Acupuncture paired with herbal medicine for prediabetes: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Type-2 diabetes has become a major disease and is known to seriously impair people's health worldwide. Prediabetes includes impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and is the most critical period for preventing type-2 diabetes, as it can be identified and reversed. Studies in the past decade have indicated that acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine may be beneficial for treating prediabetes. However, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) should be conducted to obtain more clinical evidence on this topic.

Methods/design

An RCT will be implemented in this study, using a72-week study period (24 weeks for the intervention and 48 weeks for follow-up). Participants will be recruited from the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical Univ

SUBMITTER: Li X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5490211 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature