Evaluation of the recovery outcome of poststroke cognitive impairment after cluster needling of scalp acupuncture therapy based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy

Background Cognitive impairment often arises in patients suffered from stroke. Acupuncture is a recommended treatment option for stroke by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has been shown to improve the cognitive function of patients with poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI). Methods In the present study, we assessed the efficacy of scalp acupuncture with cluster needling on PSCI patients. Fifty six PSCI patients were randomly separated into the reference group who received drug treatment only and the treatment group who received cluster needling of scalp acupuncture on top of drug treatment. Cognitive function was compared between the two groups before and after treatment. We also took the advantage of functional near-infrared spectroscopy to assess the cerebral hemoglobin levels. Results We reveal that applying cluster needling of scalp acupuncture on top of drug treatment can significantly improve the cognitive function and elevate the cerebral hemoglobin levels compared to patients treated with drug only. Conclusions Our results suggest that cluster needling of scalp acupuncture is an effective treatment against PSCI and shed light on its application on other neurological disorders.