Effects of Pretreatment with a Combination of Melatonin and Electroacupuncture in a Rat Model of Transient Focal Cerebral Ischemia

Abstract

Both melatonin and electroacupuncture (EA) have been suggested to be effective treatments against stroke. However, it is unknown whether a combination of these two therapies could be beneficial against transient focal cerebral ischemia. The present study investigated the effects of pretreatment of a combination of melatonin and EA in a rat model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). After pretreatment of melatonin plus EA (MEA), transient MCAO was induced for 90 minutes in male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. The neurological deficit score, brain infarct volume, cerebral edema ratio, neuronal inflammation, and apoptosis were evaluated 24 hours after transient MCAO. The expression of related inflammatory and apoptotic mediators in the brain was also investigated. The results showed that MEA improved neurological outcome, reduced brain infarct volume, and inhibited neuronal inflammation as well as apoptosis 24 hours after transient MCAO. The beneficial effects may derive from downregulation of proinflammatory and proapoptotic mediators and upregulation of antiapoptotic mediators. Thus, these results suggest a preventive effect of pretreatment of MEA on transient focal cerebral ischemia.

Electroacupunctre improves motor impairment via inhibition of microglia-mediated neuroinflammation in the sensorimotor cortex after ischemic stroke

“…Accumulating evidences have demonstrated that EA can alleviate the inflammatory responses in the cerebral ischemia and reperfusion [24,[45][46]. The present study found that EA at the LI 11 and ST 36 for 3 consecutive days attenuated inflammatory cells infiltration into the ischemic core and the surrounding area.…”

Mechanisms Involved in the Neuroprotection of Electroacupuncture Therapy for Ischemic Stroke

“…EA of 2 Hz combined with melatonin may exert a neuroprotective effect against apoptosis by improving neurological deficits and infarcted volume, elevating B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and decreasing Bcl2-associated X protein(Bax) (Liu and Cheung, 2013). EA with 5–20 Hz for 30 min once daily at Baihui (DU20) and Shenting (DU24) may enhance Bcl-2 at both protein and mRNA level, phosphorylated-CREB at the protein level, and the activity of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase in the hippocampus of rats after ischemic stroke (Lin et al, 2015a).…”

“…Wang et al suggest that the mRNA levels of Il6st/Gp130, Cntfr and Lifr were significantly elevated following EA treatment, demonstrating that the IL-6 type cytokines exert a crucial effect in chronic or subacute phases of ischemic stroke following multiple EA interventions (Wang et al, 2014). The combination of EA 2 Hz and melatonin induced an inhibitory effect on COX-2 and TNF-α, playing a key role in neuroprotective effect to alleviate cerebral infarct volume and neurological deficit following ischemic stroke (Liu and Cheung, 2013). Scalp acupuncture may improve ischemic brain injury and inhibit cytokine-mediated inflammation via inhibiting leukocyte infiltration, prompting neurofunctional recovery, downregulating the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α and elevating IL-10 expression in rats (Zhang et al, 2007).…”

Melatonin attenuates microglial activation and improves neurological functions in rat model of collagenase-induced intracerebral hemorrhage

“…Rats were assessed for their neurobehavioral performance using the neurological deficit scores (NDS) system before and after ICH induction. The procedures of assessing animals' neurobehavior using NDS system have been described in the previous study (41) and used in other published studies (38)(39)(40). Briefly, rats were scored based on their performance in different neurobehavioral tests, including spontaneous-activity test, floor-walking test, tail-raising test, limb-placing tasks and beam-balance test (Supplementary materials).…”