OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) in the treatment of vascular dementia (VD) so as to explore an effective therapy for it. METHODS:Sixty cases of VD were randomly divided into acupuncture group and medication (Duxil, 40 mg/time, 2 times/d for 10 weeks) group, with 30 cases in each group. "Xiusanzhen" means that two acupuncture needles were penetrated subcutaneously from bilateral Yingxiang (LI 20) to Shangyingxiang (EX-HN 8) respectively, and the 3rd needle was penetrated from the midpoint between two Yangbai (GB 14) through Yintang (EX-HN 3) to the nasal root, followed by applying EA stimulation to the acupoints. Hasegawa's Dementia Scale (HDS), Mini-mental state examination (MMSE), and Functional ActivitiesQuestionnaire (FAQ) were used for assessment of the VD patient's state before and after the treatment. RESULTS: After the treatment, the total effective rates of acupuncture and medication groups were 80.00% and 73.33% respectively. The effective rate of acupuncture group was significantly superior to that of medication group (P<0.05). Before treatment, scores of HDS, MMSE and FAQ in both groups had no significant differences (P>0.05); after the treatment, the scores of HDS and MMSE increased significantly, and that of FAQ decreased remarkably in both groups (P<0.01), and the difference of scores (or absolute value of FAQ) between post-treatment and pre-treatment in EA group was obviously higher than that in medication group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION:Acupuncture of "Xiusanzhen" is effective in the treatment of VD patients.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) in the treatment of vascular dementia (VD) so as to explore an effective therapy for it. METHODS: Sixty cases of VD were randomly divided into acupuncture group and medication (Duxil, 40 mg/time, 2 times/d for 10 weeks) group, with 30 cases in each group. "Xiusanzhen" means that two acupuncture needles were penetrated subcutaneously from bilateral Yingxiang (LI 20) to Shangyingxiang (EX-HN 8) respectively, and the 3rd needle was penetrated from the midpoint between two Yangbai (GB 14) through Yintang (EX-HN 3) to the nasal root, followed by applying EA stimulation to the acupoints. Hasegawa's Dementia Scale (HDS), Mini-mental state examination (MMSE), and Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) were used for assessment of the VD patient's state before and after the treatment. RESULTS: After the treatment, the total effective rates of acupuncture and medication groups were 80.00% and 73.33% respectively. The effective rate of acupuncture group was significantly superior to that of medication group (P<0.05). Before treatment, scores of HDS, MMSE and FAQ in both groups had no significant differences (P>0.05); after the treatment, the scores of HDS and MMSE increased significantly, and that of FAQ decreased remarkably in both groups (P<0.01), and the difference of scores (or absolute value of FAQ) between post-treatment and pre-treatment in EA group was obviously higher than that in medication group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture of "Xiusanzhen" is effective in the treatment of VD patients.