Effect of Electroacupuncture on Cerebral Ischemia: Earlier Application,Better Protection

Objective:To observe if an earlier application of electroacupuncture (EA) leads to a better protection against cerebral ischemia.Methods:Adult rats were subjected to right middle cerebral artery

Objective： To observe if an earlier application of electroacupuncture （EA） leads to a better protection against cerebral ischemia. Methods： Adult rats were subjected to right middle cerebral artery occlusion （MCAO） for 1 h, followed by 24-hour reperfusion. EA was delivered to Baihui （GV 20） and Shuigou （GV 26） for 30 min before MCAO （EA before MCAO, EBM）, or starting at 5 minutes after the onset of MCAO （EA during MCAO, EDM） and after 5 min of reperfusion （EA after MCAO, EAM）. Results： The results showed that MCAO decreased the blood flow by 85%, resulting tissue infarction （33.3%±5.4% of the whole brain）, neurological deficit （scales=5-7） and animal death （16%）. EBM slightly reduced the brain infarction and the neurological deficit with no animal death. EDM led to the best protective effect with the infarct volume being reduced to only 3.9%±1.2% （P 〈0.01 vs. MCAO alone or EBM） and neurological deficit scale, to 0.5 degree （P〈0.01）. In EAM group, the brain infarction was slightly reduced （24.5% ±6.4%, P〈0.05 vs. MCAO alone） and neurological deficit scale was decreased from 6 to 4 degrees （P〈0.05） with a death rate of 8.3%. In the MCAO brains, the blood flow was constantly low during MCAO and in the initial period of reperfusion. In the EBM group, the blood flow rapidly increased after MCAO though EA stimulation did not influence the blood flow before and during MCAO.