| Abstrakt: |
AbstractBackground:Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic debilitating disease and a common problem for Indonesian people. Medical care for DM is multifaceted, so complementary and alternative medicine may be beneficial for people with diabetes.Objective:The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of acupuncture on insulin and blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 DM.Materials and Methods:A randomized controlled study was conducted from January 2010 to August 2010 at the Acupuncture Research Laboratory in Health Services at the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. The authors divided 43 patients randomly into two groups. The treatment group had 22 patients and the control group had 21 patients. The treatment group was given electroacupuncture and the control group was given sham acupuncture. The treatment was given once per day for 10 consecutive days. The outcomes measures were fasting plasma glucose (FPG), oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) results, and fasting plasma insulin. FPG and OGTT were examined at baseline, after 5 days, and after 10 days. Fasting plasma insulin was examined at baseline and after 10 days.Results:Both groups' FPG levels after 10 days of acupuncture had significant decreases, compared with baseline (P<0.01). Both groups' oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) levels after 10 days of acupuncture had significant decreases, compared with baseline (P<0.01). Fasting plasma insulin did not show significant changes in both groups.Conclusions:Acupuncture is a potentially useful complementary therapeutic strategy in type II diabetes mellitus management. This therapeutic approach deserves more careful analysis. Further studies with better designs are needed. |
