Complementary acupuncture in Parkinson's disease: a spect study

Int J Neurosci. 2010 Feb;120(2):150-4. doi: 10.3109/00207450903316527.

Abstract

We studied cerebral effects of complementary acupuncture in Parkinson's disease using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) measures of 99mTc-ECD and 99mTc-TRODAT-4, before and after five weeks of treatment. Ten patients were randomly assigned to receive levodopa alone (controls) or levodopa and complementary scalp electro-acupuncture. Before treatment, no hemispheric regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) differences were found, whereas striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) activity was lower in the most affected hemisphere. Treatment with levodopa alone did not change rCBF, whereas it increased basal ganglion DAT activity in the most affected hemisphere. Patients who received levodopa and complementary acupuncture had increased rCBF in the frontal lobe, the occipital lobe, the basal ganglion, and the cerebellum in the most affected hemisphere as compared to baseline, but there were no changes in basal ganglia DAT levels. Thus, complementary acupuncture treatment in Parkinson's disease may affect rCBF but not basal ganglion DAT.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acupuncture Therapy*
  • Aged
  • Antiparkinson Agents / therapeutic use
  • Basal Ganglia / diagnostic imaging
  • Cerebrovascular Circulation / physiology
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Data Interpretation, Statistical
  • Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / metabolism
  • Female
  • Functional Laterality / physiology
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Levodopa / therapeutic use
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neostriatum / metabolism
  • Parkinson Disease / diagnostic imaging*
  • Parkinson Disease / drug therapy
  • Parkinson Disease / therapy*
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

Substances

  • Antiparkinson Agents
  • Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
  • Levodopa