Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Oct 26, 2022; 10(30): 11023-11030
Published online Oct 26, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i30.11023
Effect of electroacupuncture for Pisa syndrome in Parkinson’s disease: A case report
Wei-Jing Lu, Jing-Qi Fan, Ming-Yue Yan, Keiko Mukaeda, Li-Xing Zhuang, Li-Li Wang
Wei-Jing Lu, Jing-Qi Fan, Ming-Yue Yan, Clinical Medical College of Acupuncture Moxibustion and Rehabilitation, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong Province, China
Keiko Mukaeda, International College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong Province, China
Li-Xing Zhuang, Li-Li Wang, The Parkinson's Clinic, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510405, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Yan MY and Fan JQ completed the treatment of the case and collected all the data related to the case report; Lu WJ, Mukaeda K, Zhuang LX and Wang LL contributed to the writing and revising of the manuscript; all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82174486.
Informed consent statement: Both study participants and their legal guardians provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Li-Xing Zhuang, MD, Chief Doctor, The Parkinson's Clinic, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, No. 16 Jichang Road, Baiyun District, Guangzhou 510405, Guangdong Province, China. zhuanglixing@163.com
Received: April 16, 2022
Peer-review started: April 16, 2022
First decision: August 4, 2022
Revised: August 15, 2022
Accepted: September 16, 2022
Article in press: September 16, 2022
Published online: October 26, 2022
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Pisa syndrome (PS) refers to marked lateral flexion of the trunk with a Cobb angle greater than 10°, which is typically mobile and can be resolved by lying down. PS is one of the most common postural deformities secondary to Parkinson’s disease (PD) and can aggravate scoliosis in the advanced stages of PD.

CASE SUMMARY

Here, we present the case of a 53-year-old woman who presented with lateral curvature for 6 mo. Full spine X-ray films in the correct position showed that the thoracolumbar spine was bent to the right without any rotation of the vertebrae. The patient was diagnosed with Pisa syndrome. After receiving a month’s treatment with electroacupuncture, the Cobb angle decreased from 18.14° to 13.41°.

CONCLUSION

This case demonstrates that electroacupuncture can effectively improve Pisa syndrome secondary to PD with few side effects and a low risk of recurrence. Additionally, early accurate diagnosis and timely intervention are meaningful for the prognosis of PS.

Keywords: Pisa syndrome, Scoliosis, Parkinson disease, Electroacupuncture, Postural deformities, Case report

Core Tip: Pisa syndrome is common in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, can progress to scoliosis and may even be disabling. Currently, there is still a lack of effective treatments without side effects. We propose a new method, electroacupuncture, which may improve lateral curvature by relaxing the paraspinous muscles and modulating brain metabolism. This can ameliorate Pisa syndrome and delay the progression of PD by simultaneously treating the symptoms and disease. Thus, electroacupuncture may be an effective and beneficial treatment option for patients with Pisa syndrome.