[Meta-analysis of efficacy and safety of scalp acupuncture in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder].

Researchers reviewed 33 studies involving 2,701 autistic children to see if scalp acupuncture helps with autism symptoms. When combined with regular therapy, scalp acupuncture showed improvements in language, social skills, communication, and behaviour compared to therapy alone. The treatment appeared safe with no reported side effects. However, the studies varied widely in quality and methods, so more high-quality research is needed to confirm these findings.

This meta-analysis examined 33 randomized controlled trials involving 2,701 children with autism spectrum disorder to assess the efficacy and safety of scalp acupuncture. When combined with rehabilitation training, scalp acupuncture showed statistically significant improvements compared to rehabilitation training alone across multiple domains. Results indicated reduced autism severity scores and enhanced developmental outcomes including social adaptation, language development, communication skills, and behavioral measures. The intervention demonstrated high safety with no reported adverse effects.

However, the authors noted concerns about study quality, heterogeneous participant characteristics, and varying intervention durations that limit the strength of conclusions.

While showing promise as an adjunctive treatment, scalp acupuncture requires further high-quality research before clinical recommendations. Current evidence suggests potential benefits when combined with standard interventions, but methodological limitations prevent strong clinical endorsement. Healthcare providers should await more rigorous trials before implementation.

Study quality concerns, heterogeneous participant characteristics across different ages and autism severity levels, wide variation in intervention duration, and lack of long-term follow-up data. Authors explicitly state conclusions need validation from more rigorous trials.

To assess the efficacy and safety of scalp acupuncture in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A comprehensive search was conducted using PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, SinoMed, China National Knowledge Internet, China Science and Technology Journal Database, and Wanfang Data databases. The Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews 5.1.0 was used to evaluate the risk of bias in the included randomized control trials (RCTs). A Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4.1 statistical software.

A total of 33 RCTs were included, including 2 701 patients with ASD. Meta-analysis results showed that compared with the rehabilitation training group, the scalp acupuncture combined with rehabilitation training could significantly reduce the autism behavior rating scale score [= -5.70, 95%(-6.51, -4.89),<0.01], and childhood autism rating scale score [= -4.02, 95%(-4.38, -3.66),<0.01], and improve the Gesell developmental diagnostic scale-social adaptative developmental quotient [=5.90, 95%(4.29, 7.51),<0.01], Gesell-language development quotient [=4.39, 95%(3.03, 5.75),<0.01], Gesell-personal social competence [=4.32, 95%(2.48, 6.15),<0.01], psychoeducational assessment for children 3edition (PEP-3)-communication skills score [=3.76, 95%(3.25, 4.27),<0.01], PEP-3-physical agility score [=1.99, 95%(1.40, 2.59),<0.01], and PEP-3-behavior score [=2.18, 95%(1.77, 2.59),<0.01]. Scalp acupuncture is effective in improving the language problems, behavior problems, social adaptation and other symptoms of autism children, and has high safety. However, due to the insufficient quality of the research methods included in the literature, the integration of subjects with different severity and age, and the wide variation in the duration of the intervention, the conclusion of this study still needs to be validated by more rigorous and high-quality randomized controlled trials, with long-term follow up.