Owing to the inability to blind among the acupuncturists, the use of self-reported outcomes, and the potential placebo effect of acupuncture, the study results may be prone to bias.

The gap

Consensus across the literature

Supporting evidence — 3 representative gaps

• Electroacupuncture inhibited neuronal apoptosis through PGAM5/FUNDC1-dependent mitophagy after ischemic stroke (2026) · doi

  The study did not include adequate control group settings such as sham acupuncture and simple acupuncture controls alongside the electroacupuncture intervention. The absence of these comparative controls makes it difficult to isolate the specific mechanisms of EA versus placebo or non-electrical acupuncture effects.

  Keywords: electroacupuncture sham acupuncture control groups placebo effect
• Traditional Korean medicine treatment patterns in patients with low back pain: A cross-sectional study based on the 2017 Korean Medicine Utilization and Herbal Medicine Consumption Survey (2020) · doi

  The mechanisms by which cupping therapy controls low back pain through increased blood flow and negative pressure, and the neuroprotective and antioxidant effects of pharmaco-acupuncture, require investigation through well-designed prospective studies rather than the retrospective survey design used in this analysis.

  Keywords: cupping therapy pharmaco-acupuncture low back pain prospective studies mechanism
• Effects and central mechanisms of acupuncture for post-stroke vascular vertigo: study protocol of a multicenter, randomized, sham-controlled trial (2026) · doi

  Owing to the inability to blind among the acupuncturists, the use of self-reported outcomes, and the potential placebo effect of acupuncture, the study results may be prone to bias.

  Keywords: owing inability blind among acupuncturists self reported outcomes potential placebo effect acupuncture prone bias