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Regional cerebral metabolic changes after acupuncture by FDG PET: effects and methodology

Regional cerebral metabolic changes after acupuncture by FDG PET: effects and methodology

GUAN Yi-Hui
LI Ji
ZUO Chuan-Tao
DONG Jin-Cheng
ZHAO Jun
LIN Xiang-Tong
Nuclear Science and TechniquesVol.13, No.4pp.224-229Published in print 01 Nov 2002
21800

In order to investigate the therapeutic mechanisms of acupuncture points in cerebrovascular ischemic patients and normal volunteers, FDG PET was adopted. Changes in cerebral glucose metabolism and cerebral functional activity before and after electro-acupuncture treatment were studied in 12 normal volunteers and 11 cerebrovascular ischernic patients. The PET imaging was read by visual interpretation and calculated by semi-quantitative analysis. After acupuncture, cerebral glucose metabolism of the normal group is higher in the frontal lobe, temporal lobe, thalamus bilaterally and cerebellum contralaterally. The cerebrovascular ischemic patients had manifested greater response in their lesions than in their normal regions of the two tested groups, as well as than in their normal regions of the whole brain, after acupuncture treatment. The study shows that the regulatory effects of acupuncture on the central nervous system influence the brain at multiple-sections, multiple-directions and multiple-levels of brain function. Itconforms to the holistic and bi-directions regulatory laws of acupuncture.

Positron emission tomographyRegional cerebral glucose metabolismAcupuncture
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