This blog is to share the latest research and development of acupuncture and raise the awareness of alternative treatments for your conditions, and is for information only.

Wednesday, 9 December 2015

How does acupuncture stimulation at GB34 help improve motor function in post-stroke hemiplegic patients?

Acupoint GB34 has been used to treat patients with stroke to help motor function recovery and is accompanied with the increased neuronal activities in motor-related brain regions according to a neuroimaging study published in journal of Brain Research.

Acupoint GB34 is one of the most common acupoints used in treating motor-related conditions in China for a very long time. However its underlying mechanism is not clear. Recently scientists in China explored the central mechanism of immediate effect of acupuncture stimulation at GB34 on the motor-related network of stroke patients with hemiplegic.

Functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) was used to assess the changes in neuronal activities of different brain regions before and after acupuncture stimulation at GB34 and compare the changes between GB34 and sham acupoint. Function MRI data analysis showed that acupuncture at GB34 may increase motor-cognition connectivity, including visual-memory, motor task learning, and motor intention, meanwhile decrease compensation of unaffected motor cortex and ipsilateral synkinesis, which can definitely promote the rehabilitation of hemiplegia and spasm.

This study demonstrated the underlying mechanism of GB34 central action in post-stroke patient with hemiplegia.

Reference:

Chen X et al., A functional magnetic resonance imaging study on the effect of acupuncture at GB34 (Yanglingquan) on motor-related network in hemiplegic patients. Brain Res. 2015 Mar 19;1601:64-72.    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25601007

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