Therapeutic efficacy observation on electroacupuncture for Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A total of 30 eligible cases were treated by needling Shenting (GV 24), Baihui (GV 20), Dazhui (GV 14), Fengfu (GV 16), Mingmen (GV 1) and Yongquan (KI 1). Upon arrival of qi, the G6805-II electric stimulator was connected to Shenting (GV 24) and Baihui (GV 20) (one pair), to Dazhui (GV 14) and Fengfu (GV 16) (one pair) and to bilateral Yongquan (KI 1) (one pair) for 25 min, using continuous wave at the frequency of 2-100 Hz and voltage of 2-4 V. With a tolerable intensity, the EA was conducted once a day for 10 d (one treatment course). There was a 3-day interval between two courses. After three courses, the therapeutic efficacies were evaluated using the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), revised Hasegawa dementia scale (HDS-R), activities of daily living (ADL) and neurological function defect scale (NFDS). After EA treatment, the MMSE and HDS-R scores were significantly increased (P<0.01) and the ADL and NFDS scores were significantly decreased (P<0.01). EA is effective for AD and can improve the overall intelligence and repair neurologic deficits in AD patients.