What this means
To access the efficacy of acupuncture in improving sleep disorders in patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) and to investigate its mechanisms. Thirty aMCI patients with sleep disorders and fifteen healthy controls (HC) were enrolled.
A plain-English summary is on its way. Until then, this is the start of the authors' own summary.
- Who it was tested in
- People
- Kind of research
- A clinical trial in people
The science
- Original title
- Efficacy of acupuncture for sleep disorders in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial with fMRI.
- Authors
- Qiu D, Li R, Yang J et al.
- Journal
- Frontiers in neurology
- Published
- Oct 22, 2026
- Study type
- Clinical trial · in humans
- PMID
- 42903032 ↗
Abstract
Background
To access the efficacy of acupuncture in improving sleep disorders in patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) and to investigate its mechanisms.
What they did
Thirty aMCI patients with sleep disorders and fifteen healthy controls (HC) were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to verum acupuncture group (VA) or sham acupuncture group (SA) for a 12-week treatment. Assessments included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and resting-state Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).
What they found
At baseline, patients with aMCI exhibited aberrant brain activity in temporal, frontal, parietal, and cerebellar regions compared with HCs. After treatment, the VA group, but not the SA group, showed significant improvements in both MoCA and PSQI scores. Rs-fMRI analyses revealed significant VA-related changes in the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in the left calcarine sulcus and regional homogeneity (ReHo) in the cerebellar vermis. Changes in these imaging indicators were significantly correlated with changes in MoCA scores but not with changes in PSQI scores. Moreover, changes in MoCA scores were negatively correlated with changes in PSQI scores in the VA group (r = -0.536, p = 0.039). Acupuncture could effectively improve sleep and cognitive function in aMCI patients. The treatment-related alterations in brain function may be associated with changes in the dermatome layer and the brain-cerebellar cortex circuitry.
Other details
https://itmctr.ccebtcm.org.cn/mgt/search, Identifier ITMCTR2026000708.
The authors' abstract, grouped under plain headings from its own section labels.
Qiu D, Li R, Yang J et al. Efficacy of acupuncture for sleep disorders in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial with fMRI. Frontiers in neurology. 2026. doi:10.3389/fneur.2026.1913478. PMID: 42903032. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42903032/