Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29568693›Full record

Trial reportBrain and behavior2018

Acupuncture in the treatment of fatigue in Parkinson's disease: A pilot, randomized, controlled, study.

Keng H Kong, Hwee L Ng, Wei Li, Dora W Ng, Siang I Tan, Kay Y Tay, Wing L Au, Louis C S Tan

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Brain and behavior, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
29citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

29 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Efficacy of various acupuncture modalities on alleviating symptoms in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
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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

8 authors.

Keng H KongComplementary Integrative Medicine Tan Tock Seng Hospital Singapore City Singapore.ORCID 0000-0001-7538-0093
Hwee L NgNeurology, National Neuroscience Institute Singapore City Singapore.
Wei LiNeurology, National Neuroscience Institute Singapore City Singapore.
Dora W NgComplementary Integrative Medicine Tan Tock Seng Hospital Singapore City Singapore.
Siang I TanComplementary Integrative Medicine Tan Tock Seng Hospital Singapore City Singapore.
Kay Y TayNeurology, National Neuroscience Institute Singapore City Singapore.
Wing L AuNeurology, National Neuroscience Institute Singapore City Singapore.
Louis C S TanNeurology, National Neuroscience Institute Singapore City Singapore.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Fatigue is a common and disabling problem in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and there is currently no satisfactory treatment. As acupuncture has been reported to be effective in fatigue related to other conditions, we sought to evaluate its efficacy in PD. Methods: This was a single center, randomized, sham-controlled study. Forty PD patients with moderately severe fatigue were randomized to receive 5 weeks of biweekly real or sham acupuncture. The primary outcome was change on the General Fatigue score of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-GF) at 5 weeks. Secondary outcomes included MFI-Total score, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Motor score (UPDRS Motor), Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ 39), Geriatrics Depression Scale (GDS), and Epworth Sleepiness Scale ESS). All outcome measures were evaluated at baseline, 5 and 9 weeks. Results: Both groups showed significant improvements in MFI-GF and MFI-Total scores at 5 and 9 weeks, but there were no significant between-group differences. There were no improvements from baseline for PDQ 39, GDS, and ESS. Although improvements were noted for the UPDRS Motor score in the real acupuncture group, no between-group difference could be demonstrated. Conclusions: Both real and sham acupuncture are equally effective in improving PD-related fatigue, and it is likely that this is due to nonspecific or placebo effects.

Indexed as

Acupuncture TherapyAgedFatigueFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedParkinson DiseasePilot ProjectsSurveys and QuestionnairesTreatment OutcomeacupuncturefatigueParkinson's diseaserandomized controlled trial

Identifiers

PMID29568693
PMCPMC5853635

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.