针刺耳穴对血管性痴呆大鼠海马Caspase-3表达的影响

Effects of Ear Acupuncturing on the Expression of Caspase-3 of Hippocampus in Vascular Dementia Rats

目的:探讨针刺耳穴对血管性痴呆(VD)大鼠的治疗机制。方法:用四血管阻塞改良法建立VD大鼠模型,造模后针刺"肾"、心"耳穴,用Morris水迷宫检测大鼠平均逃避潜伏期、第Ⅲ象限活动时间和穿越站台次数,免疫组织化学SABC法检测大鼠海马Caspase-3免疫反应阳性细胞表达。结果:针刺耳穴后,VD大鼠学习记忆能力明显提高(P<0.01或P<0.05),海马Caspase-3免疫反应阳性神经元明显减少(P<0.05)。结论:针刺"肾"、"心"耳穴可改善VD大鼠学习记忆能力,其机制可能与Caspase-3表达减少、抑制缺血海马神经细胞的凋亡有关。

Objective： To investigate the mechanism of ear acupuncturing in treating vascular dementia model rats in vivo.Methods： VD rats model were established by the improved method of four-vessel occlusion.After the model establishment,the rats were given acupuncture at ear acupoint ＂Shen＂ and ＂Xin＂ daily.The average escape latency,the swimming time in third quadrant and the times of traversing platform of the experimental animals were assessed through Morris Water Maze behavioral test.The number of caspase-3 positive neurons in the hippocampus was counted by immunohistochemistry SABC method.Results： After acupuncturing ear acupoint ＂Shen＂ and ＂Xin＂,the learning and memory abilities in the VD model rats were improved markedly,and the number of caspase-3 positive neuron was decreased obviously（P〈0.01 or P〈0.05）.Conclusion： Ear acupuncture can improve the learning and memory abilities in the VD model rats,possibly by decreasing the expression of caspase-3 in the hippocampus and inhibiting the apoptosis of hippocampus neurons.