ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effect of scalp acupuncture plus real-time cognitive training on cerebral blood flow in Alzheimer disease patients with cognitive disorder.Methods One hundred Alzheimer disease patients with cognitive disorder were randomly allocated to treatment and control groups, 50 cases each. Both groups received treatment for the primary disease. In addition, the treatment group received scalp acupuncture plus real-time cognitive training and the control group took Ginkgo leaf extract tablets. Mean flow velocity (Vm) in the left vertebral artery (LVA), right vertebral artery (RVA) and middle cerebral artery (MCA) were measured using transcranial Doppler in the two groups of patients before and after three months of treatment.Results There were statistically significant pre-/post-treatment differences in LVA, RVA and MCA Vm in the two groups (P<0.01). There were statistically significant post-treatment differences in LVA, RVA and MCA Vm between the treatment and control groups (P<0.05).Conclusions Scalp acupuncture plus real-time cognitive training can improve cerebral circulation and increase cerebral blood flow in Alzheimer disease patients with cognitive disorder.