Acupuncture Treatment on Cerebral Blood Flow

Cerebrovascular diseases (CVD) and neurodegenerative diseases (NDD) are both leading causes of death in the United States. Epidemiological data have shown that increased prevalence of hypertension is related to these outcomes. However, despite the strong association of poor brain health outcomes in patients with hypertension (HTN), the understanding of cerebral blood flow (CBF) regulation and treatment options for HTN remain limited. Acupuncture treatment (AT), which is considered a promising complementary and integrative modality, has been known to reduce blood pressure and improve endothelial function in HTN. However, very few studies have investigated AT\'s effect on cerebrovascular function and the possible neuroprotective properties directly via regulating HTN. Exercise is used as a stimulus that increases the brain\'s metabolism and requires cerebrovascular responses (vasodilation) to meet the new metabolism. Therefore, the specific aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that an antihypertensive acupuncture treatment can acutely improve cerebrovascular responses in hypertensive humans during moderate exercise.