Original Paper Digestion 2004;69:131–139 DOI: 10.1159/000078151 Acupuncture and Moxibustion in the Treatment of Active Crohn’s Disease: A Randomized Controlled Study Stefanie Joos a Benno Brinkhaus a Christa Maluche a Nathalie Maupai a Ralf Kohnen b Nils Kraehmer a Eckhart G. Hahn a Detlef Schuppan a a Department of Medicine I (Gastroenterology), Research Group for Alternative Medicine, Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, and b Institute for Medical Research Management and Biometrics, Nuremberg, Germany Received: September 3, 2003 Accepted: December 9, 2003 Published online: April 26, 2004 Stefanie Joos, MD Hirschstrasse 76 DE–76133 Karlsruhe (Germany) Tel. +49 721 3524711, Fax +49 721 42125 E-Mail s.joos@gmx.de ABC Fax + 41 61 306 12 34 E-Mail karger@karger.ch www.karger.com © 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel 0012–2823/04/0693–0131$21.00/0 Accessible online at: www.karger.com/dig Key Words Acupuncture W Complementary medicine W Crohn’s disease W Activity index, Crohn’s disease W Inflammatory bowel disease W Chinese medicine, traditional Abstract Background: Acupuncture has traditionally been used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease in China and is increasingly being applied in Western countries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of active Crohn’s disease (CD). Methods: A prospective, randomized, controlled, single-blind clinical trial was carried out to analyze the change in the CD activity index (CDAI) after treatment as a main outcome measure, and the changes in quality of life and general well-being, serum markers of inflamma- tion (· 1 -acid glycoprotein, C-reactive protein) as second- ary outcome measures. 51 patients with mild to moder- ately active CD were treated in a single center for com- plementary medicine by three trained acupuncturists and randomly assigned to receive either traditional acu- puncture (TCM group, n = 27) or control treatment at non-acupuncture points (control group, n = 24). Patients were treated in 10 sessions over a period of 4 weeks and followed up for 12 weeks. Results: In the TCM group the CDAI decreased from 250 B 51 to 163 B 56 points as compared with a mean decrease from 220 B 42 to 181 B 46 points in the control group (TCM vs. control group: p = 0.003). In both groups these changes were associated with improvements in general well-being and quality of life. With regard to general well-being, traditional acu- puncture was superior to control treatment (p = 0.045). · 1 -acid glycoprotein concentration fell significantly only in the TCM group (p = 0.046). Conclusions: Apart from a marked placebo effect, traditional acupuncture offers an additional therapeutic benefit in patients with mild to moderately active CD. Copyright © 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel Introduction In the Western world an increasing number of patients, especially those with chronic diseases, are attracted by complementary healing methods [1, 2]. Recent epidemio- logical surveys confirm this trend also for patients with Crohn’s disease (CD), particularly with regard to acu-