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Proof acupuncture may treat Alzheimer's? |
| Posted on Dec 09 2008 at 4:48 PM |
| News / Blog >> Acupuncture |
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to examine the brains of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patients before and after acupuncture treatment. Twenty six AD patients underwent fMRI while receiving acupuncture at four points - shenmen Ht 7, zusanli St 36, fenglong St 40, and taixi Kid 3. The results demonstrated activation in the right hemisphere (temporal lobe, hippocampal gyrus, insula, and areas of the parietal lobe) and left hemisphere (temporal lobe, parietal lobe, and some regions of the cerebellum). The regions activated by these acupoints were found to be consistent with brain areas that are impaired in AD patients, and which correlate with cognitive functions (memory, reason, language and executive function). The authors suggest that acupuncture might exert a potential therapeutic effect on AD via this mechanism.
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