Objective: To explore the mechanisms of scalp acupuncture in treating cerebral ischemia in rats.
Methods: Sixty SD rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) were randomly divided into untreated group and scalp acupuncture group. The scalp acupuncture was performed by inserting needles from Baihui (GV20) to Qubin (GB7), and the scalp was stabbed through 0.5 to 0.8 cun with a 30 degree angle. After a Han's Electro-Acupuncture Apparatus was connected, we selected "disperse-dense" wave and alternated frequency of 2 Hz and 100 Hz at an intensity level of 2 mA, 30 min once daily. Another 10 SD rats without artery occlusion were taken as sham-operated control. Neurological severity score (NSS), hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were applied to observing the changes of neurofunctional defect, the inflammatory infiltration in cerebral tissue and the contents of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) and transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) in brain tissues after 24-, 48- and 72-hour reperfusion.
Results: There were significant differences in NSS between the scalp acupuncture group and the untreated group (P<0.05, P<0.01) after 24-, 48- and 72-hour reperfusion, especially after 72-hour reperfusion. HE staining results of ischemic cerebral tissues showed an apparent reduction of inflamed lesions in the scalp acupuncture group as compared with the untreated group, especially after 72-hour reperfusion. The contents of COX-2 and NF-kappaB after reperfusion in the scalp acupuncture group were significantly lower than those in the untreated group in 24, 48 and 72 h (P<0.01, P<0.05), and the contents of TGF-beta1 in scalp acupuncture group were significantly higher than those in the untreated group after 24-, 48- and 72-hour reperfusion (P<0.01).
Conclusion: Scalp acupuncture can attenuate cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, improve neurofunctional rehabilitation and suppress leukocyte infiltration in rats by decreasing the contents of COX-2 and NF-kappaB and enhancing TGF-beta1 expression in brain tissues.