Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, First People’s Hospital of Chenzhou, Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China.
Acupunct Med. 2012 Dec;30(4):339-45. doi: 10.1136/acupmed-2012-010180. Epub 2012 Sep 12.
To examine whether acupuncture could improve cognitive deficits and reduce the loss of neurons in mice models of ageing.
Male 7.5-month-old senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) and age-matched senescence-resistant inbred strains 1 (SAMR1) were divided into four groups (n=15 per group): SAMP8 acupuncture group (Pa), SAMP8 non-acupuncture point control group (Pn), SAMP8 control group (Pc) and SAMR1 normal control group (Rc). The behaviours were examined by the Morris water maze test and the neuron density in the hippocampus was estimated by the optical fractionator technique.
The Morris water maze test demonstrated that the cognitive deficits of SAMP8 mice were improved by acupuncture treatment. Neuronal loss was found in hippocampal regions CA1 (-24%), CA3 (-18%) and DG (-28%) of Pc compared with Rc. The neuron number in hippocampal CA3 and DG of the Pa group was significantly increased by therapeutic acupuncture compared with the Pc group.
Acupuncture improved the cognitive impairment of middle-aged SAMP8 mice which could be attributed to the reduced neuron loss in hippocampal regions CA3 and DG. These results suggest that reducing neuron loss in the hippocampus by acupuncture is a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and cognitive impairment diseases.
观察针刺是否能改善衰老模型小鼠的认知功能障碍并减少神经元丢失。
将雄性 7.5 月龄快速老化模型 8 号鼠（SAMP8）和同月龄衰老抵抗近交系 1 号鼠（SAMR1）分为 4 组（每组 15 只）：SAMP8 针刺组（Pa）、SAMP8 非穴位对照组（Pn）、SAMP8 对照组（Pc）和 SAMR1 正常对照组（Rc）。通过 Morris 水迷宫试验检测行为，采用光学分束技术估计海马神经元密度。
Morris 水迷宫试验表明，针刺治疗可改善 SAMP8 小鼠的认知功能障碍。Pc 组海马 CA1（-24%）、CA3（-18%）和 DG（-28%）区神经元丢失，与 Rc 相比，Pa 组海马 CA3 和 DG 区神经元数量明显增加。
针刺可改善中年 SAMP8 小鼠的认知障碍，这可能归因于海马 CA3 和 DG 区神经元丢失减少。这些结果表明，通过针刺减少海马神经元丢失可能是治疗阿尔茨海默病和认知障碍疾病的一种潜在治疗方法。
