Evidence mapPaperPMID 40357233Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in aging neuroscience2025

Acupuncture treatment of vascular cognitive impairment through peripheral nerve stimulation pathway: a scoping review.

Xinming Yang, Bo Li, Linna Wu, Ying Cui

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Xinming Yang *First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
Bo Li *First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
Linna WuThe First Clinical Medical School, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, China.
Ying CuiFirst Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to explore the central effects of acupuncture on vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) through peripheral nerve stimulation. Methods: This scoping review followed the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley and the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A comprehensive search of databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, and Embase, was conducted, including 79 studies on acupuncture interventions for VCI. Acupoints and their underlying anatomical structures related to peripheral nerves were summarized, and the potential pathways of acupuncture effects via different peripheral nerves were explored. Results: The results showed that acupuncture, by stimulating specific acupoints on the head, face, torso, and limbs, significantly affects peripheral nerve networks, including the cervical, lumbar, and sacral plexuses, thoracic nerves, vagus nerve, trigeminal nerve and its branches. The nerve stimulation effects of acupuncture can enhance the regulation of cerebral blood flow, modulate neuroimmune responses, improve brain function, and promote neuroplasticity through multiple central nervous system pathways, ultimately improving cognitive function and treating VCI. Conclusion: Acupuncture is a treatment modality that influences the central nervous system through peripheral nerve stimulation to treat VCI. A deeper understanding of the central effects induced by acupuncture-triggered neural reflexes can contribute to the improvement of existing therapies and help elucidate the scientific principles underlying acupuncture's therapeutic effects.

Indexed as

acupuncturecentral nervous system modulationelectroacupunctureperipheral nerve stimulationvascular cognitive impairment

Identifiers

PMID40357233
PMCPMC12066784

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.