[Progress of researches on mechanisms of acupuncture intervention of Alzheimer's disease].

Author: Zhu J, Guo HD, Shao SJ.
Affiliation: Teaching and Study Section of Anatomy, Basic Medical College, Shanghai University of Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China. zhujing0208@163.com
Conference/Journal: Zhen Ci Yan Jiu.
Date published: 2012 Oct
Other: Volume ID: 37 , Issue ID: 5 , Pages: 422-7 , Special Notes: [Article in Chinese] , Word Count: 150



Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the major diseases threatening the aged people's health. In the present paper, the authors reviewed development of studies on acupuncture treatment of AD from: 1) regulating release of neurotransmitters (cholinergic, amino-acids and monoamine neurotransmitters), 2) protecting cerebral neurons from apoptosis (anti-oxidative stress, improving synaptic plasticity, and suppressing apoptosis), 3) improving levels of neurotrophic factors, 4) regulating hippocampal intracellular signaling, 5) inhibiting inflammatory reactions of the brain tissue, 6) adjusting the level of abnormal proteins (microtubule-associated protein, beta-amyloid), and 7) up-regulating the level of autophagy activity. However, current experimental studies can not completely answer clinical questions due to limited model designs and complicated pathological mechanisms of AD. Many findings of biological indexes need being verified further. Reasonable therapeutic regimens of acupuncture formulated according to syndrome differentiation will help improving clinical curative effect and the corresponding research on new therapeutic targets may be helpful to our understanding about the mechanism of acupuncture.
PMID: 23342786