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ObjectiveTo observe the modulatory effects of acupuncture in early-stage non-tremor Parkinson's disease (PD) patients using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), and to determine the correlation between its changes and clinical indicators.MethodsThis observational study included 35 patients with early Parkinson's disease who received multi-target acupuncture treatment combined with regular levodopa therapy (twice weekly for 12 weeks) in the traditional Chinese medicine department. They were classified as the observation group and the study period was from January 2023 to December 2024. The observation group received acupuncture and underwent rs-fMRI scanning at baseline and post-treatment. A healthy control group underwent a single rs-fMRI scan at baseline. Post-treatment imaging and clinical data from the observation group were compared with those of the healthy control group. Primary outcomes were changes in rs-fMRI-derived degree centrality (DC), functional connectivity (FC), and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF). Secondary outcomes included clinical scale improvements and correlations between imaging metrics and clinical scores.ResultsAfter treatment, the observation group showed significant improvements in MDS-UPDRS-III, MoCA, 10MWT, TUG, and PDQ-39 scores (all p p p p p = 0.043) and negatively correlated with the change (post-treatment minus pre-treatment) in MoCA scores (r = -0.533, p ConclusionAcupuncture treatment was associated with improvements in motor function, walking speed, and cognition in early-stage non-tremor PD, with potential mechanisms involving downregulated precuneus DC/FC and enhanced local activity. Furthermore, the change in right precuneus DC, which correlated significantly with both motor and cognitive improvements, may serve as a potential neuroimaging biomarker for treatment-induced clinical recovery.
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