SynthesisMedicine2026
Acupuncture for treating alopecia areata: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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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.
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundAlopecia areata (AA) is characterized by hair loss triggered by an autoimmune response that leads to emotional distress and a poor quality of life. However, conventional treatments may also have potential side effects. Therefore, traditional medicine methods such as acupuncture are emerging as alternative treatments for AA, with recent evidence suggesting their effectiveness and prompting further research to assess their safety and efficacy.
methodsThis systematic review aimed to evaluate the current evidence regarding AA treatment using acupuncture. We searched 13 databases until December 2024 for studies that compared the efficacy of acupuncture and Western medicine in treating AA. The present review solely targeted randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The risk of bias was assessed using the Risk of Bias tool (ROB), whereas the quality of evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach.
resultsEleven RCTs with 1144 participants were included in this review. The included studies had an unclear risk of bias in most domains. Among these, 7 RCTs tested the total treatment effects of combining plum-blossom needling with western medicine compared with western medicine alone. The results revealed that combining plum-blossom needling with western medicine resulted in a higher rate of improved symptoms than using western medicine alone (RR 1.09, 95% CI 1.03-1.16, I2 = 50%, P = .005, 7 RCTs, 756 participants, low certainty of evidence).
conclusionThis review provides evidence for the benefits of acupuncture in AA treatment. However, the quality of the evidence was low, and the sample size was small. Therefore, future large-scale studies should be conducted using more rigorous methodologies.
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