Efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with rehabilitation training for poststroke cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Accumulated evidence has proven that both acupuncture and rehabilitation therapy are beneficial for stroke sequelae. However, there is no systematic review to identify the efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with rehabilitation training for poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with rehabilitation therapy for patients with PSCI.

Electroacupuncture protective effects after cerebral ischemia are mediated through miR-219a inhibition.

Background: Electroacupuncture (EA) is a complementary and alternative therapy which has shown protective effects on vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). However, the underlying mechanisms are not entirely understood.

Methods: Rat models of VCI were established with cerebral ischemia using occlusion of the middle cerebral artery or bilateral common carotid artery.

Electroacupuncture ameliorate learning and memory by improving N-acetylaspartate and glutamate metabolism in APP/PS1 mice.

Objective: To explore the precise mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) to delay cognitive impairment in Alzheimer disease.

Methods: N-Acetylaspartate (NAA), glutamate (Glu) and myoinositol (mI) metabolism were measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy, learning and memory of APP/PS1 mouse was evaluated by the Morris water maze test and the step-down avoidance test, neuron survival number and neuronal structure in the hippocampus were observed by Nissl staining, and BDNF and phosphorylated TrkB detected by Western blot.

Results: EA at DU20 acupuncture significantly improve learning and memory in behavioral tests, up-regulate NAA, Glu and mI metabolism, increase the surviving neurons in hippocampus, and promote the expression of BDNF and TrkB in the APP/PS1 transgenic mice.

Activation of brain glucose metabolism ameliorating cognitive impairment in APP/PS1 transgenic mice by electroacupuncture.

An essential feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is implicated in brain energy metabolic impairment that is considered underlying pathogenesis of cognitive impairment. Therefore, therapeutic interventions to allay cognitive deficits that target energy metabolism may be an efficacy strategy in AD. In this study, we found that electroacupuncture (EA) at the DU20 acupoint obviously increased glucose metabolism in specific brain regions such as cortex, hippocampus, cingulate gyrus, basal forebrain septum, brain stem, and cerebellum in APP/PS1 transgenic mice by animal F-Fluoro-2-deoxy-D-Glucose (F-FDG)/positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, accompanied by cognitive improvements in the spatial reference learning and memory and memory flexibility and novel object recognition performances.

Electroacupuncture Regulates Hippocampal Synaptic Plasticity via miR-134-Mediated LIMK1 Function in Rats with Ischemic Stroke.

MircoRNAs (miRs) have been implicated in learning and memory, by regulating LIM domain kinase (LIMK1) to induce synaptic-dendritic plasticity. The study aimed to investigate whether miRNAs/LIMK1 signaling was involved in electroacupuncture- (EA-) mediated synaptic-dendritic plasticity in a rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion induced cognitive deficit (MICD). Compared to untreatment or non-acupoint-EA treatment, EA at DU20 and DU24 acupoints could shorten escape latency and increase the frequency of crossing platform in Morris water maze test.

Electroacupuncture at the Baihui acupoint alleviates cognitive impairment and exerts neuroprotective effects by modulating the expression and processing of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in APP/PS1 transgenic mice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common human neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive deterioration of cognition and memory. Acupuncture at the Baihui (DU20) acupoint has long been used in China to clinically treat cognitive impairment. However, the precise mechanism underlying its neuroprotective effects remains to be elucidated.