Tida Jacqueline Atsuko, Catalão Carlos Henrique Rocha, Garcia Camila Araújo Bernardino, Dos Santos Antônio Carlos, Salmon Carlos Ernesto Garrido, Lopes Luiza da Silva
Department of Surgery and Anatomy, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
Department of Neurosciences and Behavioral Sciences, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
Acupunct Med. 2018 Dec;36(6):386-393. doi: 10.1136/acupmed-2017-011515. Epub 2018 Aug 24.
Acupuncture has been associated with improved cerebral circulation, analgesia, neuromodulatory function and neurogenesis. In particular, acupuncture at ST36 has been widely used in several central nervous system (CNS) disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases. However, its effects on hydrocephalus have not been studied. Our aim was to evaluate the effects of acupuncture at ST36 on behaviour, motor development and reactive astrogliosis in infantile rats with hydrocephalus.
Hydrocephalus was induced in sixteen 7-day-old pup rats by injection of 20% kaolin into the cisterna magna. One day after hydrocephalus induction, acupuncture was applied once daily (for 30 min) for a total of 21 days in eight randomly selected animals (HAc group) while the remaining eight remained untreated (H group). An additional eight healthy animals were included as controls (C group). All animals were weighed daily and, from the fifth day after hydrocephalus induction, underwent MRI to determine the ventricular ratio (VR). Rats were also exposed to modified open-field tests every 3 days until the end of the experiment. After 21 days all the animals were euthanased and their brains removed for histology and immunohistochemistry.
Hydrocephalic rats showed an increase in VR when compared with control rats (P<0.01). In addition, these animals exhibited delayed weight gain, which was attenuated with acupuncture treatment. Hydrocephalic animals treated with acupuncture performed better in open field tests (P<0.05), and had a reduction in reactive astrocyte cell density in the corpus callosum and external capsule, as assessed by GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) immunohistochemistry (P<0.05).
These findings indicate that acupuncture at ST36 has a neuroprotective potential mediated, in part, by inhibition of astrogliosis.
针灸与改善脑循环、镇痛、神经调节功能和神经发生有关。特别是，足三里穴（ST36）针刺已广泛应用于多种中枢神经系统（CNS）疾病，包括神经退行性疾病。然而，其对脑积水的影响尚未得到研究。我们的目的是评估针刺ST36对脑积水幼鼠行为、运动发育和反应性星形胶质细胞增生的影响。
通过向16只7日龄幼鼠的小脑延髓池注射20%高岭土诱导脑积水。在诱导脑积水后一天，对随机选择的8只动物（HAc组）每天进行一次针刺（持续30分钟），共21天，而其余8只未接受治疗（H组）。另外8只健康动物作为对照（C组）。每天称取所有动物的体重，从诱导脑积水后的第五天开始，进行MRI检查以确定脑室比率（VR）。每隔3天对大鼠进行改良旷场试验，直至实验结束。21天后，对所有动物实施安乐死并取出大脑进行组织学和免疫组织化学检查。
与对照大鼠相比，脑积水大鼠的VR增加（P<0.01）。此外，这些动物体重增加延迟，针刺治疗可使其减轻。针刺治疗的脑积水动物在旷场试验中表现更好（P<0.05），并且通过胶质纤维酸性蛋白（GFAP）免疫组织化学评估，胼胝体和外囊中的反应性星形胶质细胞密度降低（P<0.05）。
这些发现表明，针刺ST36具有神经保护潜力，部分是通过抑制星形胶质细胞增生介导的。
