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The Effect of Acupuncture on Brain Iron Deposition and Body Iron Metabolism in Vascular Cognitive Impairment:
Mingli Wu1,2,3, Lulu Chen3, Yamin Wang3
1Rehabilitation Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, China.
Insights
This study investigates if Tongdu Xingshen acupuncture can improve vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) by regulating iron metabolism. Findings will support acupuncture
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Integrative Medicine
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) significantly impacts daily living and quality of life.
- Brain iron deposition and altered iron metabolism are implicated in VCI pathogenesis, leading to neuroinflammation and neuronal apoptosis.
- Previous research suggests acupuncture is a viable treatment for VCI, but its underlying mechanisms require further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Tongdu Xingshen acupuncture for VCI.
- To determine if Tongdu Xingshen acupuncture can ameliorate VCI by modulating brain iron deposition and systemic iron metabolism.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 42 VCI patients and 21 healthy controls.
- VCI patients are assigned to either an acupuncture group (Tongdu Xingshen electroacupuncture plus conventional care) or a control group (conventional care only).
- Assessments include brain iron deposition, serum iron metabolism, and neuropsychological tests before and after a 4-week intervention period.
Main Results:
- Participant recruitment is ongoing, with enrollment initiated in June 2023 and expected to conclude by June 2025.
- As of May 15, 2024, 30 participants have been enrolled in the clinical trial.
- Data analysis will commence after the completion of participant recruitment.
Conclusions:
- This trial will provide crucial data on Tongdu Xingshen acupuncture's effects on cerebral iron deposition and iron metabolism in VCI patients.
- The study aims to establish whether this acupuncture approach improves VCI by regulating iron homeostasis.
- Results will offer clinical and theoretical support for the broader application of acupuncture in VCI rehabilitation.
Background:
Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) persistently impairs cognition and the ability to perform activities of daily living, seriously compromising patients' quality of life. Previous studies have reported that disorders of serum iron metabolism and iron deposition in the brain can lead to inflammation, abnormal protein aggregation and degeneration, and massive neuronal apoptosis in the central nervous system, which in turn leads to a progressive decline in cognitive processes. Our previous clinical studies have found acupuncture to be a safe and effective intervention for treating VCI, but the specific mechanisms require further exploration.
Objective:
The objective of the trial is to evaluate the clinical efficacy of Tongdu Xingshen acupuncture and to investigate whether it can improve VCI by regulating brain iron deposition and body iron metabolism.
Methods:
In total, 42 patients with VCI and 21 healthy individuals will participate in this clinical trial. The 42 patients with VCI will be randomized into acupuncture and control groups, while the 21 healthy individuals will be in the healthy control group. Both the control and acupuncture groups will receive conventional medical treatment and cognitive rehabilitation training. In addition, the acupuncture group will receive electroacupuncture treatment with Tongdu Xingshen for 30 minutes each time, 6 times a week for 4 weeks. Meanwhile, the healthy control group will not receive any intervention. All 3 groups will undergo baseline assessments of brain iron deposition, serum iron metabolism, and neuropsychological tests after enrollment. The acupuncture and control groups will be evaluated again at the end of 4 weeks of treatment, as described earlier. By comparing neuropsychological test scores between groups, we will examine the efficacy of Tongdu Xingshen acupuncture in treating VCI. Additionally, we will test the correlations between neuropsychological test scores, brain iron deposition, and body iron metabolism indexes to explore the possible mechanisms of Tongdu Xingshen acupuncture in treating VCI.
Results:
Participants are currently being recruited. The first participant was enrolled in June 2023, which marked the official start of the experiment. As of the submission of the paper, there were 23 participants. The recruitment process is expected to continue until June 2025, at which point the processing and analysis of data will begin. As of May 15, 2024, up to 30 people have been enrolled in this clinical trial.
Conclusions:
This study will provide data on the effects of Tongdu Xingshen acupuncture on cerebral iron deposition as well as somatic iron metabolism in patients with VCI. These results will help to prove whether Tongdu Xingshen acupuncture can improve VCI by regulating brain iron deposition and body iron metabolism, which will provide the clinical and theoretical basis for the wide application of acupuncture therapy in VCI rehabilitation.
Trial Registration:
China Clinical Registration Agency ChiCTR2300072188; https://tinyurl.com/5fcydtkv.
International Registered Report Identifier (Irrid):
PRR1-10.2196/56484.
