The Effects of Sphenopalatine Ganglion Acupuncture in Patients With Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis

Sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG)-acupuncture has been shown to exhibit distinct effects in treatment of nasal inflammatory disease. Investigators aimed to assess the effects of SPG acupuncture in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. The randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial enrolled participants with seasonal allergic rhinitis. Participants will be randomly assigned to either active SPG-acupuncture group or sham-acupuncture group. All participants will be provided four times of acupuncture in 4 weeks, and then follow-up of 4 week. Primary trial outcomes are change in symptoms and change in need for medication. The primary outcomes will be measured in baseline, week1, week2, week3, week4, week 6 and week 8. Secondary outcomes include the changes in nasal patency (nasal airway resistance and nasal cavity volume), exhaled nasal nitric oxide.The investigators also evaluate change in neuropeptides (substance P, vasoactive intestinal peptide,neuropeptide Y) and inflammatory cytokines (interleukin(IL)-4, IL-5, IL-8, IL-17a, IL-22, IL-25, interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α, transforming growth factor(TGF)-β1, TGF-β2, TGF-β3,Chemokine, Eotaxin) in nasal secretions as secondary outcomes. The secondary outcomes will be measured in baseline, week1, week4 and week 8.