Chinese researchers have found electro-acupuncture at points on the head to be helpful for increasing neuroplasticity in cerebral motor regions following ischaemic stroke. The scientists used PET to observe the cerebral function of six patients who had suffered a stroke. The patients received EA treatment at Baihui DU-20 and right Qubin GB-7. The results showed that, following EA, brain activity changed significantly in structures related to motor function (primary motor area, premotor cortex, superior parietal lobule, supplementary motor area, insula, putamen, and cerebellum) in both hemispheres of the brain. (Effects of Electroacupuncture at Head Points on the Function of Cerebral Motor Areas in Stroke Patients: A PET Study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:902413. Epub 2012 Aug 22).
Another Chinese experimental study using PET-CT has found that true acupuncture at Waiguan SJ-5 had a regulating effect on cerebral function in 43 patients who had suffered an ischaemic stroke. The authors suggest that these effects of acupuncture may contribute to its impact on the recovery of post-stroke patients. (Acupuncture regulates the glucose metabolism in cerebral functional regions in chronic stage ischemic stroke patients – a PET-CT cerebral functional imaging study. BMC Neurosci. 2012 Jun 27;13(1):75).
An examination of the effect of acupuncture therapy on patients who had had a recent cerebral infarction has revealed that it is effective for protecting neurons and facilitating motor recovery. Twenty patients with recent cerebral infarction were divided randomly into an acupuncture group and a control group by a Chinese research team. Both groups of patients underwent serial scans using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI, a form of MRI) to examine how their brains changed in the post-stroke recovery period. The results showed that there was a significant difference between acupuncture and control groups in respect of several measures of ischaemia in the areas of the brain damaged by the infarct. Fractional anisotropy (FA, a measure of the micro-structural tissue integrity) was higher in the acupuncture group than the control group, indicating a positive effect of acupuncture on the structure of the damaged tissue. The authors suggest that these positive changes might correlate with patient’s recovery of motor function. (Effect of Acupuncture Therapy for Postponing Wallerian Degeneration of Cerebral Infarction as Shown by Diffusion Tensor Imaging. J Altern Complement Med. 2012 Sep 5. [Epub ahead of print]).
Categories: Stroke
