RESUMEN
Introduction: To date, there is no conclusive evidence for early interventions on ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis. The Chinese herbal medicine is confirmed to be beneficial in improving psychiatric symptoms and cognitive impairments for schizophrenia patients. However, the effect of Chinese herbal medicine on treating UHR patients remains unknown. Methods: Eighty UHR patients were recruited from the outpatient department. They were randomly assigned to receive either Shi-Zhen-An-Shen herbal formula granule (SZAS-HFG) combined with aripiprazole placebo or aripiprazole combined with SZAS-HFG placebo for a 12-week treatment. The psychiatric symptoms were assessed using the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS). The Trail Making Test part A (TMT-A), Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (BVMT), Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT), and Continuous Performance Test (CPT) were used to assess cognitive functions. we also employed the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) to evaluate social functioning. The linear mixed-effects models were performed to detect the difference in effectiveness between the two groups. Results: After 12-week treatment, both groups showed significant effects of time on SIPS, TMT-A, HVLT, BVMT, and GAF. There was a significant effect of group only on CPT. Moreover, we also found a significant interaction effect on GAF. Conclusion: SZAS-HFG can effectively alleviate psychosis symptoms, and improve cognitive impairments and overall functioning as well as aripiprazole.Clinical trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR-IOR-17013513.
RESUMEN
Introduction: Accumulating evidence has shown that acupuncture could significantly improve the sleep quality and cognitive function of individuals suffering from insufficient sleep. Numerous animal studies have confirmed the effects and mechanisms of acupuncture on acute sleep deprivation (SD). However, the role of acupuncture on individuals after acute SD remains unclear. Methods: In the current study, we recruited 30 healthy subjects with regular sleep. All subjects received resting-state fMRI scans during the rested wakefulness (RW) state and after 24 h of total SD. The scan after 24 h of total SD included two resting-state fMRI sessions before and after needling at Shenmen (HT7). Both edge-based and large-scale network FCs were calculated. Results: The edge-based results showed the suprathreshold edges with abnormal between-network FC involving all paired networks except somatosensory motor network (SMN)-SCN between the SD and RW state, while both decreased and increased between-network FC of edges involving all paired networks except frontoparietal network (FPN)-subcortical network (SCN) between before and after acupuncture at HT7. Compared with the RW state, the large-scale brain network results showed decreased between-network FC in SMN-Default Mode Network (DMN), SMN-FPN, and SMN-ventral attention network (VAN), and increased between-network FC in Dorsal Attention Network (DAN)-VAN, DAN-SMN between the RW state and after 24 h of total SD. After acupuncture at HT7, the large-scale brain network results showed decreased between-network FC in DAN-VAN and increased between-network FC in SMN-VAN. Conclusion: Acupuncture could widely modulate extensive brain networks and reverse the specific between-network FC. The altered FC after acupuncture at HT7 may provide new evidence to interpret neuroimaging mechanisms of the acupuncture effect on acute SD.