Objective To observe the effect of acupuncture combined with speech therapy on dysarthria after stroke or cerebral trauma. Methods Sixty-one cases of dysarthria were randomly divided into two groups. The observation group （30 cases） was treated with speech therapy and acupuncture at major acupoints Lianquan （廉泉 CV 23）, Jinjin （金津 EX-HN 12）, Yuye （玉夜 EX-HN 13）, Fengchi（风池 GB 20）, Yifeng （翳风 TE 17） and Wangu（完骨 GB 12）, and the control group （31 cases） was treated with speech therapy only. The changes of speech and acoustical indices were evaluated after 9 weeks treatment. Results The word articulation and the correct rate of writings in the two groups were significantly increased after treatment （both P〈0.01）. The total effective rate of 96.7%（29/30） in the observation group was superior to that of 67.7%（21/31） in the control group （P〈0.01）. The maximum phonation time （MPT） tested by a phonolaryngeal aeromechanical analyzer was significantly prolonged in both the observation group （12 cases） and the control group （11 cases） （both P〈0.01）, the improvement in the observation group being more obvious （P〈0.01）. Conclusion Acupuncture combined with speech therapy can improve the speech and acoustic level in the patient of dysarthria.
