The Long-Term Effects of Acupuncture on Hippocampal Functional Connectivity in aMCI with Hippocampal Atrophy: A Randomized Longitudinal fMRI Study

Abstract

Background. Acupuncture has been used to treat amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) for many years in China. However, the long-term effects of continuous acupuncture treatment remained unclear. Objective. We aimed to explore the long-term effects of continuous acupuncture treatment on hippocampal functional connectivity (FC) in aMCI. Methods. Fifty healthy control (HC) participants and 28 aMCI patients were recruited for resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at baseline. The 28 aMCI patients were then divided into the aMCI acupuncture group, which received acupuncture treatment for 6 months, and the aMCI control group, which received no intervention. All aMCI patients completed the second resting-state fMRI scanning after 6 months of acupuncture treatment. Analysis based on the region of interest and two-way analysis of covariance were both used to explore the long-term effects of acupuncture on cognition change and hippocampal FC in aMCI. Results. Compared to HC, aMCI showed decreased right hippocampal FC with the right inferior/middle temporal gyrus (ITG/MTG), left amygdala, and the right fusiform and increased FC with bilateral caudates at baseline. After acupuncture treatment, the right hippocampal FC with right ITG/MTG enhanced significantly in the aMCI acupuncture group, but continued to decrease in the aMCI control group. Whole brain FC analysis showed enhanced right hippocampal FC with the right ITG and the left MTG in the aMCI acupuncture group relative to the aMCI control group. Furthermore, FC strength of the right hippocampus with right ITG at baseline was negatively correlated with the changes in memory scores of aMCI acupuncture patients. Conclusion. Acupuncture treatment could alleviate the progression of cognitive decline and could enhance hippocampal FC with ITG and MTG in aMCI that may be associated with resilience to resistant against neurodegeneration. The findings provided a better understanding of the long-term effects of acupuncture treatment and confirmed the therapeutic role of acupuncture in aMCI.

The Worldwide Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative: ADNI‐3 updates and global perspectives

“…This study compared fMRI from 50 cognitively unimpaired participants to 28 with amnestic MCI. 46 China ADNI is now launching a larger, randomized controlled trial to further study Siguan acupoints and MCI progression. The study includes measurements of amyloid and tau in blood and/or CSF, a cognitive testing battery, as well as MRI and 18 F-FDG-PET in accordance with ADNI protocols.…”

“…A randomized, controlled trial by China ADNI found that 6 months of consistent acupuncture treatment delayed MCI disease progression. This study compared fMRI from 50 cognitively unimpaired participants to 28 with amnestic MCI 46 …”

Mental Fatigue Has Great Impact on the Fractal Dimension of Brain Functional Network

“…Brain functional network, as one type of the complex networks in statistical physics, is a demonstration of the temporal correlations between different brain areas in the processes of neural physiological events [ 16 ]. It has become one of the most widely used techniques to investigate the neurodynamics of cognitive functions [ 17 – 20 ], which are especially sensitive to mental fatigue [ 3 , 9 ]. Since the small-world characteristic [ 21 ] and scale-free property [ 22 ] of complex networks were proposed, the studies of complex network topology have entered a high-speed developing period [ 23 ].…”

Bibliometric analysis: Research trends of acupuncture treatment to cognitive impairment in recent 15 years

“…Therefore, protecting the structural integrity of CA1 and CA3 regions is beneficial to increase the number of surviving neurons and thus improve learning and memory. In recent years, both basic research and clinical practice have shown the advantages of acupuncture in the treatment of cognitive impairment, for example, in a randomized controlled trial, acupuncture treatment slowed cognitive decline and enhanced hippocampal functional connectivity (FC) (Li et al, 2020 ), showing long-term effects of acupuncture on cognitive impairment. The five new keywords that have emerged in recent years are: protocol, pain, injury, diagnosis and guidelines, it indicates that research on this topic is gradually moving toward more systematic, standardized trial protocols and guidelines.…”