Author: Li XL, Fan NX, Meng HZ, Shi MX, Luo D, Zhang NY.
Affiliation: Postgraduate Department of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300193, China ; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Medical School, West China Hospital Sichuan University, 37 Guoxue Xiang, Wuhou District, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China.
Conference/Journal: Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med.
Date published: 2013 May 16
Other:
Volume ID: 10 , Issue ID: 4 , Pages: 186-95 , Word Count: 157
The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and specific effects of acupuncture on ischemic-induced damage in rats after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion. Cerebral ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion in male Wistar rats. The rats were divided into the following 4 groups: normal controls, ischemic, real acupuncture-treated (Shuigou, DU26), and non-acupoint-treated groups. On the third postoperative day, neurological deficit scores, cerebral blood flow, infarction volume, and neuronal cell death counts were measured. In the real acupuncture-treated group, the neurological deficit scores and cerebral blood flow were improved (p < 0.05) and the infarction volume and neuronal cell death counts were reduced (p < 0.01) compared to the ischemic and non-acupoint-treated groups. The present study demonstrated that real acupuncture was effective against focal ischemia-induced damage in rats after middle cerebral artery occlusion, and the effects were specifically related to the right needling location.
KEYWORDS:
animal experimentation, middle cerebral artery occlusion, non-acupoint, real acupoint, specificity
PMID: 24146522