Table 3. Interaction between gut flora and acupuncture for Alzheimer’s disease.
| Author | Subject of study | n1/n2 (E/C) | Experimental group intervention | Control group intervention and doses | Period of treatment | Outcome measure | Microbiota change | Other outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jiang et al. (2021) | SAMP8 and SAMR1 | 8/8 | Baihui and Yintang were chose for electroacupuncture | donepezil hydrochloride tablets /Baihui and Yintang were chose for electroacupuncture | 15 min/day | Morris water maze/Dentate gyrus of hippocampus/pro-inflammation | the ratio of Bacteroidia and Clostridia ↑ | ↑ learning and memory abilities ↓IL-1β;IL-6 and TNF-α |
| Kong et al. (2023) | Participants with mild AD | 53/53 | receive acupuncture at Baihui, Sishencong, Shenting, bilateral Neiguan, Shenmen, Zusanli, Taixi, and Sanyinjiao | non-penetrating sham acupuncture | 135min/ week 14 weeks | ADAS-cog12/ MMSE/ADCS-ADL, NPI/Gut microbiota will be measured using 16S rRNA tag sequencing. | Experiments in progress | Experiments in progress |
| Liao et al. (2021) | APP/PS1 double transgenic mice/male C57BL/6 mice | 7/7 | receive acupuncture at Baihui Dachangshu and Zusanli | receive acupuncture at Baihui Dachangshu and Zusanli for | 15 min/day 5 days per week for 5 weeks. | The Morris water maze/NLRP3/TNF-α/IL-1β/IL-18/the microflora in the feces | ↓the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes ↑Firmicutes Patescibacteria and Tenericuteswere ↓the relative abun- dances of Parasutterella and Rikenella ↑ the relative abundances of Candidatus Saccharimonas and Muribaculum | ↓ NLRP3/TNF- α/IL-1β/IL-18 ↑ cognitive functions |
| Chen et al. (2022) | SD rats/VD model | 10/10 | receive acupuncture at Baihui Shenshu Dazhui and Zusanli | receive acupuncture at Baihui Shenshu and Dazhui +Probiotics received gavage of Probiotics (2 ml/d containing 2.0 × 109 CFU of live bifidobacterium | 30 min/day 4 weeks | The Morris water maze/IL-1β/IL-18/the microflora in the feces | ↑Elusimicrobia Firmicutes Proteobacteria Verrucomicrobia ↓the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes | ↓IL-1β/IL-18 ↑ cognitive functions |
| Xu et al. (2022) | SAMP8 and SAMR1 | 6/6 | Acupuncture points prescribed included Fenglong, Taibai, Taixi, Feiyang and Baihui | Donepezil hydrochloride tablets (5 mg per day) | 20 min/day | Aβ1-42 and APP protein expression/MWM/SCFA/the microflora in the feces | ↑LPS ↓Firmicutes ↓Streptococcus | ↑the learning and memory dysfunction ↓Aβ1-42 and APP protein expression |
Notes.
- ADAS-cog12
- Alzheimer’s disease Assessment Scale
- MMSE
- Mini-Mental State Examination
- ADCS-ADL
- the Alzheimer’s disease Cooperative Study-Activities
- ADAS-cog12
- Alzheimer’s disease Assessment Scale
- MMSE
- Mini-Mental State Examination
- ADCS-ADL
- the Alzheimer’s disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living
- NPI
- Neuropsychiatric Inventory; Gut microbiota will be measured using 16S rRNA tag sequencing
- SAMP8
- senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8
- SAMR1
- senescence-accelerated mouse resistant1
- LPS
- lipopolysaccharide
- IL-6
- Interleukin-6
- IL-1β
- Interleukin-1β
- TNF-α
- Tumor necrosis factor-alpha
- SCFAs
- short chain fatty acids
- MWM
- Morris water maze test
- ↑
- increase
- ↓
- decrease