title: Brain-Gut Axis Modulation of Acupuncture in Functional Dyspepsia: A Preliminary Resting-State fcMRI Study.
abstract: Objective. To explore acupuncture effects on brain functional connectivity in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD). Methods. Eight patients in an acupuncture treatment group and ten healthy adults in the control group participated in the study. Acupuncture effectiveness was evaluated based on changes of the gastrointestinal symptoms, gastric motility measurements, and gastrin levels and comparisons with the control group when appropriate. To investigate functional connectivity changes related to FD and potential modulation after acupuncture, a set of regions of interest (ROIs) were selected according to previous fMRI reports of acupuncture. Results. Patients showed significant improvements of FD signs and symptoms after acupuncture treatments. For all of the ROIs, we identified subportions of the networks showing reduced connectivity in patients with FD. Connectivity between the ROIs and corresponding disease targets showed significant improvement after acupuncture treatment (P < 0.05) in all ROIs except for right medial temporal lobe-hippocampus and right inferior parietal lobule. Conclusion. Functional connectivity of the brain is changed in patients with FD but approximates that in healthy control after acupuncture treatment. The relief of gastrointestinal signs and symptoms by acupuncture is likely due to the normalization of brain-gut axis associated with FD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Guang An Men Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100053, China.
authors.forename: Jiliang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Danhong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Guang An Men Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100053, China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Guang An Men Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100053, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Guang An Men Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100053, China.
authors.forename: Yulian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Guang An Men Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100053, China.
authors.forename: Zhishun
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7901-4875
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Care Studies, Daemen College, Amherst, NY 14226, USA.
authors.forename: Kehua
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2844-1604
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
authors.forename: Xianghong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
authors.forename: Xiaochun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Ruiqi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Hesheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100700, China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhu