[Mild cognitive impairment disease treated with electroacupuncture: a multi-center randomized controlled trial]

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Integrative Medicine
• Evidence-Based Medicine

Background:

• Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a growing concern, impacting memory and cognitive functions.
• Current treatments offer limited efficacy, necessitating exploration of alternative therapeutic approaches.
• Acupuncture, particularly electroacupuncture (EA), is being investigated for neurological conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) for mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
• To provide high-grade evidence for acupuncture and moxibustion in treating MCI.
• To compare EA with nimodipine in improving cognitive function in MCI patients.

Main Methods:

• A multi-center randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 192 MCI patients.
• Patients were randomized into an EA group or a nimodipine group (96 each).
• EA was applied to specific acupoints; nimodipine was administered orally for 8 weeks. Cognitive function was assessed using MMSE and GRT, with follow-ups at 1, 3, and 6 months.

Main Results:

• EA showed a significantly higher total effective rate (50.0%) than nimodipine (34.4%).
• After 8 weeks, EA significantly improved MMSE scores, cognitive, memory, and visual-spatial skills compared to nimodipine.
• EA also demonstrated superior long-term efficacy in follow-up assessments up to 6 months.

Conclusions:

• Electroacupuncture (EA) is effective in improving cognitive function in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients.
• EA offers significant advantages over nimodipine in enhancing comprehensive cognition, short-term memory, and visual-spatial skills.
• EA provides superior long-term therapeutic benefits for MCI patients compared to nimodipine.