TY - JOUR
A2 - Zhao, Baixiao
AU - Chen, Hongyan
AU - Dai, Jianping
AU - Zhang, Xiaozhe
AU - Wang, Kai
AU - Huang, Shuhua
AU - Cao, Qingtian
AU - Wang, Hong
AU - Liang, Yuhong
AU - Shi, Chuanying
AU - Li, Mengyuan
AU - Ha, Tingting
AU - Ai, Lin
AU - Li, Shaowu
AU - Ma, Jun
AU - Wei, Wenjuan
AU - You, Youbo
AU - Liu, Zhenyu
AU - Tian, Jie
AU - Bai, Lijun
PY - 2013
DA - 2013/05/27
TI - Hypothalamus-Related Resting Brain Network Underlying Short-Term Acupuncture Treatment in Primary Hypertension
SP - 808971
VL - 2013
AB - The present study attempted to explore modulated hypothalamus-seeded resting brain network underlying the cardiovascular system in primary hypertensive patients after short-term acupuncture treatment. Thirty right-handed patients (14 male) were divided randomly into acupuncture and control groups. The acupuncture group received a continuous five-day acupuncture treatment and undertook three resting-state fMRI scans and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) as well as SF-36 questionnaires before, after, and one month after acupuncture treatment. The control group undertook fMRI scans and 24-hour ABPM. For verum acupuncture, average blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) decreased after treatment but showed no statistical differences. There were no significant differences in BP and HR between the acupuncture and control groups. Notably, SF-36 indicated that bodily pain (P = 0.005) decreased and vitality (P = 0.036) increased after acupuncture compared to the baseline. The hypothalamus-related brain network showed increased functional connectivity with the medulla, brainstem, cerebellum, limbic system, thalamus, and frontal lobes. In conclusion, short-term acupuncture did not decrease BP significantly but appeared to improve body pain and vitality. Acupuncture may regulate the cardiovascular system through a complicated brain network from the cortical level, the hypothalamus, and the brainstem.
SN - 1741-427X
UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/808971
DO - 10.1155/2013/808971
JF - Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation
KW -
ER -