Blood perfusion effect of acupuncture on acute facial paralysis observed by laser speckle technique

Objective To observe effect of acupuncture for acute facial paralysis patients with ocular skin blood perfusion, and to explore the safety and effectiveness of acupuncture in treating acute facial paralysis. Methods Thirty patients with acute facial paralysis were enrolled and acupunctured in facial points and bilateral Hegu (LI 14), and the PeriCam laser speckle flow video monitoring system was used not only for recording ocular skin blood perfusion condition in both normal and affected sides before acupuncture, at 15 min after acupuncture and after removing needles immediately, but also for calculating reduction ratio of ocular skin average perfusion in the affected side face compared with the healthy side. Results Compared with the healthy side of face, the ocular skin blood perfusion of the affected side after acupuncture was significantly different from that before intervention. The blood perfusion levels after 15-minute acupuncture and at the time of remaining needles were significantly different from the basic line (all P <0.01). Conclusion Acupuncture can significantly improve eye blood perfusion of the acute facial paralysis, enhance metabolic activity of the affected facial tissues, and promote the recovery of facial nerve function.