Acupuncture and Psoriasis

March 2018: A randomized controlled trials for the treatment of 30 cases of ordinary psoriasis by acupuncture and moxibustion

Acupuncture, jointly used with moxibustion, is a powerful treatment for ordinary psoriasis, an autoimmune disease caused by the imbalance of immune function, even more so than some commonly used Western medications. A research trial conducted by Wu JP et al, published in Zhen Ci Yan Jiu (Acupuncture Research), a Chinese journal) randomly and equally divided 60 cases of patients with psoriasis into two groups: an acu-moxibustion group and a medication group. The acu-moxibustion group received acupuncture and moxibustion every other day for 12 weeks, while the medication group received 20 milligrams/day of Acitretin (a drug used to treat severe psoriasis) orally for 12 weeks. To measure results, PASI (psoriasis area and severity index) assessments were used, with a lower score showing greater improvement of psoriasis.

Also Read: How Acupuncture Can Complement Your Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment

Results show that PASI scores decreased significantly in both the acu-moxibustion and the medication group. With the acu-moxibustion group, however, the percentage of patients who were identified as “basically cured” was much higher than that of the medication group (13.33% to 3.33%, respectively), as well as the percentage of patients who “improved significantly” (56.57% to 50.00%, respectively). These results ultimately show that acupuncture used in combination with moxibustion is more effective at treating ordinary psoriasis than medication.