Effects of Moxa Cone Moxibustion Therapy on Cognitive Function and Brain Metabolic Changes in MCI Patients: A Pilot (1)H-MRS Study

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of moxa cone moxibustion on N-acetyl aspartate/total creatinine (NAA/tCr) and choline/total creatinine (Cho/tCr) in the bilateral hippocampus (HIP) and bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus (PCG) in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using hydrogen proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) and to provide imaging basis for moxa cone moxibustion treatment for MCI. METHODS: One hundred eight patients with MCI were served as the MCI group, and 67 age-matched subjects were enrolled as the normal control group. The MCI group was randomized and allocated into acupoint group, drug group, and sham acupoint group, with 36 cases in each group. Some patients in each group withdrew. Finally, 25 cases were included in the acupoint group, 24 cases in the drug group, and 20 cases in the sham acupoint group. The drug group was treated with oral donepezil hydrochloride. The acupoint group and sham acupoint group received moxa cone moxibustion treatment. Mini-mental state exam (MMSE) and Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) scores were recorded before intervention, at the end of the first and the second months of intervention, and in the 5th month of follow-up. The NAA/tCr and Cho/tCr ratios in the HIP and PCG were bilaterally measured by (1)H-MRS before and after intervention. RESULTS: Before intervention, compared with the normal control group, the MMSE and MoCA scores, the Cho/tCr ratio in the right HIP, the NAA/tCr ratio in the bilateral HIP, and the NAA/tCr ratio in the left PCG in the three treatment groups decreased significantly (both p < 0.01), and the NAA/tCr ratio in the right PCG significantly reduced in the acupoint and drug groups (p < 0.05). After two months of treatment, compared with the normal control group, there were no differences in the MoCA scores, the NAA/tCr, and Cho/tCr ratios in the bilateral PCG and bilateral HIP in the three treatment groups (p > 0.05). However, the MMSE scores in the drug group decreased when compared with the acupoint group and normal control group (p < 0.05, p < 0.01). The scores of MMSE and MoCA in the acupoint group and sham acupoint group at all time points were better than those in the drug group, which were similar to those in the normal control group. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that moxibustion could improve the cognitive function of patients with MCI. The mechanism may be related to the improvement of abnormal brain metabolism in HIP and PCG.