http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876382015300585

Abstract

Introduction

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common childhood behavioral problem. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in patients with ADHD.

Methods

The study was randomized, waitlist-controlled, and unblinded. A total of 93 participants with ADHD were enrolled. The acupuncture group received acupuncture treatment twice per week for 6 weeks. The waitlist group did not receive acupuncture during the first six weeks, and then underwent acupuncture treatment during the next six weeks. The primary outcome measure was the ADHD-rating scale. The computerized neurocognitive function tests (CNTs) was conducted as an objective measurement.

Results

The results of the primary analyses were equivocal. Additional analyses were conducted after data were stratified according to ADHD medication. The acupuncture group not taking ADHD medications demonstrated significantly better performance in the CNTs compared to the waitlist group: the backward digit span test (p = 0.026), backward visual span test (p = 0.044), correct hit/omission error of auditory continuous performance test (CPT) (p = 0.021), standard deviation of response time of visual CPT (p = 0.048). The clinical global impression-severity score decreased significantly in the acupuncture group after treatment compared to that in the waitlist group (p = 0.000). There was no statistically significant difference between both groups taking ADHD medications, except for verbal learning test in which waitlist group experienced a higher increase than acupuncture group. No adverse effect was reported.

Conclusions

Acupuncture positively influences cognitive function in patients who are not on ADHD medication.

http://www.trialsjournal.com/content/12/1/173

Background

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neuro-psychiatric problem, affecting 7-9% of children. Pharmacological interventions are widely used with behavioral treatments in ADHD. Still, the origin of ADHD is unclear, limiting pharmacological effectiveness and making adverse effects common. The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has increased, especially for developmental and behavioral disorders, such as ADHD. CAM is used by 60-65% of parents of children with ADHD to relieve ADHD-associated symptoms and to avoid the side effects of conventional medication. Acupuncture has been widely used to treat patients with ADHD, but the available evidence of its effectiveness is insufficient. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in patients (both and each treatment naive and conventional therapy children) with ADHD (any subtype) compared to the waitlist control.

Methods/Design

This study is a waitlist controlled open trial. We used a computer generated randomization scheme. This randomised, controlled trial had two parallel arms (acupuncture, and waitlist group). Each arm consisted of 40 participants. The acupuncture group received acupuncture treatment two times per week for a total of 12 sessions over 6 weeks. Post-treatment follow-up was performed 3 weeks later to complement the 12 acupuncture sessions. Participants in the waitlist group did not receive acupuncture treatments during the first six weeks but were only required to be assessed. After 6 weeks, the same treatments given to the acupuncture group were provided to the waitlist group. The primary outcome of this trial included differences in Korean version of ADHD-Rating Scale (K-ADHD-RS) before randomization, 3 weeks and 6 weeks after randomization, and 3 weeks after completing the treatment.

Discussion

Subjective measurements, like K-ADHD-RS, are commonly used in ADHD. Although these measurements have adequate reliability and validity, lack of objective assessment in ADHD may lead to some disputes, like parental placebo effects. More objective measurements, like Computerized Neurocognitive function Test (CNT) in this study, are needed in ADHD trials. Furthermore, this trial will provide evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for ADHD.

Trial Registration

Clinical Research Information Service (CRiS) KCT0000019