Therapeutic Observation of Thunder-fire Moxibustion at Dazhui (GV14) and Shenshu (BL23) plus Cognitive Training for ;Mild Cognitive Impairment Due to Ischemic Cerebral Stroke / 上海针灸杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of thunder-fire moxibustion at Dazhui (GV14) and Shenshu (BL23) in treating mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to ischemic cerebral stroke. Method Sixty patients with MCI due to ischemic cerebral stroke were randomized into a treatment group and a control group, 30 cases each. The control group was intervened by joint treatment plus cognitive training, while the treatment group was by thunder-fire moxibustion in addition to that given to the control group. The two groups were evaluated by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS), the major symptoms were observed, and the clinical efficacies were compared between the two groups. The two groups were both treated for 8 weeks. Result The total effective rate was 80.0%in the treatment group, versus 70.0% in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05). Conclusion The selected acupoints can improve the cognition and activities of daily living (ADL) in MCI patients;thunder-fire moxibustion at Dazhui and Shenshu plus cognitive training can produce a better clinical efficacy than dry cognitive training. Therefore, we can combine thunder-fire moxibustion with modern rehabilitation to enhance the therapeutic efficacy in preventing and treating MCI.