Neuroimaging studies of acupuncture on Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review

Zihan Yin; Ziqi Wang; Yaqin Li; Jun Zhou; Zhenghong Chen; Manze Xia; Xinyue Zhang; Jiajing Wu; Ling Zhao; Fanrong Liang

doi:10.1186/s12906-023-03888-y

Neuroimaging studies of acupuncture on Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review

BMC Complement Med Ther. 2023 Feb 23;23(1):63. doi: 10.1186/s12906-023-03888-y.

Authors

Zihan Yin^#^{1

2}, Ziqi Wang^#³, Yaqin Li^#¹, Jun Zhou¹, Zhenghong Chen^{1

2}, Manze Xia^{1

2}, Xinyue Zhang^{1

2}, Jiajing Wu⁴, Ling Zhao^{5

6}, Fanrong Liang^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ School of Acu-Mox and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
² Acupuncture Clinical Research Center of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China.
³ the Fourth People's Hospital of Chengdu, Chengdu, China.
⁴ School of Nursing, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China.
⁵ School of Acu-Mox and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China. [email protected].
⁶ Acupuncture Clinical Research Center of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China. [email protected].
⁷ School of Acu-Mox and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China. [email protected].
⁸ Acupuncture Clinical Research Center of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China. [email protected].

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Acupuncture effectively improves cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Many neuroimaging studies have found significant brain alterations after acupuncture treatment of AD, but the underlying central modulation mechanism is unclear.

Objective: This review aims to provide neuroimaging evidence to understand the central mechanisms of acupuncture in patients with AD.

Methods: Relevant neuroimaging studies about acupuncture for AD were retrieved from eight English and Chinese medicine databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, SinoMed, CNKI, WF, VIP) and other resources from inception of databases until June 1, 2022, and their methodological quality was assessed using RoB 2.0 and ROBINS - I. Brain neuroimaging information was extracted to investigate the potential neural mechanism of acupuncture for AD. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis.

Results: Thirteen neuroimaging studies involving 275 participants were included in this review, and the overall methodological quality of included studies was moderate. The approaches applied included task-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (ts-fMRI; n = 9 studies) and rest-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI; n = 4 studies). All studies focused on the instant effect of acupuncture on the brains of AD participants, including the cingulate gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and cerebellum, indicating that acupuncture may regulate the default mode, central executive, and frontoparietal networks.

Conclusion: This study provides evidence of the neural mechanisms underlying the effect of acupuncture on AD involving cognitive- and motor-associated networks. However, this evidence is still in the preliminary investigation stage. Large-scale, well-designed, multimodal neuroimaging trials are still required to provide comprehensive insight into the central mechanism underlying the effect of acupuncture on AD. (Systematic review registration at PROSPERO, No. CRD42022331527).

Keywords: Acupuncture; Alzheimer’s disease; Neuroimaging; Systematic review.

Publication types

Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Acupuncture Therapy* / methods
Alzheimer Disease* / diagnostic imaging
Alzheimer Disease* / therapy
Brain / diagnostic imaging
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Neuroimaging