Effect of acupuncture Baihui acupoint-Yintang acupoint-Neiguan acupoint combined with conventional Western medicine treatment on cerebral blood flow in insomnia patients: a 3D-ASL functional magnetic resonance imaging study

TL;DR

This study shows that combining acupuncture with Western medicine improves sleep and anxiety in insomnia patients, as seen through brain imaging.

Contribution

The novel contribution is demonstrating acupuncture's impact on cerebral blood flow in insomnia patients using 3D-ASL fMRI.

Findings

Acupuncture combined with Western medicine increased cerebral blood flow in key brain regions.

The study group showed better sleep quality and reduced anxiety compared to the control group.

fMRI visualized acupuncture's effects, offering guidance for treatment.

Abstract

To explore the effect of acupuncture Baihui acupoint-Yintang acupoint-Neiguan acupoint combined with conventional Western medicine treatment on insomnia patients by functional magnetic resonance imaging.

This study adopted a randomized controlled design. From June 2021 to December 2022, 100 patients with insomnia who were admitted to our hospital were selected and divided into the control group and the study group. The control group received conventional Western medicine treatment. Based on the alprazolam treatment in the control group, the study group received acupuncture treatment. All patients underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning. The fMRI data, sleep quality and anxiety symptoms of patients were compared between the two groups.

After 28 days of treatment, the average cerebral blood flow values of cerebellar cortex, thalamic nucleus, occipital lobe, frontal lobe, and parietal lobe of the study group were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < 0.05). After 28 days of treatment, the PSQI score and HAMA score of the study group were significantly lower than those of the control group (p < 0.05).

Acupuncture Baihui acupoint-Yintang acupoint-Neiguan acupoint combined with conventional Western medicine treatment can effectively improve the sleep quality and anxiety symptoms of insomnia patients, and fMRI visualizes the effect of acupuncture, provides guidance for acupuncture treatment.

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