Scalp acupuncture appears to improve tic symptoms and sustain benefits while causing no clear increase in adverse reactions.
Researchers combined evidence from nineteen randomized controlled trials involving patients with tic disorders, identified through database searches completed in May 2023. They compared scalp acupuncture with control treatments and assessed symptom severity, traditional Chinese medicine symptom ratings, overall clinical improvement, adverse reactions, and longer-term outcomes.
Across the included studies, scalp acupuncture was associated with reduced tic severity and improved overall clinical outcomes compared with control treatments. Benefits also appeared to persist over longer follow-up periods, while adverse reactions were less frequent in the acupuncture groups, although the difference was not clearly established.
