Table 1.
Characteristics of the 24 included stroke patients studies.
| N | Author (year) | Journal | Stroke information | MRI information | Acupuncture information | Data analysis | Experimental design | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects | Affected side | Type of stroke, lesions (N) | Interval since stroke | Scanner | Intervention | Comparison | Acupoints | |||||
| 1 | Li et al. 2006 [39] | Journal of magnetic resonance imaging | 12 stroke | The left side somatosensory deficits | IS, right hemispheric striatocapsular infarction | More than 6 months | 1.5 T | MA | Stroke vs. HC | LI4 and LI11 | SPM | Block/R(45 s)-S(45 s), 3 times |
| 2 | Schaechter et al. 2007 [34] | The journal of alternative and complementary medicine | 7 stroke | NA | IS (5), HS (2), 5 left, and 2 right | 4.6 ± 3.2 years | 3 T | MA, SA (Streitberger needle, noninvasive control) | 4 VA vs. 3 SA | N | GLM | RS/twice weekly for 10 weeks. |
| 3 | Li and Yang 2010 [40] | Complementary therapies in medicine | 7 aphasia stroke/14 HC | The right side of the body | IS (6), HS (1); the occlusion of the middle cerebral artery, left hemisphere | More than 6 months | 1.5 T | EA | Stroke vs. HC | SJ8 | SPM | Block/R(45 s)-S(45 s), 3 times |
| 4 | Huang et al. 2011 [41] | NRR | 12 stroke | The left hemiataxia and sensory disturbance | IS, right hemisphere | 6.08 ± 6.40 months | 3 T | MA, SA (nonacupuncture points in close proximity to acupuncture points) | 6 VA vs. 6 SA | SJ5 | ReHo | Block/S(30 s)-R(30sn), 6 times |
| 5 | Shen et al. 2012 [37] | ECAM | 20 stroke | Basal ganglia, and completely or partially covered the internal capsules | IS | 10.70 ± 11.13 hours | 1.5 T | MA | 10 acupuncture plus conventional treatments vs. 10 only conventional treatments | Du23, Du 20, EX-HN3, PC 6, and Sp 6 | FA and ADC | RS/30 min, once a day, for 2 weeks |
| 6 | Cho et al. 2013 [42] | Chinese journal of integrative medicine | 11 stroke/10 HC | The left side of the body | IS, right hemisphere | 2-6 months | 3 T | MA | Stroke vs. HC | LI11 and ST36 | SPM | Block/R(30 s)-S(30 s), 3 times |
| 7 | Huang et al. 2013 [43] | Acupuncture in medicine | 10 stroke | The right hemiplegia | IS, left hemispheric | 1-12 months | 3 T | MA | Before vs. after | SJ5 | GLM | Tactile control (6 min)-R(5 min)-block/S(30 s)-R(30 s), 6 times |
| 8 | Chen et al. 2013 [44] | NRR | 10 stroke/6 HC | The right hemiataxia | IS, left basal ganglia | 5.30 ± 3.71 months | 3 T | MA | Stroke vs. HC | SJ5 | FC | Block/R(30s)-S(30s), 6 times |
| 9 | Bai et al. 2014 [31] | ECAM | 9 stroke/8 HC | The left side of the body | IS, right hemispheric striatocapsular | 2-12 weeks | 3 T | MA | Before vs. after | GB34 | FC | NRER/R(1 min)-S(1 min)-R(8 min) |
| 10 | Chen et al. 2014 [45] | PLoS one | 24 stroke | The right hemiplegia | IS, left basal ganglia | 1 month-1 year | 3 T | MA, SA (tactile control, a noninvasive control) | 12 VA vs. 12 SA | SJ5 | FC | Block/rested for 5 min-SA(6 min 30 s)-R(6 min 2 s)-VA(6 min 30 s). |
| 11 | Qi et al. 2014 [46] | NRR | 16 stroke | The right hemiataxia | IS, primarily in the left hemisphere | 4.63 ± 3.85 months/4.63 ± 4.41 months | 3 T | MA, SA (nonacupuncture points in close proximity to acupuncture points) | 8 VA vs. 8 SA | SJ5 | SPM | Block/R(30 s)-S(30 s), total 6 min 6 s |
| 12 | Xie et al. 2014 [32] | ECAM | 9 stroke/8 HC | The left side of the body | IS, unilateral right-sided striatocapsular lesions | 53.6 ± 41.6 days | 3 T | MA | Stroke vs. HC | GB34 | GLM and GCA | NRER/R(1 min)-S(1 min)-R(8 min) |
| 13 | Zhang et al. 2014 [47] | ECAM | 8 stroke/10 HC | The left side of the body | IS, right hemispheric corona radiate, internal capsule, or basal ganglia infarction | 2–12 weeks | 3 T | MA | Stroke vs. HC | GB34 | SPM | NRER/R(1 min)-S(1 min)-R(8 min) |
