OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of electroacupuncture on mRNA expression of NGF and IGF-1 in injured nerve. METHODS: Sciatic nerve injury model was established by transection of right side sciatic nerve in 90 male SD rats, which were randomly divided into two groups. The experimental group was treated with electroacupuncture, no treatment in the control group. The distal part of the injured nerve was harvested after 1, 2, 4, 6 and 10 weeks of operation and stored in the liquid nitrogen. The total RNA was extracted by the TRIzol reagent. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) was used to detected the mRNA expression of NGF and IGF-1. RESULTS: The mRNA expression of NGF in the experimental group was increased quickly from the second week, and reached to highest level in the fourth week. It was much higher than that of the control group (P lt; 0.05). Then it began to decline in following time and approximately reached to the level of the first week after 10 weeks of operation. The mRNA expression of IGF-1 in the experimental group was remarkably increased in the second and fourth week, and which was much higher than that of the control group respectively(P lt; 0.05). Although the mRNA expression of IGF-1 after 10 weeks of operation in the experimental group was higher than that of the control group, but there was no significant difference between the two groups(P gt; 0.05). There was linear correlation in the fourth week between mRNA expression of NGF and IGF-1 in the experimental group. CONCLUSION: The mRNA expression of NGF and IGF-1 can be elevated in injured nerve at early stage interfered with electroacupuncture.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture in animal hyperlipidemia models. MethodsDatabases such as CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, CBM, PubMed, EMbase and The Cochrane Library (Issue 12, 2013) were searched for studies concerning the efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture in animal hyperlipidemia models up to December 2013. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of included studies by using reformative CAMARADES List. Then, meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.2 software. ResultsA total of 4 studies involving 89 rats were included. The average score of CAMARADES List was 4. The results of meta-analysis showed that:there were no significant differences between electroacupuncture group and medication group in reducing the levels of TC (MD=0.06, 95%CI -0.08 to 0.20, P=0.40), TG (MD=-0.01, 95%CI -0.08 to 0.06, P=0.74), LDL-C (MD=0.01, 95%CI -0.04 to 0.03, P=0.65) and increasing the level of HDL-C (MD=-0.00, 95%CI -0.09 to 0.08, P=0.93). ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that there are no differences between electroacupuncture and medication in reducing levels of TC, TG, LDL-C and increasing the level of HDL-C in hyperlipidaemia rats. But due to the limitation of sample size of included studies, more large-scale, high quality studies are needed.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of electroacupuncture on the apoptosis of hippocampal neurons in C57BL/6J mice with status epilepticus by observing the changes of hippocampal subtle neuron pathology and apoptosis.MethodsMale C57BL/6J mice were used to prepare epileptic status models of lithium-pilocarpine mice, and then 7-day electroacupuncture stimulation (Baihui, Fengfu) were given to the mice model. Open field experiment and new object recognition experiment were performed to observe the changes of cognitive abilities. The pathological changes of hippocampal neurons were detected by HE staining. Hippocampal apoptosis protein (Caspase-3) and microtubule-associated protein (MAP-2) were detected by immunohistochemistry. Effect of electroacupuncture on apoptosis of hippocampal neurons in C57BL/6J mice with status epilepticus were recorded.Results① Compared with the control group, the vertical movement, modification times, and number of crossings of the model group all decreased significantly (P<0.000 1,P<0.000 1,P<0.000 1), and their cognitive ability decreased significantly (P<0.01). Compared with the model group, vertical movements, modification times, and number of crossings were increased in the electroacupuncture (EA) group (P<0.01,P<0.05,P<0.05), and the cognitive ability of new objects was increased (P<0.01). ② HE staining showed that the model group had significant damage to the hippocampal neurons of mice, and the cells swelled, nuclear collapsed and vacuoles appeared. In the EA group, the injury of hippocampal neurons was alleviated, and cell edema and vacuolization were alleviated. ③ Immunohistochemistry showed that compared with the control group, the IOD of the Caspase-3 positive cells in the hippocampus of the model group increased significantly (P<0.000 1), and the IOD of the MAP-2 positive cells decreased significantly (P<0.01); Compared with the electroacupuncture, the IOD of the Caspase-3 positive cells in the hippocampus of the mice decreased (P<0.05), and the IOD of the MAP-2 positive cells increased (P<0.05).ConclusionsElectroacupuncture can improve the pathological changes of hippocampal neurons in C57BL/6J mice with status epilepticus, promote cytoskeletal repair, reduce neuronal apoptosis in hippocampus, and antagonize the damage of hippocampal neurons induced by status epilepticus.