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Effect of acupuncture in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease: a functional MRI study
Wang Z, Nie B, Li D, Zhao Z, Han Y, Song H, Xu J, Shan B et al.. PloS one, 2012-08-20
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Plain-language summary
We aim to clarify the mechanisms of acupuncture in treating mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer disease (AD) by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Thirty-six right-handed subjects (8 MCI patients, 14 AD patients, and 14 healthy elders) participated in this study. Clinical and neuropsychological examinations were performed on all the subjects. MRI data acquisition was performed on a SIEMENS verio 3-Tesla scanner. The fMRI study used a single block experimental design. We first acquired the baseline resting state data in the initial 3 minutes; we then acquired the fMRI data during the procession of acupuncture stimulation on the acupoints of Tai chong and Hegu for the following 3 minutes. Last, we acquired fMRI data for another 10 minutes after the needle was withdrawn. The preprocessing and data analysis were performed using the statistical parametric mapping (SPM8) software. Then the two-sample t-tests were performed between each two groups of different states. We found that during the resting state, brain activities in AD and MCI patients were different from those of control subjects. During the acupuncture and the second resting state after acupuncture, when comparing to resting state, there are several regions showing increased or decreased activities in MCI, AD subjects compared to normal subjects. Most of the regions were involved in the temporal lobe and the frontal lobe, which were closely related to the memory and cognition. In conclusion, we investigated the effect of acupuncture in AD and MCI patients by combing fMRI and traditional acupuncture. Our fMRI study confirmed that acupuncture at Tai chong (Liv3) and He gu (LI4) can activate certain cognitive-related regions in AD and MCI patients.
What this study adds
Evidence grade: Low
This small imaging study of 36 people found that brain activity differed between Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and healthy older adults during rest and acupuncture. It only describes brain activity patterns and does not show that acupuncture improves memory or treats the disease.
Taken from this record’s own fields, not from reading the paper. The grade is assigned from the abstract’s wording; what that means.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Wang, Z., Nie, B., Li, D., Zhao, Z., Han, Y., Song, H., et al. (2012). Effect of acupuncture in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease: a functional MRI study. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0042730
Vancouver
Wang Z, Nie B, Li D, Zhao Z, Han Y, Song H, et al. Effect of acupuncture in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease: a functional MRI study. PloS one. 2012. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0042730. PMID: 22916152.
BibTeX
@article{wang2012-22916152,
author = {Wang, Z. and Nie, B. and Li, D. and Zhao, Z. and Han, Y. and Song, H. and Xu, J. and Shan, B. and others},
title = {{Effect of acupuncture in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease: a functional MRI study}},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0042730},
pmid = {22916152},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0042730}
}
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
- We found that during the resting state, brain activities in AD and MCI patients were different from those of control subjects.
- During the acupuncture and the second resting state after acupuncture, when comparing to resting state, there are several regions showing increased or decreased activities in MCI, AD subjects compared to normal subjects.
- In conclusion, we investigated the effect of acupuncture in AD and MCI patients by combing fMRI and traditional acupuncture.
Why it matters
This small imaging study of 36 people found that brain activity differed between Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and healthy older adults during rest and acupuncture. It only describes brain activity patterns and does not show that acupuncture improves memory or treats the disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 50/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (PloS one) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | PLoS ONE: journal h-index 594 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 112 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 7.0 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 20.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 16 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Kuncheng Li: h-index 71 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Chinese Academy of Sciences: institution h-index 1,801 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22916152) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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