, body mass index (BMI), fasting blood sugar (FBS), fasting insulin (FINS), homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), leptin, adiponectin, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), resistin, serotonin, free fatty acids (FFAs), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) and ceramides.

conclusionsConsequently, Metformin and acupuncture combined therapy is more effective than Metformin only, proving that acupuncture is an insulin sensitizer and is able to improve insulin sensitivity possibly by reducing body weight and inflammation, while improving lipid metabolism and adipokines. As a result, electro-acupuncture (EA) might be useful in controlling the ongoing epidemics in obesity and T2DM.

Indexed as

Acupuncture TherapyInsulin ResistanceAdiponectinAdultBiomarkersBody Mass IndexBody WeightCholesterol, HDLCholesterol, LDLDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2Fatty Acids, NonesterifiedFemaleGlucagon-Like Peptide 1HumansInsulinInterleukin-6AdiponectinBiomarkersCholesterol, HDLCholesterol, LDLFatty Acids, NonesterifiedGlucagon-Like Peptide 1InsulinInterleukin-6LeptinMetforminResistinSerotoninTriglyceridesTumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Identifiers

PMID27136447
PMCPMC4895377
OpenAlexW2346504440

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.