Neuroimaging biomarkers for predicting acupuncture treatment response in chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol
Abstract
Introduction: Acupuncture is increasingly recognised as an effective treatment for chronic pain conditions, yet inter-individual variability in treatment response remains a major clinical challenge. Recent neuroimaging studies suggest that baseline brain characteristics may serve as objective biomarkers for predicting therapeutic outcomes, with some achieving classification accuracies exceeding 80%. These findings, however, have not been systematically synthesised. This review will be the first to systematically evaluate whether pre-treatment neuroimaging biomarkers can predict acupuncture treatment response in adults with chronic pain.
Methods and analysis: This protocol is reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines. We will search MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, Web of Science and four Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, VIP and CBM) from inception to the search date without date restrictions. Eligible studies must include adults with chronic pain (≥3 months duration), baseline neuroimaging assessment (functional MRI, structural MRI, positron emission tomography (PET) or single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)) and needle-based acupuncture intervention with post-treatment clinical outcomes. Two reviewers will independently screen studies, extract data and assess risk of bias using the Prediction model…
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