Publication year, first author | Objectives | Subjects | Stimulated acupoints. (acupuncture type, acupoints, frequency) | Assessments | Outcomes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | Montazeri, Kamran [63] | To identify the effects of body acupuncture on rapid opiate detoxification | 40 Opioid addicts during ROD by naloxone, n = 20 acupuncture | Bilaterally acupuncture at Hegu (LI4), Neiguan (PC6), Shenmen (HT7), Taichong (LR3), Zusanli (ST36), Baihui (DU20) and Dazhui (DU14) 30 min for 3 days | Severity of withdrawal reaction (Clinical Institute Narcotic Assessment (CINA) score) | acupuncture reduced the severity of withdrawal symptoms associated with rapid opiate detoxification |
2007 | Liu [55] | To investigate the activation in the hypothalamus associated with acupuncture stimulation | Six healthy men and six heroin addicts | Acupuncture at Zusanli (ST36) with rotation for 11Â min | fMRI, Cortisol level and psychophysical responses, including the deqi sensation, anxiety, and sharp pain | Acupuncture caused activation of the hypothalamus among addicts |
2009 | Bearn [11] | To investigate AA effects as an adjunct to MMT upon withdrawal severity or craving | 83 Opioid users under MMT | Acupuncture at 5 points of cartilage ridge area in the ear, 30–40 min for 14 days | Daily measures of withdrawal severity and craving using the short opiate withdrawal scale and an eight-item craving questionnaire | AA had no effect upon withdrawal severity or craving when provided as an adjunct to a standard methadone detoxification treatment |
2010 | Meade [62] | To evaluate the effectiveness of TEAS as an adjunctive treatment for inpatients receiving opioid detoxification | 48 Men and women under detoxification with buprenorphine-naloxone | 2 and 100Â Hz TEAS at Hegu (LI4) and Neiguan (PC6), 30Â min daily for 4Â days | The addiction severity index, opioid withdrawal scale, brief pain inventory, the Pittsburgh sleep quality index, physical and mental health status by the medical outcomes survey | TEAS was effective in using drugs and improving the pain interference and physical health |
2011 | Xia [81] | To investigate the rewarding effect of EA | 68 Male Sprague–Dawley rats | 2 Hz EA at Neiguan (PC6) and Zusanli (ST36), 30 min for 5 days | Conditioned place preference (CPP) | EA was capable of inducing CPP in the rat via the activation of the endogenous opioid-, cannabinoid- and dopamine-systems |
2011 | Jiang [37] | To compare the changes of cognitive attention-related brain function before and after EA | Ten Heroin addicts and ten healthy subjects | 2Â Hz bilateral EA at Neiguan (PC6) and Zusanli (ST36) | ERP at 64 electrode spots before and after EA intervention task on the positive emotional clue (PEG), negative emotional clues (NEC), and heroin-related clue (HRC). The P200 amplitude components on (Fz, Cz, and Pz) | Electroacupuncture effectively inhibited the attention bias to heroin |
2012 | Cai [17] | To understand the influence of heroin cue exposure on brain activation | 12 Heroin addicts and 12 healthy subjects | non-twirled acupuncture and twirled acupuncture at bilateral Zusanli (ST36) for 1Â min | fMRI during heroin cue exposure | Acupuncture can rapidly suppress the activation of specific brain regions related to craving as an intervention for drug craving |
2012 | Liu [56] | To investigate the beneficial effects of EA on heroin-seeking behavior | 40 Male Sprague–Dawley rats, n = 10 EA | 2 Hz EA at Zusanli (ST36) and Sanyinjiao (SP6), once a day for 14 days during heroin abstinence | Contextual and discrete cue-induced reinstatement of active responses. Fos-positive nuclei detection in the nucleus accumbens (NACc) core and shell | acupuncture was effective in preventing relapse to drug addiction |
2013 | Hu [33] | To investigate the effects of EA on the extinction of heroin-seeking behavior | 18 Male Sprague–Dawley rats, n = 6 EA | 2 Hz EA at Zusanli (ST36) and Sanyinjiao (SP6), once a day for 7 days | The extinction response of heroin associated cues and applied immunohistochemistry to detect FosB-positive nuclei in the nucleus accumbens core | Acupuncture enhanced extinction learning when combined with extinction therapy for the treatment of heroin addiction |
2013 | Lua, Pei Lin [57] | To find the effects of AA in number of consumed daily cigarettes, relapse rate, and withdrawal symptoms | 40 MMT, 29 MMTÂ +Â AA human subjects | Auricular acupuncture at 5 points NADA points, 3 times a week | Malay HOQOLBREF, withdrawal symptoms | Acupuncture adjunct to MMT was beneficial in managing addiction behaviors |
2013 | Lua, Pei Lin [58] | To examine the patients’ satisfaction and coping with AA as an adjunct treatment to MMT | 40 MMT, 29 MMT + AA human subjects | Auricular acupuncture at 5 points NADA points, 3 times a week | Patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical care questionnaire (PSPCQ) and Malay brief COPE-27 | Acupuncture adjunct to MMT did not influence patient satisfaction and their coping ways |
2014 | Chan [22] | To examine the effectiveness of acupuncture for heroin addicts on methadone maintenance | 60 Heroin addicts in MMP | EA at Hegu (LI4), Zusanli (ST36) and Shenmen (HT7), twice a week for 4Â weeks | Daily consumption of methadone, variations in the 36-item Short Form Health Survey-36 (SF-36) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores, and heroin craving | Acupuncture adjunct to MMT was useful in reducing the daily dose of methadone and great improvement in sleep latency at follow-up |
2014 | Hou [32] | To observe cell apoptosis in the hippocampus and frontal lobe of heroin readdicted rats by electron microscopy. | 40 Wistar rats during the detoxificstion by methadone | Acupuncture at Baihui (GV20) and Dazhui (GV14), 30Â min for 5 successive days | Morphology of nerve cells, Bax expression and Bcl-2 expression in the frontal cortex and hippocampus | Acupuncture was effective in preventing brain cell apoptosis in heroin readdicted rats |
2014 | Zhang [88] | To verify the relationship between acupuncture, neurotrophic factor expression and brain cell structural changes | 32 Wistar rats, n = 16 acupuncture | Acupuncture at Baihui (DU20) and Dazhui (DU14) for 30 min, once a day for five consecutive days | The neuronal ultrastructure of the ventral tegmental area, brain-derived and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor expression in the ventral tegmental area | Acupuncture protected brain neurons against injury in rats with heroin relapse |