| 14 | Li et al. 2015 [48] | NRR | 12 stroke | The right hemiataxia | IS, left basal ganglia | 1 month-12 months | 3 T | MA | Before vs. after | SJ5 | SPM | Block/(30 s)-S(30 s), 6 times |
| 15 | Gao et al. 2015 [49] | Experimental and therapeutic medicine | 10 stroke/10 HC | NA | IS, right subcortical | At least 6 months | 3 T | MA | Stroke vs. HC | ST36 | GLM | Block/(30 s)-S(30 s), 6 times |
| 16 | Chang et al. 2017 [50] | Wiener klinische Wochenschrift | 43 poststroke motor aphasia | NA | Cerebral hemorrhage or cerebral infarction | 14 days to 2 years | 3 T | EA | 22 EA vs. 21 WT | HT5, GB39 | GLM | Block/R(30 s)-S(30 s), total 6 min 6 s |
| 17 | Fu et al. 2017 [51] | Medicine | 19 stroke/17 HC | The left hemiplegia | IS, internal capsule, and neighboring regions in the right hemisphere | 2 weeks to 6 months | 3 T | MA | Before vs. after | GB34 | ICA | RS/R(8 min 10 s)-needing in (1 min)-S(1 min)-R(8 min 10 s) |
| 18 | Ning et al. 2017 [52] | Frontiers in human neuroscience | 18 stroke/20 HC | The left motor hemiparesis | First-ever IS, right subcortical stroke | Within 6 months after the onset | 3 T | MA | Before vs. after | GB34 | GLM, FC | NRER/R(1 min)-S(1 min)-R(8 min) |
| 19 | Li et al. 2017 [35] | Neural plasticity | 17 stroke/14 HC | The right side of the body | IS, left basal ganglia, caudate nucleus, centrum semiovale, and lenticular nucleus | At least three weeks | 3 T | MA | 8 MA + drug vs. 9 drug | DU20, GB20, bilateral GB-39, LI-11, LI-4, ST-36, SP-6 | FC | RS/two hours a day for 5 days a week, one week a course, continuous four courses |
| 20 | Wu et al. 2017 [38] | Journal of traditional Chinese medicine | 21 stroke | NA | IS | Less than six months | 3 T | MA | 11 MA plus CT vs. 10 CT | DU20, GB20, LI11, LI4, GB34, ST36, SP6, and GB39 | ReHo | RS/30 min, 2 times/week for 5 weeks |
| 21 | Wu et al. 2018 [36] | ECAM | 21 stroke | NA | IS | Less than six months | 3 T | MA | 11 MA plus CT vs. 10 CT | DU20, GB20, LI11, LI4, GB34, ST36, SP6, and GB39 | VBM | RS/30 min, 2 times/week for 5 weeks |
| 22 | Han et al. 2019 [33] | ECAM | 22 stroke/22 HC | The left side of the body | IS, right-hemispheric subcortical infarct | 41.68 ± 25.02 days | 3 T | MA | Stroke vs. HC | GB34 | FC | NRER/R(8 min 10 sec)-S(1 min)-R(8 min 10 sec) |
| 23 | Chen et al. 2020 [53] | Chinese journal of integrative medicine | 10 stroke | The left side of the body | IS, the vascular occlusion in the right basal ganglia | 1 month-3 years | 3 T | MA | Before vs. after | LI11 and ST36 | ReHo | RS/R(5 min)-S(15 min)-R(5 min) |
| 24 | Han et al. 2020 [54] | Neural plasticity | 26 stroke/21HC | The left side of the body | IS, right hemispheric subcortical infarct | 41.04 ± 29.71 days | 3 T | MA | Stroke vs. HC | GB34 | Graph theoretical network | RS/R(8 min 10 s)-S(60 s)-R(8 min 10 s) |
Note: ADC: apparent diffusion coefficient; BOLD: blood oxygen level-dependent; CT: conventional treatments; EA: electroacupuncture; ECAM: Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine; FA: fractional anisotropy; FC: functional connectivity; GCA: granger causality analysis; GLM: general liner model; HC: health controls; HS: hemorrhagic stroke; IS: ischemic stroke; MA: manual acupuncture; N: number; NA: not applicable; NRER: nonrepeated event-related; RS: resting state; NRR: Neural Regeneration Research; ReHo: regional homogeneity; TBSS: tract-based spatial statistics; R: rest; s: seconds; SA: sham acupuncture; S: stimulation; VA: verum acupuncture; min: minutes; VBM: voxel-based morphometry; WT: waiting list; ICA: independent component analysis; Y: yes. A.