Baihui Point Laser Acupuncture Ameliorates Cognitive Impairment, Motor Deficit, and Neuronal Loss Partly via Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects in an Animal Model of Focal Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

Stroke is recognized as one of the most dangerous killer diseases in Thailand and other countries worldwide. The development of a novel strategy for treating stroke patients is therefore urgently required. The present study investigated the effect of laser acupuncture at the Baihui point on cognitive and functional recovery, neuronal loss, antioxidant enzyme activities, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) activity in the hippocampus in an animal model of focal ischemic stroke. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: sham operation; permanent occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery (Rt.MCAO); Rt.MCAO with sham laser acupuncture; and Rt.MCAO with Baihui point laser acupuncture. Laser acupuncture at the Baihui point and sham acupuncture at a nonacupoint were performed once daily (10 min at each point) for 14 days after Rt.MCAO. Half of the rats in each group were examined to determine neuron density by Cresyl violet staining, while the other half were examined by biochemical assays to measure glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the hippocampus, superoxide dismutase (SOD) in mitochondria and interleukin-6 (IL-6) activity in the hippocampus. Laser acupuncture treatment was found to significantly enhance memory and neuron density in CA1 and CA3. Improved neurological score, improved GSH-Px and SOD activities, and decreased density ratio of IL-6 to β-actin were also observed in the hippocampus. In conclusion, Baihui point laser acupuncture alleviates cognitive impairment and motor deficits via antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in focal ischemic rats. Further study is warranted to investigate other possible mechanisms of action.

Experimental Evidence of the Benefits of Acupuncture for Alzheimer's Disease: An Updated Review

“…In addition, AD animal models show deficits in both synaptic morphological plasticity and synaptic transmission (Guo et al, 2017 ; Chakroborty et al, 2019 ). Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that acupuncture may ameliorate synapse and neuron damage caused by ischemic stroke (Jittiwat, 2019 ), inflammation, oxidative stress (Du et al, 2018 ), and neurodegeneration (Zhao Y. et al, 2019 ). Li et al ( 2012 ) reported that acupuncture reduced neuron loss in the hippocampal CA3 and DG areas in SAMP8 mice and attenuated memory impairments.…”

Study of Neuroprotection by a Combination of the Biological Antioxidant (Eucalyptus Extract) and the Antihypertensive Drug Candesartan against Chronic Cerebral Ischemia in Rats

“…A recent study showed the effect of laser acupuncture to attenuate memory impairment and facilitate recovery by improving neural density in the hippocampus, showing that it had been reduced in number after cerebral ischemia. This is achieved by laser acupuncture stimulation that increases cAMP response element-binding (CREB) activity by reducing the neuronal cell loss at the hippocampus [ 24 ]. Knowing that, after ischemic stroke, it was shown that neurons necrotize in the infarct core; however, in the surrounding region (the penumbra area), they took hours to days to die after ischemia onset, which provides a possible therapeutic target to rescue the injured neurons from autophagy and necrosis.…”

Electroacupuncture on Trigeminal Nerve-Innervated Acupoints Ameliorates Poststroke Cognitive Impairment in Rats with Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion: Involvement of Neuroprotection and Synaptic Plasticity

“…The male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 270 ± 20 g were housed three to four per cage and maintained on a 12 h light/dark cycle at 23°C with water and food available ad libitum. Animals that were dying before the experimental endpoint were replaced to ensure n = 10 each group for quantification according to some previous studies [ 21 , 22 ]. Body weight was monitored during the whole experiment.…”