Luo, Hong, Gong, Rui, Zheng, Rui et al. · Journal of translational medicine · 2023 · DOI
This study tested whether longer sessions of moxibustion (a traditional Chinese medicine heat treatment) might work better than shorter sessions for chronic fatigue syndrome. Sixty women with CFS were treated either 60 minutes or 30 minutes per session, three times per week for four weeks. The 60-minute sessions produced greater improvements in fatigue and other symptoms, and thermal imaging showed better changes in body heat patterns with the longer treatment.
Understanding dose-response relationships in potential CFS treatments could help optimize therapy protocols and improve outcomes for patients. The integration of both patient-reported scales and objective thermal imaging provides a multimodal assessment approach that may better capture treatment effects in this complex condition.
This study does not establish that moxibustion is more effective than standard medical treatments or placebo, as there was no placebo control or conventional therapy comparison group. The study was limited to female patients, so findings may not generalize to males. Correlation between thermal changes and symptom improvement does not prove causation, and the mechanism by which moxibustion might benefit CFS remains unclear.
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
Luo, Hong, Gong, Rui, Zheng, Rui, Tan, Jing, Chen, Ruixue, Wu, Jie, et al. (2023). Dose-effect of long-snake-like moxibustion for chronic fatigue syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.. Journal of translational medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-023-04250-z
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-luo-2023-dose-effect,
author = {Luo, Hong and Gong, Rui and Zheng, Rui and Tan, Jing and Chen, Ruixue and Wu, Jie and Ma, Tingting},
title = {Dose-effect of long-snake-like moxibustion for chronic fatigue syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.},
journal = {Journal of translational medicine},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1186/s12967-023-04250-z},
note = {PubMed: 37400824},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/luo-2023-dose-effect},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/luo-2023-dose-effect
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