Meta-Analysis of Acupuncture Effects on Brain Networks in Chronic Pain Patients

A 2026 meta-analysis synthesizing evidence from 17 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comprising 750 patients, published by Xin Ma. The study quantifies acupuncture's effects on brain activity in chronic pain patients and its clinical efficacy, based on literature from 2016 to 2025. The dataset is a 15.7 KB document summarizing the review's methods, results, and conclusions.

Use Cases

• Validate clinical efficacy of acupuncture for chronic pain based on reported Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score reductions.
• Analyze associations between brain network modulation and clinical outcomes based on reported meta-analytic results.
• Identify target brain regions for pain intervention based on reported changes in the anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and thalamus.
• Assess evidence quality for acupuncture protocols based on the reported GRADE assessment and study limitations.

Strengths

• Includes 17 high-quality RCTs with 750 patients, providing a substantive evidence base.
• Reports statistically significant results for both neuroimaging (e.g., MD=0.27 in ACC/insula) and clinical outcomes (e.g., VAS MD=-2.31).
• Evidence for pain relief rate was rated as high quality according to the GRADE assessment.
• Registered as a systematic review in PROSPERO (CRD420261290299), indicating a predefined protocol.

Limitations

• The dataset is a 15.7 KB summary document; the underlying trial data is not included.
• The evidence is constrained by a limited number of studies, heterogeneity in pain subtypes and neuroimaging modalities, and short follow-up durations as noted in the conclusion.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred from the document text.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs identified via comprehensive searches of English and Chinese databases.

Time Range

Literature covered from 2016 to 2025.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-01 13:46:44.

Geography

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