The Study of Electroacupuncture on Cerebral Blood Flow in Rats With and Without Cerebral Ischemia

Abstract

Electroacupuncture (EA) is widely used to treat disorders of the nervous system, such as stroke. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of EA on cerebral blood flow (CBF) in cerebral ischemic rats. We developed an animal model of cerebral ischemia (CI) by occluding the blood flow of both common carotid arteries in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats; 2 or 15 Hz EA was applied to both Zusanli acupoints. The levels of nitric oxide (NO) in the peripheral blood and amounts of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the cerebral cortex and thalamus were measured. In addition, L-N (G)-nitro arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) was used to measure the changes in CBF induced by EA in rats with and without CI. The results indicated that both 2 and 15 Hz EA increase the mean CBF in rats with and without CI. However, neither 2 nor 15 Hz EA induced changes in levels of NO in peripheral blood or changes in CGRP levels in cerebral cortex and thalamus. In addition, L-NAME did not change the increase in CBF. We concluded that both 2 and 15 Hz EA at both Zusanli acupoints induced the increase of CBF in rats with and without CI. Whether the effect of EA is related to NO or CGRP will be investigated in a future study.

Hippocampal cAMP/PKA/CREB is required for neuroprotective effect of acupuncture

“…For example, the deficits in hippocampal LTP could be reversed by phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors such as rolipram, which raises cAMP levels [16]. Numerous studies have demonstrated that acupuncture at ST36 acupoint possesses a neuroprotective effect by suppressing neuron apoptosis [17,18], improving neural plasticity [19], increasing cerebral blood flow, and improving microcirculation [20] in ischemic rat brains. Our previous work indicated that acupuncture at Tanzhong (CV17), Zhongwan (CV12), Qihai (CV6), Zusanli (ST36) and Xuehai (SP10) could improve cognitive impairment caused by multi-infarct dementia rats [21].…”

Electroacupuncture improves recovery after hemorrhagic brain injury by inducing the expression of angiopoietin-1 and -2 in rats

“…Numerous studies have demonstrated that acupuncture at the Zusanli (ST36) acupoint possesses a neuroprotective effect by suppressing neuron apoptosis [21,22], improving neural plasticity [23], increasing cerebral blood flow, and improving microcirculation [24] in ischemic rat brains. Recently, acupuncture at the Zusanli acupoint has been shown to not only suppress ICH-induced apoptotic neuronal cell death [8] but also accelerate ICH-induced angiogenesis in rats [14].…”

Effect of Electroacupuncture Stimulation of Hindlimb on Seizure Incidence and Supragranular Mossy Fiber Sprouting in a Rat Model of Epilepsy

“…It has been shown that EA of hindlimb possesses a neuroprotective effect in animal models of epilepsy [6] and other animal models of brain disease [24,25]. It is also known that EA of hindlimb markedly improved blood supply and microcirculation in the cerebral tissues, which indicated that EA stimulation of hindlimb could alleviate hypoxia-ischemia-associated neuron loss and thus possess a neuroprotective effect [26,27]. Since supragranular MFS is largely attributed to loss of the gran-ule cells in the dentate gyrus [28], EA stimulation of hindlimb may suppress MFS through its neuroprotective effect, finally contributing to the antiepileptic effect.…”