Gangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital Recruiting Participants for Clinical Study on 'Pharmacopuncture Therapy' for Parkinson's Disease Pain Patients

Exterior view of Gangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Professor Park Sung-wook's team from the Department of Korean Medicine at the Brain and Nerve Center of Kangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital announced on the 5th that they are recruiting participants for a clinical study evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of ‘pharmacopuncture therapy’ for Parkinson's disease patients experiencing pain, in collaboration with the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine.

This clinical study is being conducted to assess the effects of pharmacopuncture therapy on pain and other Parkinson's disease symptoms, as well as to investigate its mechanism, targeting Parkinson's patients who experience pain. Eligible participants are those with idiopathic Parkinson's disease who have had no changes in their medication for at least the past 4 weeks and are experiencing pain.

Participants in the clinical study will be assigned to one of three groups: pharmacopuncture treatment group, acupuncture treatment group, or standard treatment group. Depending on the assigned group, participants will receive pharmacopuncture or acupuncture treatment twice a week for 8 weeks, or maintain their existing medication. Participants will also undergo blood tests and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as part of the study.

Pain is one of the most common non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease patients and significantly reduces quality of life. According to data published by Professor Park's research team in 2020, an analysis of 172 Parkinson's patients showed that 6 out of 7 (85.5%, 147 patients) suffered from chronic pain that caused daily life discomfort.

Pharmacopuncture therapy involves injecting a refined extract of herbal medicine into acupuncture points or specific reaction points. This method combines the physical therapeutic effects of acupuncture with the pharmacological actions of the herbal extract, enhancing and prolonging the treatment effect. Pharmacopuncture therapy is widely used in various Korean medical institutions and is applied in diverse fields such as Parkinson's disease, pain, and paralysis disorders.