Acupuncture for patients with Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review protocol

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this protocol is to provide the methods used to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for the treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search the following electronic databases: The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Medical Current Contents and China National Knowledge Infrastructure without restriction of language and publication status. Other sources such as Chinese acupuncture journals and the reference list of selected studies will also be searched. After screening the studies, a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials will be conducted, if possible. Results expressed as risk ratios for dichotomous data and standardised or weighted mean differences for continuous data, will be used for data synthesis. DISSEMINATION: The protocol of this systematic review will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at a relevant conference. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42014009619