[Effects of acupuncture on quality of life in children with spastic cerebral palsy].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of acupuncture in children with spastic cerebral palsy (SCP). METHODS: One hundred SCP children, 2 to 7 years old, were randomly assigned to two groups equally. The control group was treated with rehabilitation training using Bobath and Vojta physical training methods and the acupuncture group treated also with the same training but with acupuncture conducted additionally. The therapeutic course was 3-12 months arranged according to the state of illness. RESULTS: The total effective rate, development quotient (DQ), improvement rate of brain hypogenesis and atrophy showed by skull CT, and recovery rate of cerebral emission computed tomography (ECT) were all higher in the acupuncture group than those in the control group (all P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture obviously promotes the compensation of cerebral function and shows a favorable effect in improving quality of life of the children with SCP.