Case report: Treating Guillain–Barré syndrome with acupuncture–moxibustion and traditional Chinese Medicine patent prescription (Jingui Shenqi Pill)

Background: Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute demyelinating polyneuritis in which the immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. About two-thirds of GBS patients have a history of acute infection before developing GBS. Immunotherapy and supportive therapies are widely used...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yingying Zang, Yongji Qin, Yi Li, Zhaoyang Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2018-07-01
Series:Journal of Traditional Chinese Medical Sciences
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095754817302272
Description
Summary:Background: Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute demyelinating polyneuritis in which the immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. About two-thirds of GBS patients have a history of acute infection before developing GBS. Immunotherapy and supportive therapies are widely used to treat GBS; however, one in three patients experiences neurologic sequelae. In China, acupuncture–moxibustion has shown unique benefits for the treatment of neurological diseases and has a wide range of applications in neurology. Case presentation: We treated an elderly Russian female patient diagnosed with GBS. The chief complaints were upper limb weakness, lower limb paralysis, and inability to self-care. The traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis was flaccidity syndrome (Wei Zheng). After 5 weeks of acupuncture and moxibustion combined with Chinese patent medicine treatment, the patient's limb muscle strength was significantly improved and her ability to self-care was largely restored. Conclusion: The present findings demonstrated that acupuncture and moxibustion combined with Chinese patent medicine can alleviate muscle weakness caused by GBS. However, clinical randomized controlled trials are warranted to verify the precise clinical efficacy. Keywords: Guillain–Barré syndrome, Acupuncture, Moxibustion, Scalp acupuncture, Jingui Shenqi Pill
ISSN:2095-7548