THE EFFECT OF ACUPUNCTURE IN THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY SJOGRENS-SYNDROME - A CONTROLLED-STUDY

Twenty-one patients, 20 women and 1 man, participated in a controlled study. Al patients were diagnosed with primary Sjogren's syndrome (1 d egrees SS) according to the Copenhagen and San Diego criteria. The pat ients were randomly assigned to either a group receiving acupuncture t reatment or a control group with no active treatment. The patients in the control group received acupuncture after 10 weeks when the acupunc ture treatment was completed in the first group. A majority of the pat ients subjectively reported some improvement after treatment, and a si gnificant increase in paraffin-stimulated saliva secretion was found a fter treatment. No statistically significant differences between the a cupuncture group and the control group were seen in unstimulated saliv ary secretion or most of the subjective variables. The study showed th at acupuncture is of limited value fbr patients with 1 degrees SS.