Over the past decade, acupuncture clinical research has accumulated substantial high-quality evidence in the prevention and treatment of diseases across multiple disciplines. Its indication scope has been continuously expanded, research designs have become increasingly standardized, control protocols for sham/placebo acupuncture have been gradually optimized and standardized, and attention to real-world research (RWR) has kept rising, with a preliminary multi-dimensional efficacy evaluation system established. The standardization of clinical trial reporting has been steadily improved, and neuroimaging technologies—such as functional magnetic resonance imaging—have emerged as crucial tools to elucidate the correlation between acupuncture's clinical effects and central nervous system mechanisms. Future research should build on the unique characteristics and advantages of acupuncture, focusing on three core areas: diseases amenable to independent acupuncture intervention, major chronic diseases where acupuncture serves as an adjuvant therapy, and research related to traditional Chinese medicine "preventive treatment of disease". It is imperative to further optimize the control design of randomized controlled trials, enhance the data quality of RWR, refine core disease outcome indicators, and strengthen whole-process quality control in research. Meanwhile, combined with the holistic and multi-target characteristics of acupuncture, neuroimaging and other advanced technologies should be employed to conduct multi-dimensional and dynamic efficacy evaluations, thereby driving the high-quality development of acupuncture clinical practice with solid scientific evidence.
In recent years, remarkable advances have been achieved in the methodology of acupuncture clinical research. The standardized design of sham acupuncture control groups, the shift toward quantitative analysis of therapeutic effects, and the growing emphasis on blinded assessment have jointly provided critical methodological support for distinguishing between the specific and non-specific effects of acupuncture. Meanwhile, the system of exclusive reporting guidelines for acupuncture clinical research has been gradually improved, and implementation details including acupuncturist-specific effects and process evaluation indicators have been increasingly explored and refined. These progresses have collectively propelled the development of acupuncture clinical research and laid a solid methodological foundation for enhancing the scientific quality and reliability of such studies. However, the current methodological system still confronts multiple challenges: the difficulty in designing qualified sham acupuncture controls with high credibility, the lack of effective strategies for regulating acupuncturist effects, and the immaturity of standardized tools for process evaluation. Moving forward, targeted research should be conducted to address these bottlenecks, continuously optimizing and improving the methodological framework of acupuncture clinical research to further elevate its academic recognition and clinical transformation value.
This article systematically reviews the advances in clinical and basic research on acupuncture and moxibustion for digestive system diseases over the past decade. From the perspective of evidence-based medicine, it synthesizes relevant literatures and research outcomes to clarify the distinctive therapeutic features of acupuncture and moxibustion in irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, chronic gastritis, ulcerative colitis and postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction, and further define its advantageous clinical application scenarios and definitive clinical positioning in the management of these disorders. Furthermore, from multi-disciplinary dimensions including neuroimaging, molecular immunology and microbiomics, this study dissects the key action links and specific molecular targets of acupuncture and moxibustion, and unveils its scientific essence of exerting multi-target integrated regulation via the brain-gut axis and brain-gut-microbiota axis—the core regulatory pathways for the gut-brain interaction. In response to the core bottlenecks in current research, such as high heterogeneity of clinical protocols, poor translational potential of mechanistic research findings and inadequate standardization of clinical evaluation systems, this article puts forward targeted development strategies, including conducting high-quality clinical research on precision acupuncture and moxibustion, constructing a multi-omics integrated mechanistic model based on clinical practice, and innovating a modernized and standardized evaluation system for traditional Chinese medicine. These targeted efforts are intended to advance the innovation of research paradigms and facilitate efficient clinical translation of research achievements in this field.
Over the past decade, remarkable advances have been achieved in clinical evidence-based research on acupuncture for urological disorders. Clinically, acupuncture has been extensively integrated into the management of diverse urological conditions, including stress urinary incontinence （SUI）, overactive bladder, urinary retention, chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, and benign prostatic hyperplasia, with proven substantial therapeutic efficacy in relieving symptoms and improving patients' quality of life. In terms of evidence-based breakthroughs, a growing body of high-quality clinical evidence—including randomized controlled trials and Meta-analyses—has driven updates to international clinical practice guidelines. Notably, acupuncture has been granted a strong recommendation grade for the first time in the treatment of female SUI and chronic pelvic pain, marking a pivotal elevation in its evidence-based status in urological supportive care. Moving forward, efforts should be directed toward optimizing clinical research protocols, strengthening investigations into the dose-response relationships of acupuncture (e.g., needle retention time, treatment frequency) and its underlying therapeutic mechanisms, and advancing the systematic integration of acupuncture with modern urological medicine. These initiatives are intended to refine treatment regimens and provide more individualized, optimized therapeutic options for patients with urological disorders.
Based on the application practice of perioperative acupuncture in enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS), this paper study explores the current limitations and clinical implementation bottlenecks of the ERAS pathways, and systematically reviews the unique clinical advantages of acupuncture in perioperative management—including alleviating preoperative anxiety, mitigating postoperative pain, accelerating gastrointestinal function recovery, preventing and treating perioperative neurocognitive disorders, and improving frailty and fatigue. Meanwhile, it analyzes the major challenges confronted by acupuncture in ERAS-related clinical research, such as the lack of unified operational standards for acupuncture, uneven quality of research methodologies, and insufficient interdisciplinary collaboration. On this basis, several targeted countermeasures and suggestions are put forward, emphasizing the need to strengthen multi-disciplinary team cooperation, upgrade the quality of clinical research design, and explore the integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence in efficacy evaluation and protocol optimization. This work aims to collate empirical evidence for the perioperative treatment model integrating traditional Chinese and Western medicine, promote the rational allocation of medical resources, and ultimately achieve the optimization of patient-centered surgical outcomes.
