Effectiveness of Korean medicine treatments in improving cognitive function and prefrontal cortex activity in older individuals with mild cognitive impairment: retrospective observational study.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a growing concern among older adults, with limited effective pharmacological treatments available. Despite the potential of herbal medicine and acupuncture in managing MCI, there is a lack of research on their long-term effects on cognitive function and brain activity in clinical practice settings. This study aimed to address this gap by exploring the effects of a community-based program integrating herbal medicine and acupuncture on cognitive function and neural responses in older individuals with MCI.

Methods: Nineteen individuals were enrolled from a pool of 250 individuals registered in the 2021 Busan Dementia Prevention & Care Program. Participants with MCI received herbal medicine, acupuncture, and pharmacopuncture treatments over a 6-month period. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was administered at baseline and after 3 and 6 months to evaluate cognitive function. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to measure prefrontal cortex activity during cognitive task performance, including verbal fluency, Stroop color and word, and digit span backward tests.

Results: Seventeen participants (13 female; mean age, 69.5 years) with MCI completed the study. Following the 6-month intervention, they exhibited a significant increase in the MoCA total score over time [F =10.59, < 0.0001]. Additionally, the deoxygenated hemoglobin beta coefficient in the left frontopolar prefrontal cortex significantly decreased during the Stroop task after the intervention.

Conclusion: The Dementia Prevention & Care Program, which integrates herbal medicine and acupuncture, may enhance cognitive function in individuals with MCI. Moreover, the observed changes in prefrontal cortex activity after completion of the program suggest a need for further investigation of the underlying mechanisms.