Home › Research › Treatments
Acupuncture for amnestic mild cognitive impairment: A pilot multicenter, randomized, parallel controlled trial
Zhang J, Kuang X, Tang C, Xu N, Xiao S, Xiao L, Wang S, Dong Y et al.. Medicine, 2021-11-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Introduction Patients with amnesic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) are more likely to develop Alzheimer disease than corresponding age normal population. Because Alzheimer disease is irreversible, early intervention for aMCI patients seems important and urgent. We have designed a pilot multicenter, randomized, parallel controlled trial to assess the efficacy and safety of acupuncture on aMCI, explore the feasibility of acupuncture in the treatment of aMCI, so as to provide a reference for large-sample clinical trials in the next stage. Method We designed a pilot multicenter, randomized, parallel controlled trial. This trial aims to test the feasibility of carrying out a large-sample clinical trial. In this trial, 50 eligible patients with aMCI will be included and allocated to acupuncture group (n = 25) or sham acupuncture group (n = 25) at random. Subjects will accept treatment 2 times a week for 12 weeks continuously, with a total of 24 treatment sessions. We will select 6 acupoints (GV20, GV14, bilateral BL18, bilateral BL23). For the clinical outcomes, the primary outcome is Montreal cognitive assessment, which will be assessed from baseline to the end of this trial. And the secondary outcomes are Mini-mental State Examination, Delayed Story Recall, Clinical Dementia Rating scale, Global Deterioration Scale, Activity of Daily Life, Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Section, brain magnetic resonance imaging, brain functional magnetic resonance imaging, and event-related potential P300, which will be assessed before and after treatment. In addition, we will assess the safety outcomes from baseline to the end of this trial and feasibility outcome after treatment. We will evaluate neuropsychological assessment scale (Montreal cognitive assessment, Mini-mental State Examination, Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Section) at 3 months and 6 months after treatment. Discussion This pilot trial aims to explore the feasibility of the trial, verify essential information of its efficacy and safety. This pilot study will provide a preliminary basis for carrying out a larger clinical trial of acupuncture on aMCI in near future.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Zhang, J., Kuang, X., Tang, C., Xu, N., Xiao, S., Xiao, L., et al. (2021). Acupuncture for amnestic mild cognitive impairment: A pilot multicenter, randomized, parallel controlled trial. Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000027686
Vancouver
Zhang J, Kuang X, Tang C, Xu N, Xiao S, Xiao L, et al. Acupuncture for amnestic mild cognitive impairment: A pilot multicenter, randomized, parallel controlled trial. Medicine. 2021. doi:10.1097/md.0000000000027686. PMID: 34797294.
BibTeX
@article{zhang2021-34797294,
author = {Zhang, J. and Kuang, X. and Tang, C. and Xu, N. and Xiao, S. and Xiao, L. and Wang, S. and Dong, Y. and others},
title = {{Acupuncture for amnestic mild cognitive impairment: A pilot multicenter, randomized, parallel controlled trial}},
journal = {Medicine},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1097/md.0000000000027686},
pmid = {34797294},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000027686}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- And the secondary outcomes are Mini-mental State Examination, Delayed Story Recall, Clinical Dementia Rating scale, Global Deterioration Scale, Activity of Daily Life, Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Section, brain magnetic resonance imaging, brain functional magnetic resonance imaging, and event-related potential P300, which will be assessed before and after treatment.
- In addition, we will assess the safety outcomes from baseline to the end of this trial and feasibility outcome after treatment.
- We will evaluate neuropsychological assessment scale (Montreal cognitive assessment, Mini-mental State Examination, Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Section) at 3 months and 6 months after treatment.
- Discussion This pilot trial aims to explore the feasibility of the trial, verify essential information of its efficacy and safety.
- This pilot study will provide a preliminary basis for carrying out a larger clinical trial of acupuncture on aMCI in near future.
Why it matters
This is a protocol for a small pilot trial testing acupuncture in people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. No results are reported, so its effect on cognition or progression to Alzheimer's disease is unknown.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Treatments →
Study details
- Participants25
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 55 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 57 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Medicine: journal h-index 285 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 25 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 2 / 7 | Cited 5 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.7 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 4 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Sun Yat-sen University: institution h-index 851 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 34797294) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 55 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 55 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 57 out of 100. |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Related studies in Treatments
Also tagged “assessment”
840 studies in the library carry the topic tag “assessment”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 840 tagged studies.