Table 2. Assessment of methodological quality in the included studies.
| Study | Animal model | Treatment | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species | Age (month) | Weight (g) | Sample size | Induced disease | Acupoint | Moxibustion diameter (mm) | Duration (min) | Treatment method and period | |||
| Moxa (M,F) | Control (M,F) | Before inducing model | After inducing model | ||||||||
| Li [21] | SD rat | 15 | 350~480 | (100) | (100) | AD | GV20, BL23, ST36 | 8 | 5 | 18 times for 21 days | (After 1 day) 6 times for 7 days |
| Liu [22] | SD rat | 12±2 | 360±20 | (100) | (100) | AD | GV20, BL23 | 15~20 | 10 | 40 times for 56 days | (After 4 day) 11 timesfor 11 days |
| Wang [23] | SD rat | 12 | 400±50 | (100) | (100) | AD | GV20, BL23 | NR | 10 | 40 times for 56 days | |
| Li [24] | SD rat | 12±2 | 360±20 | (55) | (55) | AD | GV20, BL23 | NR | 5 | 40 times for 56 days | |
| Du et al. [25] | Wistar rat | 12 | 500±20 | (100) | (100) | AD | GV20, BL23 | 6 | 15 | 48 times for 56 days | 14 times for 14 days |
| Li et al. [26] | SD rat | 15 | 350~480 | (100) | (100) | AD | GV20, BL23, ST36 | 8 | 5 | 18 times for 21 days | (After 1 day) 6 times for 7 days |
| Li et al. [27] | SD rat | 15 | 350~480 | (100) | (100) | AD | GV20, BL23, ST36 | 8 | 5 | 18 times for 21 days | (After 1 day) 6 times for 7 days |
| Liu et al. [28] | SD rat | 12±2 | 360±20 | (55) | (55) | AD | GV20, BL23 | 6 | 10 | 18 times for 21 days | 7 times for 7 days |
| Liu et al. [29] | SD rat | 12±2 | 360±20 | (55) | (55) | AD | GV20, BL23 | NA | 5 | 40 times for 56 days | |
| Du et al. [30] | SD rat | 10±2 | 360±20 | (55) | (55) | AD | GV20, BL23 | 6 | 10 | 18 times for 21 days | 7 times for 7 days |
SD, Sprague-Dawley; M, male; F, female; Moxa, moxibustion; AD, Alzheimer's disease; NR, not reported; NGF, nerve growth factor; Trk, tropomyosin receptor kinase; BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor; CDK, cyclin-dependent kinase; PGE, prostaglandin E; COX, cyclooxygenase; P-p38 MAPK, phospho-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase.