Acupuncture stimulates brain metabolism in dementia patients

CM NEWS – Needling specific acupoints may help patients with dementia, a recently published study shows. The acupoint combo seems to increase cerebral glucose metabolism in the brain, as indicated by cerebral functional imaging.

The study has been published in the January 2007 issue of the Journal of Acupuncture and Tuina Science. Chinese researchers observed the effects of needling three acupoints – Baihui (百會, Hundred Convergences; GV 20), Shuigou (水溝, Water Trough; GV 26) and Shenmen (神門, Spirit Gate; HT 7) – and their effects on cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with vascular dementia.

25 patients with vascular dementia were divided into 5 groups (Group A, B, C, D and E) randomly. Patients in the Group A were treated by needling routine acupoints for hemiplegia (paralysis in the vertical half of a patient’s body), which are acupoints of the three “yang meridians” of the hand and foot.

In addition to the “routine acupoints”, Group B patients received acupuncture to Baihui (GV 20); Group C to Shuigou (GV 26), Group D to Shenmen (HT 7), and Group E to Baihui (GV 20), Shuigou (GV 26), and Shenmen (HT 7).

All the patients were examined by Positron Emission Tomography (PET) to detect cerebral glucose metabolism in the bilateral frontal lobes (orbital gyri), parietal lobes, temporal lobes (hippocampus and hippocampal gyrus), occipital lobes, thalamus, lentiform nucleus, caudate nuclei, cingulate gyms and cerebellum before treatments and after treatments.

Why checking on cerebral glucose metabolism? Studies have linked dementia with the slowing of glucose metabolism in certain parts of the brain. One study indicated that patients with frontotemporal dementia not only showed significant metabolic deficits primarily in frontal cortical areas, but also in the caudate nuclei and the thalami. These findings demonstrate that the clinical progression in patients with frontotemporal dementia is accompanied by a region-specific decline in cerebral glucose metabolism.

Another study found that patients with multi-infarct dementia (MID) had significantly lower glucose metabolism in all the grey matter regions measured and were also characterized by more individuality in metabolic pattern.

The present study shows that after needling the routine acupoints for hemiplegia, glucose metabolism increased in lentiform nucleus and temporal lobe; and:

* patients with Baihui (GV 20) needled showed increased glucose metabolism in the frontal lobe, temporal lobe and lentiform nucleus.
* patients with Shuigou (GV 26) needled showed increased glucose metabolism in the frontal lobe, thalamus and lentiform nucleus;
* patients with Shenmen (HT 7) needled got more glucose metabolism in the parietal lobe and lentiform nucleus;
* patients who recieved needling to all these three acupoints has higher glucose metabolism in the frontal lobe, temporal lobe, thalamus and lentiform nucleus.

The results suggest that needling Baihui (GV 20), Shuigou (GV 26) and Shenmen (HT 7) affect glucose metabolism in different functional regions of the brain. In other words, the three acupoints are closely correlated to different functional regions of the brain.

Nutrient ‘Cocktail’ Appears to Improve Dementia Symptoms

FRIDAY, Jan. 8 (HealthDay News) — A combination of three nutrients might help improve memory in Alzheimer’s patients by stimulating the growth of new brain connections (synapses), a new study shows.

Uridine, choline and the omega-3 fatty acid DHA (all found in breast milk) are precursors to the fatty molecules that make up brain cell membranes, which form synapses.

“If you can increase the number of synapses by enhancing their production, you might to some extent avoid that loss of cognitive ability” that occurs in Alzheimer’s patients, Richard Wurtman, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT, said in a news release. He conducted the basic research that led to this investigational treatment.

In a clinical trial, 225 Alzheimer’s patients were given a cocktail of the three nutrients, along with B vitamins, phosopholipids and antioxidants. Patients with mild Alzheimer’s showed improvements in verbal memory.

The study was published Jan. 8 in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

Three additional clinical trials are underway in the United States and Europe. Results are expected within a few years.

‘Longevity’ Gene May Cut Dementia Risk

By Denise Mann
WebMD Health News

Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD

Jan. 12, 2010 — The so-called “longevity gene” may do more than add years to your life. It may also help stave off age-related cognitive decline, and this discovery is paving the way for new drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease, a study shows.

The longevity gene is a variant of the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene, which was discovered in 2003. This variant has been shown to improve cholesterol levels by increasing HDL “good” cholesterol and regulating the size of cholesterol particles. As a result, it has been linked to longevity and lower heart disease risk, but how or if this variant affects the cognitive decline that is known to occur with aging was not known — until now.

The study is published in the Jan. 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers analyzed the blood of 523 people aged 70 and older with no signs of cognitive decline to see which copy or copies of the CETP gene they carried. People in the study also underwent standard neuropsychological and neurological testing each year from 1994 to 2009 and performed tests to measure memory, attention span, and the time it takes to process and react to a signal (psychomotor speed).

During 4.3 years of follow-up, there were 40 new cases of dementia seen among this group. Those participants who had a specific variation of the CETP gene were less likely to experience a decline in memory and to develop dementia.

“We found that people with two copies of the longevity variant of CETP had slower memory decline and a lower risk for developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease,” says study researcher Amy E. Sanders, MD, assistant professor in the Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, N.Y., in a news release.

“More specifically,” she says, “those participants who carried two copies of the favorable CETP variant had a 70 percent reduction in their risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease compared with participants who carried no copies of this gene variant.”

This variant alters the gene so that the protein it encodes for will functions less efficiently than usual, the researchers explain. Now, drugs are now being developed that mimic this effect.

“These agents should be tested for their ability to promote successful aging and prevent Alzheimer’s disease,” says study researcher Richard B. Lipton, MD, the Lotti and Bernard Benson Faculty Scholar in Alzheimer’s Disease and professor and vice chairman in the Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in a news release.