Acupuncture showed no clear cognitive gain in a care home trial
A 12-week randomised trial in 118 older care home residents with dementia found no significant cognitive improvement but linked acupuncture to better functional independence.
12 weeks, blinded, registered NCT04305951
Researchers tested acupuncture in 118 older adults with dementia at 19 residential care homes in Hong Kong in a randomised controlled trial. They assigned 59 participants to acupuncture and 59 to usual care for 12 weeks. Outcome assessors did not know the group assignments. Overall, 85.6% completed the trial.
Acupuncture did not significantly improve scores on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a test of thinking and memory, at week 12. Exploratory subgroup analyses suggested that the effect on cognition might differ by dementia severity. Acupuncture was associated with better functional independence than usual care, with a mean difference of 4.12 on the Chinese Modified Barthel Index, which measures independence in daily activities. All treatment-related adverse events were mild. Two deaths unrelated to treatment were reported.
Why it matters
Dementia harms older adults’ mental health and burdens caregivers. The trial addressed whether acupuncture could help manage cognitive decline and related symptoms in older adults with dementia.
Caveats
The trial compared acupuncture with usual care rather than sham acupuncture, and the exploratory cognitive subgroup findings require confirmation. The findings concern older adults with dementia in Hong Kong residential care homes and may not apply to people living independently.
