Description for medicine or protocol of treatment in detail:
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All the enrolled patients were experiencing their first stroke and had upper limb motor dysfunction, with a disease course ranging from 2 weeks to 12 months. This study covered three hospitals: Shangluo Central Hospital, Shangluo Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Shangzhou District People's Hospital. It adopted a multi-center, randomized controlled research method, adhering to principles such as blinding and repetition. A total of 300 subjects were recruited, with 100 cases from each hospital, randomly divided into three groups: Group A (iTBS group), Group B (acupuncture group), and Group C (iTBS combined with acupuncture group), with 33 cases in each group. The intervention measures were as follows:
1) Conventional rehabilitation treatment: All three groups were given comprehensive training for the hemiplegic limb, physical factor therapy, and occupational therapy. Comprehensive training for the hemiplegic limb included exercises such as crossing hands and raising them (crossing hands, extending both upper limbs, and flexing the shoulder joint to raise them), bridge exercise (lying on the back, flexing the hip and knee, and raising the abdomen), Bobath hand-down push roller, friction board, and peg insertion, etc. Each training session lasted 45 minutes, once a day, five days a week, for a total of 20 sessions. Physical factor therapy was electronic biofeedback therapy, lasting 20 minutes each time, once a day, five days a week, for a total of 20 sessions. Occupational therapy lasted 45 minutes each time, once a day, five days a week, for a total of 20 sessions.
2) iTBS intervention: The YRD CCY-I type magnetic stimulator produced by Wuhan Yiruidi Medical Equipment New Technology Co., Ltd. was used, with a circular coil. First, the motor threshold of the patient was measured and recorded. The stimulation intensity was 80% of the motor threshold (MT). The stimulation target was the M1 area on the affected side; the stimulation mode was iTBS, with 600 pulses, three 50Hz pulses as a train, with an interval of 200ms between trains, and a stimulation time of 2 seconds as a group, with an interval of 8 seconds between groups, for a total stimulation time of 3 minutes, once a day, five days a week, for a total of 20 sessions.
3) Acupuncture treatment: Scalp acupuncture was based on the "International Standardized Protocol for Scalp Acupuncture Points", selecting the anterior and posterior oblique lines of the top and temporal regions. Each oblique line was divided into five equal parts, namely the upper 1/5, middle 2/5, and lower 2/5. This study selected the middle 2/5 of the anterior and posterior oblique lines on the side of the patient's normal limb to treat the upper limb dysfunction on the affected side. Body acupuncture selected acupoints such as Jianyu, Jianzhen, Tianjing, Quchi, Shize, Quze, Waiguan, Yangchi, Yangxi, Yanggu, and Hegu, which are located at the convergence of the meridians. Each session lasted 30 minutes, once a day, five days a week, for a total of 20 sessions over four weeks.
Efficacy evaluation: Before treatment, after 2 weeks of treatment, and after 4 weeks of treatment, two rehabilitation therapists with more than 2 years of experience and unaware of the group allocation evaluated the included patients. 1) The primary outcome measure was the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT). 2) The secondary outcome measures were the Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity Scale (FMA-UE), the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), and the Upper Extremity Section of the Modified Ashworth Scale (MASUE). The Modified Barthel Index (MBI) and the Stroke-specific Quality of Life scale (SS-QOL) were used. The therapeutic effects and safety of the two groups were compared.
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