Objective To evaluate the efficacy of spirit-regulating intelligence-improving acupuncture for vascular dementia. Methods Totally 84 cases of vascular dementia were randomized into a treatment group and a control group

with 42 cases in each. Both groups were given basic treatment. The treatment group was added with spiritregulating intelligence-improving acupuncture. The control group was added with traditional acupuncture. Both groups were treated twice daily and 6 days weekly. The treatment lasted for 4 weeks. The Mini-Mental State Examination（MMSE）

Berg Balance Scale（BBS）

Barthel Index（BI）

Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale（ ADAS-Cog）

Clock Drawing Test（ CDT） and Clinicians ’ Interview-Based Impression of Change-Plus（CIBIC-Plus） were used to evaluate before and after treatment. The TCM syndrome scores were detected and the efficacy of TCM syndrome was evaluated. Results There were significant differences between before and after treatment in the scores of MMSE

BBS

BI

ADAS-Cog

CDT and TCM syndrome in both groups（P < 0. 01）. There were significant differences between groups in the scores of MMSE

BBS

BI

ADAS-Cog

CDT and TCM syndrome after treatment（P < 0. 01）. The total efficacy of TCM syndrome in the treatment group and control group was 88. 10% and76. 19% respectively

with no significant difference between groups（ P > 0. 05）. Conclusion The spiritregulating intelligence-improving acupuncture is superior to traditional acupuncture in improving mental state

cognitive function

capabilities of social behavior

activities of daily living and TCM syndromes of patients with vascular dementia.