Auricular Acupuncture and Type 2 Diabetes

An auricular acupuncture protocol could provide a low-cost, effective treatment for lowering blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a pilot study published in Medical Acupuncture has suggested.

Type 2 diabetes is a major health epidemic that affects an estimated 462 million people globally, corresponding to 6.28% of the world's population.

Auricular acupuncture can regulate internal organs through ear acupoints, harmonizing the qi and blood of the human body by stimulating the acupoints. It is suggested to improve insulin sensitivity, lower blood sugar, enhance the body's self-regulation mechanism for blood sugar, and reduce clinical symptoms. Not much research, however, has been published on auricular acupuncture for lowering blood glucose levels.

The Pilot Study

The pilot study was conducted in Guatemala, where there is a high prevalence of T2D and limited access to care. Joan Boccino, Department of Bioscience, Pacific College of Health and Science–New York, New York, NY, USA, aimed to determine if an auricular acupuncture protocol could be an effective, feasible treatment for blood glucose reduction, thus offering potential accessible treatment.

For this purpose, Dr. Boccino recruited 28 participants with T2DM diagnosis utilizing a self-controlled design approach and received 2 weeks of treatment consisting of a set of protocols of 5 points each ear.

Patients' treatment expectations, health status, and quality of life were assessed using pre- and post-treatment surveys. Pre- to post-treatment glucose levels were measured using paired t-tests.

Findings

• The treatment produced a significant reduction in the patients' fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels, averaging 45.35 (n = 19) and 109.45 points (n = 10), respectively.
• Surveys indicated that all participants would be interested in using the treatment again to help manage their blood glucose.

"An auricular protocol may provide an effective, low-cost treatment for lowering blood glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes," the researchers wrote. "The results of this study are promising, indicating that further investigation is warranted."

Reference

Boccino, Joan. "Auricular Acupuncture for Lowering Blood Glucose in Type 2 Diabetes: A Pilot Study." Medical Acupuncture, vol. 35, no. 4, 2023, pp. 186-194.