Table 1.
Main characteristics of the included reviews.
| Author, year (country) | Language | Trials (subjects) | Treatment intervention | Control intervention | Quality assessment | Meta-analyses | Results | Results summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wang et al. (2019b) (China) | Chinese | 8 (472) | CA + CT | CT | Cochrane criteria |
Yes | Acupuncture combined with medicine for cognitive functions and life quality of AD patients is effective | Positive |
| Lin et al. (2017) (China) | Chinese | 13 (730) | CA, EA, AT + CT | CT | Cochrane criteria |
Yes | Acupuncture treatment can improve the learning and memory ability of patients with AD | Positive |
| Zou et al. (2016) (China) | Chinese | 8 (349) | CA, EA | CT | Cochrane criteria |
Yes | The advantages of acupuncture in treating AD compared with medication are unsure | Negative |
| Xu and Xie (2015) (China) | Chinese | 10 (652) | CA, EA, SA, CA + CT | CT | Jadad | Yes | Acupuncture combined with medication in AD treatment is definitely effective | Positive |
| Cao et al. (2014) (China) | Chinese | 5 (233) | CA | CT | Cochrane criteria | Yes | Compared with medication, the acupuncture cannot improve the MMSE and ADL score in patients with AD | Negative |
| Guo et al. (2008) (China) | Chinese | 22 (1,368) | EA, SA, CA | CT | Jadad | Yes | Acupuncture is effective on AD according to the domestic clinical literatures | Positive |
| Wang et al. (2020) (China) | English | 31 (2,045) | EA, CA + CT | CT, sham acupuncture, no treatment | Cochrane criteria | Yes | Acupuncture plus drug therapy may have a more beneficial effect for AD patients than drug therapy alone on general cognitive function in the short term and medium term and on ADL skills in the medium term | Positive |
| Huang et al. (2019) (China) | English | 13 (777) | CA, EA | CT | Cochranecriteria | Yes | Acupuncture alone is superior to CT for AD in most of the studies assessed in the current MAs | Positive |
| Zhou et al. (2017) (China) | English | 15 (1,217) | CA + CT | CT | Cochrane criteria |
Yes | From the current results, acupuncture plus medicine may have advantages over CT for treating AD | Positive |
| Zhou et al. (2015) (China) | English | 10 (585) | SA, EA, CA + CT | CT; no treatment | Cochrane criteria | Yes | Acupuncture may enhance the effect of CT for treating AD in terms of improving cognitive function. Acupuncture may also be more effective than CT at improving AD patients' ability to carry out their daily lives | Positive |
| Lee et al. (2009) (Korea) | English | 3 (166) | EA + CT | CT | Cochrane criteria |
Yes | The existing evidence does not demonstrate the effectiveness of acupuncture for AD | Negative |
CA, conventional acupuncture; EA, electroacupuncture; SA, scalp acupuncture; EA, eye acupuncture; CT, conventional therapy.