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Modulation of functional activity and connectivity by acupuncture in patients with Alzheimer disease as measured by resting-state fMRI
Zheng W, Su Z, Liu X, Zhang H, Han Y, Song H, Lu J, Li K et al.. PloS one, 2018-05-15
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Acupuncture has been used in the therapy of Alzheimer disease (AD); however, its neural mechanisms are still unclear. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of acupuncture on the functional connectivity in AD by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Twenty-eight subjects (14 AD and 14 normal controls) participated in this study. The rs-fMRI data were acquired before and after acupuncture stimulation at the acupoints of Tai chong (Liv3) and Hegu (LI4). During the baseline resting state, by using the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), we found a significantly decreased or increased ALFF in the AD patients relative to the controls. These regions were located in the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), left postcentral gyrus, subgenual cingulate cortex (SCC), right middle cingulate cortex (MCC), right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right hippocampus and the right inferior temporal gyrus (ITG). Then, we selected these brain regions as seeds to investigate whether regional activity and functional connectivity could be modulated by acupuncture in the AD patients. When compared to the pre-acupuncture stage, several of the above regions showed an increased or decreased ALFF after acupuncture in the AD patients. In addition, the functional connectivity between the hippocampus and the precentral gyrus showed enhancement after acupuncture in the AD patients. Finally, there were close correlations between the functional activity, connectivity and clinical performance in the AD patients. The current study confirmed that acupuncture at Tai chong (Liv3) and He gu (LI4) can modulate functional activity and connectivity of specific cognition-related regions in AD patients.
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APA 7th
Zheng, W., Su, Z., Liu, X., Zhang, H., Han, Y., Song, H., et al. (2018). Modulation of functional activity and connectivity by acupuncture in patients with Alzheimer disease as measured by resting-state fMRI. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196933
Vancouver
Zheng W, Su Z, Liu X, Zhang H, Han Y, Song H, et al. Modulation of functional activity and connectivity by acupuncture in patients with Alzheimer disease as measured by resting-state fMRI. PloS one. 2018. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0196933. PMID: 29763448.
BibTeX
@article{zheng2018-29763448,
author = {Zheng, W. and Su, Z. and Liu, X. and Zhang, H. and Han, Y. and Song, H. and Lu, J. and Li, K. and others},
title = {{Modulation of functional activity and connectivity by acupuncture in patients with Alzheimer disease as measured by resting-state fMRI}},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0196933},
pmid = {29763448},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196933}
}
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Key findings
- During the baseline resting state, by using the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), we found a significantly decreased or increased ALFF in the AD patients relative to the controls.
- When compared to the pre-acupuncture stage, several of the above regions showed an increased or decreased ALFF after acupuncture in the AD patients.
Why it matters
In 14 Alzheimer disease patients, acupuncture at two acupoints changed regional brain activity and strengthened functional connectivity between the hippocampus and precentral gyrus compared with before stimulation. This was a small study of brain activity changes only, so it does not show whether acupuncture affects the course of Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 47/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / 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 | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 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 | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 94 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 9.4 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 11.0× 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 | 2 / 4 | Cited 31 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Zhiqun Wang: h-index 46 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Capital Medical University: institution h-index 643 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 29763448) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 47 / 100 | — |
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