Effects of Acupuncture on Vascular Cognitive Impairment with No Dementia: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Background: Acupuncture has been used for treating vascular cognitive impairment, but evidence for its effectiveness remains limited. Objective: This single-center, patient-accessor blinded, randomized controlled trial was designed to assess whether acupuncture could improve the cognitive function o...
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Published in | Journal of Alzheimer's disease Vol. 81; no. 4; pp. 1391 - 1401 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London, England
SAGE Publications
01.01.2021
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Background:
Acupuncture has been used for treating vascular cognitive impairment, but evidence for its effectiveness remains limited.
Objective:
This single-center, patient-accessor blinded, randomized controlled trial was designed to assess whether acupuncture could improve the cognitive function of patients with vascular cognitive impairment with no dementia (VCIND).
Methods:
120 VCIND patients were randomly assigned to the electro-acupuncture (EA) or sham acupuncture (SA) group at a 1 : 1 ratio, with treatment conducted thrice weekly for 8 weeks. The primary outcome was the changes of cognitive function measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) from baseline to week 8. The secondary outcomes included the scores of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) and the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). Follow-up assessments were performed with MoCA and MMSE at week 16 and 32. Linear mixed-effects models were used for analysis and all statistical tests were two-sided.
Results:
The results showed that patients in the EA group had a significantly greater improvement in MoCA score (23.85±4.18) than those in the SA group (21.48±4.44) at week 8 (95% CI = 0.80, 3.92, p = 0.04), as well as higher MoCA scores over time (p < 0.001 for interaction). Patients who received EA showed a greater increase in MMSE scores (26.41±3.47) than those who received SA (24.40±3.85) along 8 weeks (95% CI = 0.69, 3.34, p = 0.004). However, results diminished over time. No serious adverse events occurred during the trial.
Conclusion:
EA is a safe and effective technique to improve cognition over the short term of 8 weeks in VCIND patients. |
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ISSN: | 1387-2877 1875-8908 |
DOI: | 10.3233/JAD-201353 |