Effects of Acupuncture Therapy on MCI Patients Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
Acupuncture therapy (AT) is a non-pharmacological method of treatment that has been applied to various neurological diseases. However, studies on its longitudinal effect on the neural mechanisms of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) for treatment purposes are still lacking in the literatu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2019.00237/full |
| _version_ | 1830410831975677952 |
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| author | Usman Ghafoor Jun-Hwan Lee Keum-Shik Hong Sang-Soo Park Jieun Kim Ho-Ryong Yoo |
| author_facet | Usman Ghafoor Jun-Hwan Lee Keum-Shik Hong Sang-Soo Park Jieun Kim Ho-Ryong Yoo |
| author_sort | Usman Ghafoor |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Acupuncture therapy (AT) is a non-pharmacological method of treatment that has been applied to various neurological diseases. However, studies on its longitudinal effect on the neural mechanisms of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) for treatment purposes are still lacking in the literature. In this clinical study, we assess the longitudinal effects of ATs on MCI patients using two methods: (i) Montreal Cognitive Assessment test (MoCA-K, Korean version), and (ii) the hemodynamic response (HR) analyses using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). fNIRS signals of a working memory (WM) task were acquired from the prefrontal cortex. Twelve elderly MCI patients and 12 healthy people were recruited as target and healthy control (HC) groups, respectively. Each group went through an fNIRS scanning procedure three times: The initial data were obtained without any ATs, and subsequently a total of 24 AT sessions were conducted for MCI patients (i.e., MCI-0: the data prior to ATs, MCI-1: after 12 sessions of ATs for 6 weeks, MCI-2: another 12 sessions of ATs for 6 weeks). The mean HR responses of all MCI-0–2 cases were lower than those of HCs. To compare the effects of AT on MCI patients, MoCA-K results, temporal HR data, and spatial activation patterns (i.e., t-maps) were examined. In addition, analyses of functional connectivity (FC) and graph theory upon WM tasks were conducted. With ATs, (i) the averaged MoCA-K test scores were improved (MCI-1, p = 0.002; MCI-2, p = 2.9e–4); (ii) the mean HR response of WM tasks was increased (p < 0.001); and (iii) the t-maps of MCI-1 and MCI-2 were enhanced. Furthermore, an increased FC in the prefrontal cortex in both MCI-1/MCI-2 cases in comparison to MCI-0 was obtained (p < 0.01), and an increasing trend in the graph theory parameters was observed. All these findings reveal that ATs have a positive impact on improving the cognitive function of MCI patients. In conclusion, ATs can be used as a therapeutic tool for MCI patients as a non-pharmacological method (Clinical trial registration number: KCT 0002451 https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/en/). |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T19:37:02Z |
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| id | doaj.art-3594bb337d3549d096eacf2e3e3c47b6 |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T19:37:02Z |
| publishDate | 2019-08-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-3594bb337d3549d096eacf2e3e3c47b62022-12-21T19:28:36ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience1663-43652019-08-011110.3389/fnagi.2019.00237469458Effects of Acupuncture Therapy on MCI Patients Using Functional Near-Infrared SpectroscopyUsman Ghafoor0Jun-Hwan Lee1Keum-Shik Hong2Sang-Soo Park3Jieun Kim4Ho-Ryong Yoo5School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, South KoreaClinical Medicine Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, South KoreaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, South KoreaKorean Medicine Clinical Trial Center, Korean Medicine Hospital, Daejeon University, Daejeon, South KoreaClinical Medicine Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, South KoreaDepartment of Neurology Disorders, Dunsan Hospital, Daejeon University, Daejeon, South KoreaAcupuncture therapy (AT) is a non-pharmacological method of treatment that has been applied to various neurological diseases. However, studies on its longitudinal effect on the neural mechanisms of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) for treatment purposes are still lacking in the literature. In this clinical study, we assess the longitudinal effects of ATs on MCI patients using two methods: (i) Montreal Cognitive Assessment test (MoCA-K, Korean version), and (ii) the hemodynamic response (HR) analyses using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). fNIRS signals of a working memory (WM) task were acquired from the prefrontal cortex. Twelve elderly MCI patients and 12 healthy people were recruited as target and healthy control (HC) groups, respectively. Each group went through an fNIRS scanning procedure three times: The initial data were obtained without any ATs, and subsequently a total of 24 AT sessions were conducted for MCI patients (i.e., MCI-0: the data prior to ATs, MCI-1: after 12 sessions of ATs for 6 weeks, MCI-2: another 12 sessions of ATs for 6 weeks). The mean HR responses of all MCI-0–2 cases were lower than those of HCs. To compare the effects of AT on MCI patients, MoCA-K results, temporal HR data, and spatial activation patterns (i.e., t-maps) were examined. In addition, analyses of functional connectivity (FC) and graph theory upon WM tasks were conducted. With ATs, (i) the averaged MoCA-K test scores were improved (MCI-1, p = 0.002; MCI-2, p = 2.9e–4); (ii) the mean HR response of WM tasks was increased (p < 0.001); and (iii) the t-maps of MCI-1 and MCI-2 were enhanced. Furthermore, an increased FC in the prefrontal cortex in both MCI-1/MCI-2 cases in comparison to MCI-0 was obtained (p < 0.01), and an increasing trend in the graph theory parameters was observed. All these findings reveal that ATs have a positive impact on improving the cognitive function of MCI patients. In conclusion, ATs can be used as a therapeutic tool for MCI patients as a non-pharmacological method (Clinical trial registration number: KCT 0002451 https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/en/).https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2019.00237/fullmild cognitive impairmentAlzheimer’s diseasefunctional near-infrared spectroscopyacupuncture therapyprefrontal cortexhemodynamic response |
| spellingShingle | Usman Ghafoor Jun-Hwan Lee Keum-Shik Hong Sang-Soo Park Jieun Kim Ho-Ryong Yoo Effects of Acupuncture Therapy on MCI Patients Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience mild cognitive impairment Alzheimer’s disease functional near-infrared spectroscopy acupuncture therapy prefrontal cortex hemodynamic response |
| title | Effects of Acupuncture Therapy on MCI Patients Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy |
| title_full | Effects of Acupuncture Therapy on MCI Patients Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Acupuncture Therapy on MCI Patients Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Acupuncture Therapy on MCI Patients Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy |
| title_short | Effects of Acupuncture Therapy on MCI Patients Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy |
| title_sort | effects of acupuncture therapy on mci patients using functional near infrared spectroscopy |
| topic | mild cognitive impairment Alzheimer’s disease functional near-infrared spectroscopy acupuncture therapy prefrontal cortex hemodynamic response |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2019.00237/full |
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