Modulatory Effect of Acupuncture at Waiguan (TE5) on the Functional Connectivity of the Central Nervous System of Patients with Ischemic Stroke in the Left Basal Ganglia

Abstract

ObjectiveTo study the influence of acupuncture at Waiguan (TE5) on the functional connectivity of the central nervous system of patients with ischemic stroke.MethodsTwenty-four patients with ischemic stroke in the left basal ganglia were randomized based on gender to receive TE5 acupuncture (n = 12) or nonacupoint acupuncture (n = 12). Each group underwent sham acupuncture and then verum acupuncture while being scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging. Six regions of interest (ROI) were defined, including bilateral motor, somatosensory, and bilateral basal ganglia areas. The functional connectivity between these ROIs and all voxels of the brain was analyzed in Analysis of Functional NeuroImages(AFNI) to explore the differences between verum acupuncture and sham acupuncture at TE5 and between TE5 acupuncture and nonacupoint acupuncture. The participants were blinded to the allocation.ResultThe effect of acupuncture on six seed-associated networks was explored. The result demonstrated that acupuncture at Waiguan (TE5) can regulate the sensorimotor network of the ipsilesional hemisphere, stimulate the contralesional sensorimotor network, increase cooperation of bilateral sensorimotor networks, and change the synchronization between the cerebellum and cerebrum. Furthermore, a lot of differences of effect existed between verum acupuncture and sham acupuncture at TE5, but there was little difference between TE5 acupuncture and nonacupoint acupuncture.ConclusionThe modulation of synchronizations between different regions within different brain networks might be the mechanism of acupuncture at Waiguan (TE5). Stimulation of the contralesional sensorimotor network and increase of cooperation of bilateral hemispheres imply a compensatory effect of the intact hemisphere, whereas changes in synchronization might influence the sensorimotor function of the affected side of the body.Trial RegistrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR-ONRC-08000255

Cerebral Targeting of Acupuncture at Combined Acupoints in Treating Essential Hypertension: An Rs‐fMRI Study and Curative Effect Evidence

“…Recently, fMRI has gradually been applied to study the mechanism of acupuncture therapeutic effects based on some diseases; the study of effects of long-term acupuncture treatment in migraine patients compared the differences in brain activities evocation by active acupoints and inactive acupoints [13]. To study the influence of acupuncture at Waiguan (TE5) on the functional connectivity of the central nervous system of patients with ischemic stroke, Chen et al [14] compared the differences of regions of interest (ROI) between TE5 acupuncture and nonacupoint acupuncture, as well as verum acupuncture and sham acupuncture. Shi et al [15] researched an experimental acute low back pain model using fMRI to explore the neural mechanisms of acupuncture analgesia by means of acupuncture stimulation and tactile stimulation at BL40.…”

“…Previous acupuncture research based on Block Design fMRI [7, 9, 14] ignored aftereffect of acupuncture and could not completely copy the clinical acupuncture treatment process. At present, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (Rs-fMRI) technology has been gradually applied in the acupuncture research field.…”

Evaluation of Amplitude of Accommodation in a Presbyopic Patient Undergoing Stimulation of Sizhukong Acupuncture Point (TH23) – Case Report

“…Needle insertion on the left wrist (TH5) stimulates the left side of the brain [28]. This result is in accordance with triple heater meridian path that connects to the ipsilateral cerebral hemisphere [29]. Being the TH-23 point of the same meridian, could it have some similar action?…”

The Status of the Quality Control in Acupuncture‐Neuroimaging Studies

“…Most of the studies were conducted in China (80 studies) [10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18–24, 26, 27, 29–31, 33–36, 43–46, 48, 51, 53, 54, 56, 58–66, 68–70, 72–75, 77, 78, 83, 84, 86, 87, 89, 90, 93, 95, 97, 99–101, 104, 111, 113, 115, 123, 137, 138, 142, 144–147, 154, 159, 161–166] and in USA (40 studies) [15, 28, 37, 38, 42, 57, 70, 71, 76, 80, 88, 91, 94, 96, 105–107, 118–120, 124–127, 129–131, 133–136, 140, 141, 148, 151, 152, 155, 156, 158, 174]. The investigators in Korea (16 studies) [7, 47, 49, 52, 55, 82, 85, 98, 102, …”