Li Ce, Zhang Tingting, Yu Kewei, Xie Hongyu, Bai Yulong, Zhang Li, Wu Yi, Wang Nianhong
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, WuLuMuQi Middle Road 12, Shanghai, China.
Acupuncture and Tuina College, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1200 Cailun Road, Shanghai, China.
Acupunct Med. 2017 Oct;35(5):360-365. doi: 10.1136/acupmed-2016-011148. Epub 2017 May 23.
Acupuncture is a traditional method that has been widely used in various fields of medicine with therapeutic effect. However, evidence of effectiveness to support the application of electroacupuncture (EA) during the process of ischaemia is scarce.
To investigate dynamic changes in hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α expression as well as its association with neurological status in rats subjected to acute ischaemic stroke and EA intervention.
Forty adult male rats were randomly divided into three groups that received sham surgery (Control group, n=10) or underwent middle cerebral artery occlusion and EA (MCAO+EA group, n=15) or minimal acupuncture as a control treatment (MCAO+MA group, n=15). The rats in the MCAO+EA and MCAO+MA groups received EA or acupuncture without any electrical current, respectively, during 90 min of ischaemia. Rats in the Control group received the same surgical procedure but without MCAO. EA involved electrical stimulation of needles inserted into the quadriceps at 50 Hz frequency and 3 mA current intensity. Neurological status was evaluated on postoperative day 1, and cerebral infarction volume (IV) and HIF-1α expression 24 hours later.
Neurological scores were improved and cerebral IV was decreased in the MCAO+EA group compared to the MCAO+MA group (both p<0.05). Moreover, HIF-1α expression was higher in the MCAO+EA group versus the MCAO+MA group (p<0.05).
EA enhanced recovery of neurological function, decreased cerebral IV and increased HIF-1α expression in ischaemic rats. Further research is needed to determine whether EA is effective for stroke treatment through the stimulation of muscle contraction.
针灸是一种传统方法，已在医学各个领域广泛应用且具有治疗效果。然而，支持在缺血过程中应用电针（EA）的有效性证据稀缺。
研究急性缺血性脑卒中及电针干预大鼠缺氧诱导因子（HIF）-1α表达的动态变化及其与神经功能状态的关系。
40只成年雄性大鼠随机分为三组，分别接受假手术（对照组，n = 10）或大脑中动脉闭塞及电针治疗（MCAO + EA组，n = 15）或最小针刺作为对照治疗（MCAO + MA组，n = 15）。MCAO + EA组和MCAO + MA组的大鼠在缺血90分钟期间分别接受电针或无电流的针刺。对照组大鼠接受相同手术操作但不进行MCAO。电针包括以50Hz频率和3mA电流强度刺激插入股四头肌的针。在术后第1天评估神经功能状态，并在24小时后评估脑梗死体积（IV）和HIF-1α表达。
与MCAO + MA组相比，MCAO + EA组神经评分改善，脑IV降低（均p < 0.05）。此外，MCAO + EA组HIF-1α表达高于MCAO + MA组（p < 0.05）。
电针可促进缺血大鼠神经功能恢复，降低脑IV并增加HIF-1α表达。需要进一步研究以确定电针是否通过刺激肌肉收缩对中风治疗有效。
