Objective: To investigate whether electroacupuncture (EA) on the primary motor cortex could reduce pain in patients with PD and to explore the mechanism behind its analgesic effect.

Background: Pain is a common symptom of Parkinson’s disease（PD）, for which there is currently no effective treatment.

Method: In this double-blind trial conducted at a single center, 56 patients who were suffering from Parkinson’s disease and pain were randomly assigned into two groups. The two groups received either 5 sessions of 20 Hz density wave EA or primary motor cortex sham stimulation. Using a visual analog scale (VAS), participants rated their pain levels while being assessed “ON” medication status at baseline, after the fifth course, and at 2- and 4-week follow-up time points. The primary outcome of the trial was the VAS score, while secondary outcomes included assessments of motor symptoms, depression, anxiety, autonomic symptoms, sleep quality, and overall PD severity. The study also explored the mechanism of EA in treating PD pain from a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) perspective.

Results: An analysis showed that the two groups had significant differences in VAS score (P<0.01), UPDRS III score (P<0.01), UPDRS IV score (P=0.03), depression score (P=0.031), anxiety score (P <0.05) and PDQ There was a significant group × time interaction on the PDQ-39 scale score (P=0.05). Post hoc analysis confirmed that the electroacupuncture stimulation group significantly improved VAS, motor, mood, and overall disease severity scores. In addition, rs fMRI results suggested that there was a significant interaction in the functional connections between the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, insula, and substantia nigra in the EA group.

Conclusion: Electroacupuncture stimulation on the M1 area is an effective auxiliary therapy for relieving pain in PD patients. It can increase the Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuation of the anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, insula, and substantia nigra and enhance the Functional connectivity of these brain functions.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/analgesic-effect-of-electroacupuncture-on-relieving-pain-in-parkinsons-disease-and-the-mechanism-based-on-rs-fmri/