ReviewEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2018
Efficacy and Safety of Auricular Acupuncture for Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: A Systematic Review.
Review in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neuroimaging studies of acupuncture on Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2023Pooled it
- Acupuncture for Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: An Overview of Systematic Reviews.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2021Pooled it
- Effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on the improvement of cognitive function in older patients with schizophrenia: A randomised controlled study.General psychiatry · 2026Article
- The effect of ear acupressure on occupational cognitive failure in nurses after the COVID-19 crisis: a randomized controlled clinical trial.BMC nursing · 2024Article
- The Comparative Efficacy of Multiple Acupuncture for Alzheimer's Disease: A Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2022Review
- Auricular Acupressure Effect on Autonomic Responses Evoked by a Cold Pressor Test in Healthy Volunteers: A Pilot Study.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2022Article
- Moxibustion for cognitive impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies.Integrative medicine research · 2021Review
- Effectiveness and Safety of the Korean Medicine Senior Health Promotion Program Using Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture for Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Retrospective Study of 500 Patients in Seoul, Korea.Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM · 2021Article
- Exploring the mechanism of Yizhi Tongmai decoction in the treatment of vascular dementia through network pharmacology and molecular docking.Annals of translational medicine · 2021Article
- Cognitive Improvement Effects of Electroacupuncture Combined with Computer-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Brain sciences · 2020Article
- Traditional Chinese medicine for mild cognitive impairment: A protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis.Medicine · 2020Article
- Influence of auriculotherapy on cognition and memory in adolescents.Translational pediatrics · 2020Article
- Acupuncture Therapy for Cognitive Impairment: A Delphi Expert Consensus Survey.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2020Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo analyze the efficacy and safety of auricular acupuncture (AA) in patients with cognitive impairment and dementia.
methodsTwelve electronic databases were searched for randomized controlled trials evaluating effects of AA in patients with cognitive impairment and/or dementia, from their inception to August 2017. The primary outcome was cognitive function, and secondary outcomes were self-care ability, quality of life, clinical efficacy rate, and incidences of adverse events.
resultsNine studies were included, and five involving 677 participants were analyzed quantitatively. Compared with Western medications (WM), AA had mixed effects on cognitive functions (Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE], mean difference [MD] 0.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.02 to 1.48; Hierarchic Dementia Scale [HDS], MD 2.21, 95% CI 1.09 to 3.33); there was no significant improvement in the activities of daily living (ADL) score (MD 0.20, 95% CI -3.51 to 3.91) in patients with vascular dementia (VD). Compared to WM, AA combined with WM showed better clinical efficacy rate (risk ratio [RR] 1.42, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.91) in patients with VD; there was no significant improvement in cognitive functions (MMSE, MD 0.97, 95% CI -0.44 to 2.38; Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA], MD 0.22, 95% CI -1.83 to 2.27) in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Compared to herbal medicine (HM), AA plus HM showed significant improvements in cognitive function (MMSE, MD 1.31, 95% CI 0.13 to 2.49) in patients with MCI and patients with vascular cognitive impairment, no dementia (VCIND) and in ADL score (MD -6.70, 95% CI -8.78 to -4.62) in patients with MCI. No adverse event associated with AA was reported.
conclusionThe evidence reveals mixed efficacy of AA in patients with cognitive impairment and/or dementia. However, the results were inconclusive because of the small number and poor methodological quality of the included studies.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.