Effects of electro acupuncture on expression of PKC,Aβ positive cells of the hippocampus in rats with Alzheimer′s disease

Objective To investigate the mechanism of the electro acupuncture for improvement of learning and memory in rats of Alzheimer′s disease(AD).Methods Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into normal group,normal saline group,model group,Western medication group and electro acupuncture group,12 rats in each group.The AD rat model was established by injecting Streptococci(STZ) into lateral cerebral ventricle,except the rats in the normal saline group injecting Normal Saline with the same dose and in normal group with no injection.The electro acupuncture group lasted for 4 courses treatment.The learning and memory ability was assessed by Morris water maze and the expression IOD and positive cells of PKC,Aβ of the hippocampus were determined by immunohistochemistry.Results In EA group,the number of β-amyloid positive hippocampal neurons was greatly reduced and the number of protein kinase C positive hippocampal neurons was greatly increase immunohistochemistry.The electro acupuncture group compared with the model group had statistical significance(P0.05).Conclusions Electro acupuncture can reduce the cerebral β-amyloid sediments and inhibit the brain neuronal apoptosis.Electro-acupuncture can promote the expression of PKC and thereby prevent a decline in learning and memory abilities in AD rats.