Trial reportScientific reports2016
Acupuncture and Moxibustion have Different Effects on Fatigue by Regulating the Autonomic Nervous System: A Pilot Controlled Clinical Trial.
Trial report in Scientific reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04178226 (The Comparison of Efficacy of Manual Acupuncture and Laser Acupuncture on Autonomic Nervous Activity and Quality of Life in Women With Dysmenorrhea.), which is not on this map. Cited by 47 papers, 3 of them syntheses 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.
The Comparison of Efficacy of Manual Acupuncture and Laser Acupuncture on Autonomic Nervous Activity and Quality of Life in Women With Dysmenorrhea.
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 89 citations in OpenAlex.
- A mixed-methods systematic review of post-viral fatigue interventions: Are there lessons for long Covid?PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Efficacy of Moxibustion for Cancer-Related Fatigue in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Integrative cancer therapiesPooled it
- Randomized Trial on Electroacupuncture for Recovery of Postoperative Gastrointestinal Function Based on Long-Term Monitoring Device.Annals of surgical oncology · 2025Trial
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation in the assessment of acupuncture effect on exercise-induced fatigue.Brain and behavior · 2024Trial
- Infrared laser moxibustion for cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer survivors: a randomized controlled trial.Breast cancer research : BCR · 2024Trial
- Dose-effect of long-snake-like moxibustion for chronic fatigue syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of translational medicine · 2023Trial
- Ginger-indirect moxibustion plus acupuncture versus acupuncture alone for chronic fatigue syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2022Trial
- Moxibustion for treating cancer-related fatigue: A multicenter, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trial.Cancer medicine · 2021Trial
- Influence of Acupuncture on Autonomic Balance in Adult Tinnitus Patients: An Exploratory Study.Current medical science · 2019Trial
- Exploring the Relationship between Blood Flux Signals and HRV following Different Thermal Stimulations using Complexity Analysis.Scientific reports · 2018Trial
- Moxibustion for cancer-related fatigue: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2017Trial
- The Feasibility of Home-Based Moxibustion for Fatigue in Peritoneal Dialysis: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Research Progress on the Prevention and Treatment of Exercise-Induced Fatigue by Acupuncture.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Acupuncture ameliorates diet-induced obesity via the vagal-GLP-1-ARC circuit: neural mechanism of anorexigenic action.Chinese medicine · 2026Article
- FatiguE in Sjögren's Syndrome: a randomised controlled trial of cOmbined Non-phArmacological therapeutic strategies (FESSONA).BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2025Article
- Effect of Electronic Moxibustion in Patients with IDH: A Randomized Crossover Pilot Study.International journal of general medicine · 2024Article
- Integrated 'omics analysis for the gut microbiota response to moxibustion in a rat model of chronic fatigue syndrome.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2023Article
- Comparison and effect of moxibustion and acupuncture on Nogo/NgR signaling pathway in rats with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.Journal of traditional and complementary medicine · 2023Article
- Efficacy and safety of acupuncture treatment for fatigue after COVID-19 infection: study protocol for a pilot randomized sham-controlled trial.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In order to investigate the different effects of acupuncture and moxibustion on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and alterations in the autonomic nervous system by measuring heart rate variability (HRV). Forty-five participants were recruited and randomly divided into 3 groups using a randomization schedule. The control group (CG, n = 15) and the acupuncture group (AG, n = 15) were treated by manipulation acupuncture, and the moxibustion group (MG, n = 15) was treated by indirect moxibustion. Primary outcomes were the scores of the Fatigue Assessment Instrument (FAI). Secondary outcomes were the HRV parameters which can reflect activity of the autonomic nervous system. This trial considered both instantaneous changes and long-term effectiveness. FAI scores decreased after the 4th and 10th treatments in the 3 groups. The decrease in FAI in the MG was greater than that in the AG. Acupuncture was more effective in instantaneous changes of HRV and moxibustion in long-term aspects. Both acupuncture and moxibustion improved fatigue in CFS patients, but moxibustion was more effective. The possible mechanism of the intervention may be through activation of the vagus nerve. Moxibustion was more effective than acupuncture in long-term treatment of CFS.
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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.