Over the past decade, the positioning of acupuncture in the field of tumor therapy has undergone a remarkable transformation: it has evolved from an adjuvant therapy primarily for symptomatic control into a systematic intervention strategy that integrates both the exploration of antitumor mechanisms and clinical integrated antitumor practice. Bolstered by the continuous accumulation of high-level clinical evidence, international authoritative guidelines have officially incorporated acupuncture into the standard management pathways for cancer-related pain, hot flashes and a variety of treatment-associated adverse reactions, which marks the widespread recognition of its status in cancer supportive care. In terms of theoretical construction, the academic framework of acupuncture for antitumor therapy has become increasingly mature, with pivotal advances achieved in the clinical system that combines local interventions represented by peritumoral surrounding acupuncture with the holistic regulation of traditional meridian-acupoint acupuncture. At the mechanistic research level, acupuncture has been proven to possess the capacity for multi-dimensional regulation of the tumor microenvironment, including modulating angiogenesis, remodeling immune cell functions and regulating neuroendocrine networks, thus synergistically enhancing the antitumor effects of modern medical therapies. Looking ahead, the development of acupuncture oncology is in urgent need of focusing on the standardization of treatment pathways, the verification of short- and long-term efficacy as well as survival benefits through large-sample clinical studies, and the elucidation of multi-target synergistic mechanisms between acupuncture and modern antitumor therapies. These efforts will further propel its advancement toward a precise and systematic integrated medical model.
Acupuncture has achieved favorable clinical efficacy in the treatment of essential hypertension (EH), but the central nervous system mechanism underlying its antihypertensive effect remains to be further elucidated. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology provides objective neuroimaging evidence, facilitating the exploration of hypertension-related cerebral mechanisms and the central action pathways of acupuncture intervention. This article systematically combs and summarizes three core aspects: abnormal changes in brain function and structure in patients with EH, advances in MRI-based imaging research on acupuncture for EH, and the mechanism of action of brain regions associated with the autonomic nervous system in acupuncture-induced blood pressure reduction. Based on existing neuroimaging evidence, this review further concludes the key brain regions correlated with the antihypertensive effect of acupuncture, and analyzes the limitations of current studies—such as small sample sizes, inconsistent acupuncture protocols, and short-term follow-up duration. It aims to provide a reference for in-depth revelation of the central mechanism of acupuncture in treating EH and optimization of future research designs.
Acupuncture therapy has garnered growing attention and recognition in the clinical management of neurological disorders, attributed to its notable efficacy, favorable safety profile, and minimal adverse reactions. Over the past decade, the research paradigm of acupuncture for neurological diseases has shifted from verifying universal therapeutic effects to in-depth exploration of its action rules and underlying mechanisms, with continuous advancements toward a more profound understanding. Acupuncture has been extensively applied in major neurological conditions such as stroke, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease—two common neurodegenerative disorders—and substantial progress has been achieved in elucidating its mechanisms of action. Studies have demonstrated that acupuncture exerts unique advantages in improving motor dysfunction, cognitive impairment, and neural repair through multi-targeted, holistic regulation, with abundant and reliable evidence-based medical evidence accumulated particularly in post-stroke rehabilitation and primary insomnia. However, while advancing the standardization and normalization of acupuncture protocols, full consideration must be given to individual patient differences (e.g., age, disease stage, and constitution). Currently, high-quality evidence-based research on this therapy remains relatively insufficient, and its complex neurophysiological mechanisms urgently await further in-depth interpretation. This review summarizes the clinical research progress of acupuncture in treating neurological diseases over the past decade, aiming to provide a more practically instructive reference for the standardized application of acupuncture in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders.
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a prevalent chronic degenerative articular disorder predominantly affecting the middle-aged and elderly population, clinically characterized by articular pain, swelling, and motor dysfunction, which exerts a severe negative impact on patients' physical health and quality of life. At present, conventional pharmaceutical therapies for KOA are associated with notable adverse effects, while surgical interventions entail inherent high risks and potential postoperative complications. Based on the anatomical features of the knee joint and integrated with the theoretical connotations of traditional Chinese acupuncture and moxibustion, Professor Ni Guangxia has developed a targeted acupuncture therapy for KOA: taking Neixiyan (EX-LE4) and Waixiyan (EX-LE5) as the core acupoints, the therapy adopts long needles for deep puncture combined with multi-directional mutual penetration manipulation at the affected area. This acupuncture approach yields rapid therapeutic effects, can remarkably alleviate articular pain, effectively restore the motor function of the knee joint, and demonstrate durable curative efficacy in clinical practice. This paper elaborates on the standardized operational procedures and typical proven clinical cases of this therapy, and further explores its underlying theoretical basis and therapeutic mechanism, aiming to provide novel clinical insights and practical therapeutic strategies for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of knee osteoarthritis.
In 2025, International Standardized Manipulations of Chinese Medicine Tongguan Liqiao Acupuncture Therapy for Post-Stroke Dysphagia (SCM 88-2025), hereinafter referred to as the "Tongfa Standard", was officially promulgated and implemented. Addressing common issues in the clinical application of the Tongguan Liqiao Acupuncture Method, the Tongfa Standard clarifies its inheritance relationship with the Xingnao Kaiqiao Acupuncture Method. It unifies the main acupoints into 6, and conducts precision acupoint matching based on swallosing function stages, thereby enhancing the accuracy and operability of the treatment protocol. On the premise of ensuring safety, the standrad opteration, acupuncture needle selection, and needle retention time. This not only enhances operational efficiency and patient compliance But also promotes the standardized clinical application of the standardized clinical application of the Tongguan Liqiao Acupuncture Method.
