Effectiveness and Safety of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Diabetic Neuropathy –A review

Background: Diabetic neuropathy is a common complication of diabetes, which affects 30 % of people with diabetes. The purpose of this paper is to review the efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) toward diabetic neuropathy based on clinical studies.

Methods: Literature searches were conducted in three electronic databases: PubMed, CQVIP (a Chinese scientific periodical database) and Google scholar. All the RCTs that were published and used TCM as an intervention from January 2005 to January 2010 were retrieved for this review. Uncontrolled trials, cases series and case reports were excluded. The review is limited to articles in Chinese and English language.

Results: We retrieved ninety five abstracts that use Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat diabetic neuropathy; and fourteen RCTs were identified. The TCM treatments used in these trials were topical treatments, acupuncture & Moxibustion therapy, Massage therapy and oral Chinese herbal treatments. Generally, the TCM treatments were given as adjuncts to conventional treatment. The control groups received either conventional treatments or placebo. The outcomes of the treatment groups were either better than or equal to the control groups in 13 trials. One trial evaluated the efficacy of two styles of acupuncture (Japanese, Traditional Chinese). Side effects such as dizziness, abdominal cramping was reported by one of the fourteen studies.

Conclusion: Based on our review, TCM may be beneficial to the patients with Diabetic Neuropathy. Integrated Chinese and western therapy seems to be more effective than conventional medicine alone. However, the evidence is inconclusive on the clinical efficacy of TCM due to the limitations of these studies.