Acupuncture for allergic disease therapy – the current state of evidence

Abstract

This review summarizes current evidence for acupuncture treatment of allergies. Several randomized controlled trials have demonstrated a specific effect of acupuncture for allergic rhinitis; while a few studies have shown positive effects for atopic dermatitis, asthma and itch. Specifically for allergic rhinitis and asthma, acupuncture may be cost-effective in terms of money spent per quality-of-life gained. Acupuncture plays an increasingly important role as an evidence-based therapy for allergy relief and can be recommended as adjunct therapy for allergic rhinitis. Future randomized controlled trials need to further explore acupuncture efficacy for the treatment of itch, atopic dermatitis and asthma. More experimental research is also needed to investigate mechanisms of action underlying acupuncture for allergy relief.

Keywords::

• acupuncture
• allergic rhinitis
• allergy
• asthma
• atopic dermatitis

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work has been supported by Christine Kühne Foundation for Allergy. F Pfab has received grants from the Ministry of Germany. V Napadow has received multiple NIH grants. J Ring has received multiple grants from the Ministry of Germany and CK-CARE, where he is director of the research area ‘Innovative Diagnostics and Therapy’. J Huss-Marp is an employee of Thermo-Fischer Company. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Key issues

• High percentage of patients use acupuncture for treatment of allergies.

• Two large multi-center randomized controlled trial (RCTs) show acupuncture effects on allergic rhinitis.

• Smaller RCTs and experimental studies point toward effect on itch, atopic dermatitis and asthma. However, so far no large RCTs have been carried out.

• Acupuncture for the treatment of allergic rhinitis and asthma seems cost-effective.

• Lack of scientific data on treatment of other allergic diseases.

• Modest side effects.