[Systematic review and mechanistic exploration of "intelligence three-needling" in treatment of Alzheimer's disease].

The "intelligence three-needling" therapy, developed by Professor JIN Rui, the eminent acupuncture- moxibustion master in the south of Five Ridges, is effective on cognitive dysfunction in practice. The paper reviews the animal experiment researches of Alzheimer's disease (AD) treated with this therapy, aiming to explain its core mechanism and effect characteristics for AD. The results showed that the "intelligence three-needling" therapy exerts its effect through multiple targets and diverse pathways. It improves cholinergic system function, enhances glucose metabolism in brain regions, reduces oxidative stress damage, suppresses neuroinflammation, regulates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, promotes autophagy-lysosomal clearance of pathological proteins, activates the transmembrane receptor protein (Notch) pathway to strengthen synaptic plasticity, demonstrates neuroprotective and anti-apoptotic effects, and modulates gut microbiota. In experiments, this therapy demonstrated specific effect in brain regions of 5xFAD mouse models. Compared with the single application at "Benshen" (GB13) or "Shenting" (GV24), the acupoint combination in this therapy displayed the synergistic advantages, regulating more comprehensively adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK)/protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase network. This review provides the theoretical basis for optimizing the protocol of acupuncture and moxibustion for AD, and is conducive to promoting the deep integration of traditional acupuncture-moxibustion therapy with modern neuroscience.