Pretreatment with repeated electroacupuncture attenuates transient focal cerebral ischemic injury in rats

• Published in: Chinese medical journal Vol. 116; no. 1; pp. 108 - 111
• Main Author: 熊利泽 路志红 侯立朝 郑恒兴 朱正华 王强 陈绍洋
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China Department of Anesthesiology, Xijing Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China 2003
• Subjects: Animals; Electroacupuncture; Ischemic Attack, Transient - therapy; Male; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; 局灶性短暂性脑缺血损伤; 百会穴; 缺血耐受性; 重复电针; 预处理; ischemic preconditioning; cerebral ischemia,focal; electroacupuncture
• ISSN: 0366-6999; 2542-5641

Objective To investigate whether pretreatment with repeated electroacupuncture(EA)at the Baihui acupoint could induce ischemic tolerance against transient focal cerebral ischemic injury in rats.Methods Thirty male Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were randomlydivided into 3 groups(n=10 for each):the control group consisted of animals receiving no treatment,the isoflurane(ISO)goup had animals that inhaled 1.5?isoflurane for 30 min a day for 5 days,and animals in the EA group received electroacupuncture at the Baihui acupoint for 30 min a day for 5 days under 1.5?isoflurane anesthesia.Twenty-four hours after the last treatment,the middle cerebral artery was occluded with No.3 nylon monofilament for 120 min.The neurological outcomes were evaluated 24 h after reperfusion.The infarct volumes were then assessed using 2?triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining after the neurological outcome evaluation.Results The neurological deficit score(NDS)of the EA group[1(0-2] was lower than that of the ISO group [2(1-3)]and the control group[2(1-4)],P<0.05.The infarct volume of the EA group(38.3±25.4mm^3) was significantly smaller than that of the control group(220.5±66.0mm^3)and the ISO group(168.6±57.6mm^3)24h after reperfusion.Conclusion Electroacupuncture at the Baihui acupoint 30 min a day for 5 days significantly reduces neurological injury induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion.