Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33935074›Full record

Trial reportJournal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD2021

Effects of Acupuncture on Vascular Cognitive Impairment with No Dementia: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Li Huang, Xuan Yin, Wei Li, Yan Cao, Yueqi Chen, Lixing Lao, Zhangjin Zhang, Yiqun Mi, Shifen Xu

Open access · bronzeAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
4.9field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Li HuangShanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Xuan YinShanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Wei LiShanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Yan CaoShanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Yueqi ChenShanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Lixing LaoVirginia University of Integrative Medicine, Fairfax, VA, USA.
Zhangjin ZhangSchool of Chinese Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Yiqun MiShanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Shifen XuShanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine · CNChinese University of Hong Kong · HKShanghai Medical College of Fudan University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAcupuncture has been used for treating vascular cognitive impairment, but evidence for its effectiveness remains limited.

objectiveThis single-center, patient-accessor blinded, randomized controlled trial was designed to assess whether acupuncture could improve the cognitive function of patients with vascular cognitive impairment with no dementia (VCIND).

methods120 VCIND patients were randomly assigned to the electro-acupuncture (EA) or sham acupuncture (SA) group at a 1 : 1 ratio, with treatment conducted thrice weekly for 8 weeks. The primary outcome was the changes of cognitive function measured by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) from baseline to week 8. The secondary outcomes included the scores of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) and the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). Follow-up assessments were performed with MoCA and MMSE at week 16 and 32. Linear mixed-effects models were used for analysis and all statistical tests were two-sided.

resultsThe results showed that patients in the EA group had a significantly greater improvement in MoCA score (23.85±4.18) than those in the SA group (21.48±4.44) at week 8 (95% CI = 0.80, 3.92, p = 0.04), as well as higher MoCA scores over time (p < 0.001 for interaction). Patients who received EA showed a greater increase in MMSE scores (26.41±3.47) than those who received SA (24.40±3.85) along 8 weeks (95% CI = 0.69, 3.34, p = 0.004). However, results diminished over time. No serious adverse events occurred during the trial.

conclusionEA is a safe and effective technique to improve cognition over the short term of 8 weeks in VCIND patients.

Indexed as

Acupuncture TherapyAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCognitionCognitive DysfunctionFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeuropsychological TestsTreatment OutcomeAcupuncturemontreal cognitive assessmentrandomized controlled trialvascular cognitive impairment with no dementia

Identifiers

PMID33935074
PMCPMC8293636
OpenAlexW3190268136

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.