Life Science Research Center, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710071, China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710071, China.
Department of Acupuncture, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
Brain Res. 2022 Jan 15;1775:147732. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2021.147732. Epub 2021 Nov 20.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a general neurodegenerative disease. Moxibustion has been shown to have remarkable effect on cognitive improvement, however, less is known about the effect of moxibustion on MCI and its underlying neural mechanism. This study aimed to investigate the ameliorative brain network in MCI after treatments of acupoint-related moxibustion.
Resting-state functional MRI were derived from 47 MCI patients and 30 healthy controls (HCs). Patients were randomized as Tiaoshen YiZhi (TSYZ, n = 27) and sham (SHAM, n = 20) acupoint moxibustion groups. Functional connectivity density (FCD) method and repeated-measures two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed to ascertain the interaction effects between groups (TSYZ and SHAM) and time (baseline and post-treatment). Abnormal FCD was examined between baseline and post-treatment in TSYZ and SHAM groups, respectively.
Compared with HCs, MCI showed altered FCD in the middle frontal cortex (MFC), inferior frontal cortex, temporal pole, thalamus and middle cingulate cortex. After moxibustion treatment in MCI, 1) a significant time-by-groups interaction was observed in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC); 2) abnormal long-range FCD (lrFCD) in the mPFC and MFC were modulated in TSYZ group; 3) significantly improved clinical symptoms; 4) changed lrFCD in the MFC was significantly negatively correlated with the increased Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores in TSYZ group.
These imaging findings suggest that treatments of acupoint-related moxibustion could improve lrFCD in certain regions related to self-related cognitive and decision making. Our study might promote understanding of MCI neural mechanisms and expand the clinical application of moxibustion in MCI.
轻度认知障碍（MCI）是一种常见的神经退行性疾病。艾灸已被证明对认知改善有显著效果，但对于艾灸对 MCI 的影响及其潜在的神经机制知之甚少。本研究旨在探讨穴位相关艾灸治疗后 MCI 的改善脑网络。
从 47 例 MCI 患者和 30 例健康对照者（HCs）中获得静息态功能磁共振成像。患者随机分为调神益智（TSYZ，n=27）和假（SHAM，n=20）穴位艾灸组。采用功能连接密度（FCD）方法和重复测量双向方差分析（ANOVA），确定组间（TSYZ 和 SHAM）和时间（基线和治疗后）的交互作用。分别在 TSYZ 和 SHAM 组中检查基线和治疗后异常 FCD。
与 HCs 相比，MCI 在前额中回（MFC）、额下回、颞极、丘脑和中扣带回显示出 FCD 的改变。在 MCI 艾灸治疗后，1）在内侧前额叶（mPFC）中观察到显著的时间-组间交互作用；2）TSYZ 组 mPFC 和 MFC 的异常长程 FCD（lrFCD）得到调节；3）临床症状显著改善；4）TSYZ 组 MFC 的 lrFCD 变化与蒙特利尔认知评估评分的增加呈显著负相关。
这些影像学发现表明，穴位相关艾灸治疗可能改善与自我相关认知和决策相关的某些区域的 lrFCD。我们的研究可能有助于理解 MCI 的神经机制，并扩大艾灸在 MCI 中的临床应用。
