針灸輔助治療視神經脊髓炎：病例報告

Adjunctive Acupuncture Treatment of Neuromyelitis Optica: A Case Report

視神經脊髓炎(Neuromyelitis optica, NMO)為中樞神經系統的罕見發炎性疾病，通常壯年發病，造成橫貫性脊髓炎與視神經炎，罹病後終生反覆發作，伴隨視力受損、截癱、膀胱及腸道功能障礙、運動障礙等影響，現今醫療對此疾病認識與治療仍受限。本文報導一位45歲視神經脊髓炎女性患者，自發病後病程反覆且逐次加重，此次因突發性下肢無力及麻木，磁振造影檢查顯示縱向廣泛性橫貫性脊髓炎，住院後經西醫常規及針灸輔助治療後，臨床症狀明顯改善，故探討針灸於此疾病可能之治療機轉。

Neuromyelitis optica(NMO) is a rare inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. It usually occurs in middle-aged people, causes transverse myelitis and optic neuritis, which recurs throughout life. Accompanied by severe disorders such as impaired vision, paraplegia, bladder and bowel dysfunction, dyskinesia, our current medication is limited. This article reports a 45-year-old female with neuromyelitis optica. The course of the disease has been repeated and progressively worsened since the onset. This time, she was hospitalized due to sudden lower extremity weakness and numbness. Spinal magnetic resonance imaging showed longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis. After the adjunctive treatment of acupuncture, the clinical symptoms were significantly improved. Therefore, we discussed the possible mechanism of acupuncture in the treatment of this disease.