Digital Acupuncture Promote Post-Stroke Motor Rehabilitation among Aging Population: A Prospective Clinical and Neuroimaging Study

 

Impossible to have effects except as a placebo. Energy meridians have never been proven to exist.

No mechanism of action is possible.

Digital Acupuncture Promote Post-Stroke Motor Rehabilitation among Aging Population: A Prospective Clinical and Neuroimaging Study

Tianzhu Chen

Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700

Chen Chen

Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700

Tianyan Chen

School of Journalism and Communication, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872

Yong Zhang

Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700

Yihuai Zou

Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700

Synopsis

Acupuncture may be a promising adjunct to western medicine for aging stroke rehabilitation clinically, but the visualized and explanatory evidence is limited in post-stroke neuroplasticity. To explore the target effects and digital evidence on neuroplasticity of acupuncture for post-stroke motor rehabilitation among aging population. Ischaemic stroke patients (n = 29) whose lesions located on right subcortical ganglia and duration within 6 weeks were asked to receive the acupuncture-intervened neuroimaging assessments, with acupuncture at GB34 and non-acupoint of GB34 (NA_GB34) on 2-week interval. Healthy controls (n = 26) were matched to receive once GB34-intervened neuroimaging assessment. Per-protocol analysis of clinical and neuroimaging was performed to investigate the digital effects of acupuncture. Specifically, voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) combined with grey relational analysis was to identify the pathological characteristics and specificity of GB34.