Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) is a cognitive disorder syndrome primarily caused by cerebrovascular disease and its risk factors. Growing attention has focused on nonpharmacologic interventions, including scalp acupuncture, for VCI management. This review synthesizes current evidence on how scalp acupuncture may regulate inflammatory processes implicated in VCI, and how those effects could translate into neuroprotection and cognitive benefit.
The review summarizes literature indicating that scalp acupuncture can modulate key pro-inflammatory signaling pathways implicated in VCI pathogenesis. By influencing intracellular signal transduction cascades, scalp acupuncture is proposed to suppress excessive production of pro-inflammatory mediators that drive neural injury after cerebrovascular insult. The authors present this pathway-level regulation as a central mechanism for reducing detrimental neuroinflammation in VCI.
One major target described is microglia. The article reports that scalp acupuncture can inhibit excessive activation and pathological polarization of microglia, processes that otherwise amplify neuroinflammation and contribute to neuronal damage. By restraining overactivation and shifting microglial responses away from pro-inflammatory phenotypes, scalp acupuncture is proposed to reduce inflammatory injury within vulnerable brain regions in VCI.
Astrocytes are also highlighted as effectors in the inflammatory milieu of VCI. The review states that scalp acupuncture can regulate astrocyte function, which may influence cytokine release, synaptic support, metabolic coupling, and the local inflammatory environment. Modulation of astrocytic activity is presented as part of a cellular network through which scalp acupuncture can temper harmful inflammatory responses.
The authors emphasize activation of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway as a mechanism by which scalp acupuncture may exert systemic and central anti-inflammatory effects. Engagement of this neural-immune regulatory circuit is described as a route to inhibit excessive inflammation, potentially contributing to improved cognitive outcomes in VCI.
Maintaining the integrity of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) is noted as another mechanism attributed to scalp acupuncture. The review indicates that scalp acupuncture may protect BBB structure and function, thereby limiting peripheral immune cell infiltration and blood-borne inflammatory mediators from entering the brain parenchyma. Preservation of BBB integrity is framed as an important means to reduce secondary inflammatory damage after cerebrovascular injury.
Beyond isolated pathways and cell types, the article discusses scalp acupuncture’s role in restoring balance across the neuro‑endocrine‑immune network. By modulating interactions among neural signaling, endocrine responses, and immune activity, scalp acupuncture is proposed to achieve a systemic re-equilibration that suppresses excessive inflammatory responses implicated in VCI progression.
Collectively, the mechanistic effects summarized—regulation of pro-inflammatory signaling, inhibition of microglial overactivation and polarization, modulation of astrocytes, activation of cholinergic anti-inflammatory signaling, protection of the BBB, and neuro‑endocrine‑immune balancing—are presented as contributing to reduced inflammatory injury, alleviation of neural damage, and delayed progression of VCI. The authors indicate that these mechanisms provide a scientific rationale for scalp acupuncture’s potential therapeutic value in VCI.
The review concludes that scalp acupuncture has multifaceted anti-inflammatory actions relevant to VCI and that these effects may underlie observed cognitive improvements. The authors propose that this body of evidence offers a foundation and reference point for further mechanistic study and for expanding clinical application. Specific experimental details, quantitative effect sizes, or clinical trial protocols were not supplied in the abstract; the full article and referenced studies provide the underlying data and citations. The review is published in Zhen Ci Yan Jiu (2026 Aug 25;51[8]:1097–1105), lists the contributing authors and affiliations, and reports no conflict of interest.
(Notes: Keywords highlighted in the source include inflammatory response, scalp acupuncture, signaling pathway, and vascular cognitive impairment. The review cites a comprehensive reference list to support the mechanistic synthesis.)