Integrative medicine rehabilitation of simultaneous intra-dermal acupuncture (IDA) and neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) for children with cerebral palsy: Pilot Study of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate differences in brain activities when Neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) is used alone compare to NDT is combined with intradermal acupuncture (IDA) treatment, using functional infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) Methods Three children less than 7 year-old with cerebral palsy were participated. On their first visit, only NDT was used. After a week, they were treated with both NDT and IDA. During the treatment, fNIRS was used to measure any changes in their brain activities. Results In first patient with NDT, oxyhemoglobin level was increased during Standing exercise and Gait training compared to resting state. When the patient was treated with NDT and IDA, oxyhemoglobin level was decreased during Standing exercise and Gait training compared to resting state, and the result was significant (p<0.05). In second patient, oxyhemoglobin level was decreased in Gait training compared to resting state when NDT was used, but the level was increased when NDT and IDA were used in Gait training compared to resting state (p<0.05). In third patient, the difference in oxyhemoglobin levels between Gait training and resting state was significant (p<0.05). Conclusions Treatment involving both NDT and IDA has more potential to improve brain activities compared to that of NDT alone, and no adverse effect was reported. In order to confirm the finding, larger scale randomized controlled trials are needed.

뇌성마비 소아에 대한 중추신경계재활치료 및 피내침 병용치료에 관한 연구 - 기능성 적외선 분광법(fNIRS)를 이용한 예비 연구 -