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Sarcopenia — the progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength — is a common and serious complication in people receiving maintenance haemodialysis for kidney failure. This randomised controlled trial investigated whether electroacupuncture could help counter this muscle deterioration in thirty-six haemodialysis patients diagnosed with sarcopenia.
Participants were randomly assigned to either an electroacupuncture group or a control group. Those receiving electroacupuncture underwent twenty-four thirty-minute sessions delivered three times per week over eight weeks, while control participants maintained their usual lifestyle and treatment. Key outcomes measured included walking speed over six metres, handgrip strength, and skeletal muscle mass index. Blood samples were also analysed using serum metabolomics to identify changes in the body’s chemical environment.
After eight weeks, the electroacupuncture group showed meaningful improvements in walking speed, handgrip strength, and skeletal muscle mass index, whereas the control group showed declines in walking speed and handgrip strength. No serious adverse events were reported. Metabolomic analysis identified one hundred and twenty-seven differentially expressed metabolites, with notable changes in pathways related to lipid metabolism, including glycerophospholipid and linoleic acid metabolism, suggesting that electroacupuncture may work in part by favourably influencing systemic metabolic processes involving amino acids and lipids.
Conclusion: This small but well-conducted randomised controlled trial provides encouraging evidence that electroacupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for sarcopenia in patients undergoing maintenance haemodialysis, with potential mechanisms linked to systemic metabolic regulation.
Source: Chen R, Qian Q, Wang B and colleagues. Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle (2026). View on PubMed (PMID 42473028) · doi:10.1002/jcsm.70345