Effectiveness of acupuncture for vascular cognitive impairment no dementia: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in patients with vascular cognitive impairment no dementia (VCIND) in comparison with citicoline, an agent for cognitive disturbances associated with chronic cerebral disorders. Design: A randomized controlled multicenter trial. Setting: In three hospitals in Beijing, China. Subjects: A total of 216 patients with VCIND were recruited. Interventions: Patients with VCIND (mean age of 65.4 years) were randomized to receive acupuncture (two sessions per week) or oral citicoline (100 mg three times daily) over three months. Main measures: The primary outcome was the change from baseline to three months in cognitive symptom, measured by Alzheimer’s disease Assessment Scale, cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog). Secondary outcomes included changes from baseline to six months in ADAS-cog, executive function measured by the Clock Drawing Test (CDT), and functional disability measured by the Ability of Daily Living (ADL) scale at three and six months. Results: At three months, the acupuncture group had a greater decrease in mean ADAS-cog score (−2.33 ± 0.31) than the citicoline group (−1.38 ± 0.34) with a mean difference of −0.95 (95% CI, −1.84 to −0.07, P = 0.035). The mean change from baseline to six months in ADAS-cog also significantly favored acupuncture treatments (acupuncture change −2.61 vs citicoline −1.25, difference: −1.36 points; 95% CI, −2.20 to −0.51; P = 0.002). There was no difference between the two groups on CDT and ADL scores at either time point. Conclusion: Compared with citicoline, acupuncture has comparable and even superior efficacy with improved cognitive and daily living performance as a complementary and alternative medicine treatment for VCIND.

Acupuncture Attenuates Inflammation in Microglia of Vascular Dementia Rats by Inhibiting miR-93-Mediated TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB Signaling Pathway

“…Acupuncture has been reported to be a possible nonpharmacological treatment for VD patients. Our previous clinical trials suggested that acupuncture is useful in relieving symptoms of VD [42]. In this study, we found that acupuncture improved cognitive performance and reduced the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in the hippocampus and plasma.…”

Effects of Acupuncture on Vascular Cognitive Impairment with No Dementia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Previous studies showed that acupuncture was effective for short-term improvement of cognitive function, but few reported the long-term effectiveness of acupuncture. Our findings on the effectiveness of acupuncture on the improvement of cognitive function are consistent with those of previously published clinical trials [ 24–26 ], while to date our trial is the only one characterized by a 6-month period of follow-up. Through a long follow-up period, we found that the effects of EA may last until 16 weeks after the beginning of intervention, and there were no differences between the two groups at 32 weeks of follow up.…”

Microglia TREM2: A Potential Role in the Mechanism of Action of Electroacupuncture in an Alzheimer’s Disease Animal Model

“…Acupuncture therapy, a treatment modality of Chinese medicine, is widely recognized and used in many countries and regions in the world. At present, acupuncture therapy is applied for improving a variety of central nervous system diseases: dementia [ 19 , 20 ], stroke [ 21 , 22 ], Parkinson's disease [ 23 – 26 ], spinal cord injury [ 27 , 28 ], and so on [ 29 , 30 ]. Clinical research in AD found this therapy to be safe, well tolerated, and effective in improving cognitive function [ 10 ].…”