Chen, Xing-Hua, Li, Lu-Qian, Zhang, Wen et al. · Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion · 2010
This study tested whether acupuncture could help people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) feel less tired. Ninety patients were divided into two groups: one received acupuncture at specific points on the head and neck, while the other received glucose and herbal injections. Both treatments reduced fatigue, but acupuncture worked better than the injection treatment.
This study provides evidence that acupuncture may be an effective non-pharmacological intervention for reducing fatigue symptoms in CFS patients. For researchers, it contributes to the growing body of literature on traditional medicine approaches and may inform future trials exploring mechanisms of symptom improvement.
This study does not prove acupuncture cures CFS or addresses underlying disease mechanisms—it only demonstrates short-term fatigue symptom reduction. The lack of a true sham-acupuncture control means improvements could partly reflect placebo effects. The study also cannot establish whether benefits persist long-term or whether they prevent disease progression.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Chen, Xing-Hua, Li, Lu-Qian, Zhang, Wen, Yang, Juan, Dai, Yi-Shuang, Xu, Dong-Hua, et al. (2010). [Randomized controlled study on acupuncture treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome].. Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20862932/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-chen-2010-randomized-controlled,
author = {Chen, Xing-Hua and Li, Lu-Qian and Zhang, Wen and Yang, Juan and Dai, Yi-Shuang and Xu, Dong-Hua and Tang, Chun-Zhi},
title = {[Randomized controlled study on acupuncture treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome].},
journal = {Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion},
year = {2010},
note = {PubMed: 20862932},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/chen-2010-randomized-controlled},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/chen-2010-randomized-controlled
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