Acupuncture improves the facial muscular function in a case of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a genetic muscle disorder in which muscles of the face, shoulder blades and upper arms develop gradual and progressive weakness. There is no effective pharmacological treatment currently available for this disorder so far. We had an opportunity to treat a patient with FSHD using acupuncture. The patient was a 62-year-old female, who presented to us with symptoms as weakness in her eyes, mouth, shoulder, the upper and lower limbs. Muscle atrophy could be found in multiple area in her body including her face, shoulder, arm, chest and lower limbs, etc. Her diagnosis of FSHD muscular dystrophy was established a few years ago and was later genetically confirmed. Following a long treatment course of about 10 months with acupuncture, this patient showed a significant restoration of her facial muscle function. However, acupuncture did not improve the function of other muscle groups. The potential mechanism that acupuncture improved the facial function but not the other muscles needs to be further investigated.