Trial reportBMC complementary medicine and therapies2025
Acupuncture for patients with mild cognitive impairment: a randomized, patient-assessor-blinded, sham-controlled pilot study.
Trial report in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Exploring the neural mechanisms of electroacupuncture for cognitive impairment in depression using functional near-infrared spectroscopy: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Acupuncture for chronic insomnia with mild cognitive impairment: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in neurologyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the transitional stage between normal aging and early dementia. Although acupuncture is a promising non-pharmacological treatment, higher-quality evidence is needed to confirm its effectiveness.
methodsA randomized, patient- and assessor-blinded, sham-controlled, pilot clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of acupuncture for treating MCI. In total, 30 participants were randomized into acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups. The participants underwent 24 treatment sessions over 12 weeks. The primary outcome was a change in the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-cog) score over 12 weeks, whereas the secondary outcomes included the Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery (SNSB-II) score. Adverse events and the success of blinding were also assessed.
resultsOf the 30 participants, 28 completed the study. Participants in the acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups exhibited a decrease in ADAS-cog scores from 10.27 ± 4.03 and 11.47 ± 3.85 at baseline to 5.78 ± 3.04 and 6.27 ± 2.83 at week 12, respectively. Both groups exhibited clinically meaningful improvements, with no significant difference between groups (P = 0.6590). The SNSB-II memory domain exhibited a moderate effect size favoring acupuncture (Cohen's d = 0.57, P = 0.1317). No intervention-related adverse events were reported, and participant blinding was adequate throughout the trial.
conclusionsThe 12-week acupuncture treatment is feasible for patients with MCI and may improve memory. Although the primary outcomes did not reach statistical significance, the secondary outcomes suggested potential benefits. Larger confirmatory trials are warranted to investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture in patients with MCI.
trial registrationClinical Research Information Service (cris.nih.go.kr) KCT0001938 (Registered on June 3, 2016).
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