A younger woman holds the hands of an older woman.

Study on the effect of acupuncture on Alzheimer's disease

Yujie Jia et al.

December 2017

TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine)

Chinese researchers investigated the effect of acupuncture treatment on Alzheimer's disease. In the course of a study, 141 test subjects were randomly divided into an acupuncture group (n = 72) and a control group (n = 69). The former received needle therapy once a day in selected acupuncture points. In order to achieve a comparison with conventional medicine, the other group was given a 5 mg tablet of donepezilorally every night. Four weeks later, the dose was increased to two tablets with a total of 10 mg donepezil per night. The Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), the ADL , the ADAS-Cog test and the Digit Span (DS) were evaluated before and after treatment. In the course of the study, acupuncture as a method for regulating Qi and promoting blood circulation proved to be suitable for improving overall function, cognition and everyday competence in Alzheimer's patients and also showed greater efficacy than donepezil therapy.

The most important information on the study at a glance

Indications: Alzheimer's disease
Institution: First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional ChineseMedicine, Tianjin, China
Title: Study on the effect of acupuncture on Alzheimer's disease
Brief description: Study shows that acupuncture for Alzheimer's improves cognitive function and everyday skills more effectively than Western therapies.
Original title: Acupuncture for patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: a randomized controlled trial
Link to the study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29284465/