Clinical observation on effect of cranial suture acupuncture combined with donepezil hydrochloride tablets for Alzheimer's disease

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of acupuncture combined with medicine for Alzheimer's disease. Methods Fifty-five patients of Alzheimer's disease were randomly divided into two groups in accordance with random number table: the drug group (n=28) was treated with oral donepezil hydrochloride tablets, once a day for 5-10 mg with 10 days as a course of treatment; the combined acupuncture and drug group (n=27) was treated with cranial suture acupuncture combined with donepezil hydrochloride tablets in the above-mentioned way. The cranial suture acupuncture was given once a day for 30 min with 10 days as a course of treatment. Both groups were given treatment for two courses. Mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Alzheimer's disease assessment scale (ADAS-Cog), activities of daily living scale (Barthel) and electroencephalogram (EEG) were checked before and after treatment, to evaluate the efficacy of each group via integral changes of Barthel. Results MMSE score increased, Barthel index score increased, and ADAS-Cog score decreased in the two groups after treatment (P<0.05, P<0.01), and the efficacy of the combined acupuncture and drug group was more significant (P<0.01). The alpha wave frequency and amplitude and theta wave frequency of EEG increased after treatment in both groups (P<0.05), theta wave amplitude decreased (P<0.01), and the efficacy of the combined acupuncture and drug group was superior to that of the drug group in terms of EEG improvement (P<0.05). The total effective rate of the combined acupuncture and drug group (88.9%, 24/27) was superior to that of drug group (67.9%, 18/28, P<0.05). Conclusion The effect of cranial suture acupuncture combined with donepezil hydrochloride tablets for Alzheimer's disease is more significant than only medicine therapy.