Functional Connectivity Modulation by Acupuncture in Patients with Bell's Palsy.
Bell's palsy (BP), an acute unilateral facial paralysis, is frequently treated with acupuncture in many countries. However, the mechanism of treatment is not clear so far. In order to explore the potential mechanism, 22 healthy volunteers and 17 BP patients with different clinical duration were recruited. The resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were conducted before and after acupuncture at LI4 (Hegu), respectively. By comparing BP-induced functional connectivity (FC) changes with acupuncture-induced FC changes in the patients, the abnormal increased FC that could be reduced by acupuncture was selected. The FC strength of the selected FC at various stages was analyzed subsequently. Our results show that FC modulation of acupuncture is specific and consistent with the tendency of recovery. Therefore, we propose that FC modulation by acupuncture may be beneficial to recovery from the disease.
Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, China.
Yunpeng
0000-0002-4497-9383
Y
Bian
Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, China.
Xiaoxuan
X
He
Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, China.
Sheng
S
Hu
Laboratory of Digital Medical Imaging, Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China.
Chuanfu
C
Li
Laboratory of Digital Medical Imaging, Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China.
Chunsheng
C
Xu
Anhui Computer Application Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui 230038, China.
Hongxing
H
Kan
Laboratory of Digital Medical Imaging, Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China.
Qiuju
Q
Xue
Laboratory of Digital Medical Imaging, Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui 230031, China.
Jun
0000-0002-4849-7402
J
Yang
Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, China; Anhui Computer Application Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hefei, Anhui 230038, China; Department of Radiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98108, USA.
Bensheng
B
Qiu