An Updated Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture Treatment for Vascular Cognitive Impairment Without Dementia

Vascular cognitive impairment with no dementia (VCIND) refers to a transitional state and will progress to dementia. Currently, effective medicines to control VCIND are surprisingly scarce. Acupuncture intervention is frequently advocated as an adjunct treatment for VCIND in recent studies. So the aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture for VCIND. The literature search was conducted in English and Chinese databases from inception until July 2015, and 15 study populations were included in the meta-analysis. Mean differences with their 95% confidence interval for continuous data were calculated with fixed effect model or random effect model using Rev Man 5.3 software. This review included 1148 subjects. The methodological qualities of the included studies were judged to be generally poor because plenty of trials had high or unclear risk of bias. The results of meta-analysis showed that acupuncture therapy was more effective in treating VCIND when compared with conventional therapy or pharmacological treatment. Two trials showed minor adverse events and two other trails mentioned no adverse events had existed. Current evidences cautiously suggest that acupuncture therapy can improve the clinical efficacy for VCIND. More rigorously designed studies are needed to further confirm effectiveness and safety of acupuncture therapy in patients with VCIND.