Effect of Electroacupuncture at“Shenting”and “Baihui”Points on Cognitive Function of Injuried Rats with Cerebral Ischemia Reperfusion

Objective:To observe the efficacy of treatment by using electroacupunctrue at Shenting andBaihuipoints on the cognitve disorder of rat models with cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury.Methods:The male SD rats were randomly divided into the sham operation group,ischemia control group and electroacupuncture group,using rat models with focal cerebral ischemia / reperfusion( I / R) injury.We evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of electroacupuncture against post-stroke cognitive impairment with the Morris water maze and the step down test.TTC staining was used to observe the effect of the cerebral infarct volume,pathomorphism of the brain.Results:Rats in sham operation group did not show any manifestation of neurological deficits,whereas all rats in both ischemia control and electroacupuncture groups displayed obvious signs of cerebral injury( P 0.05).In the Morris water maze test the latency and route for rats in the ischemic group reached the hidden platform markedly increased,whereas the time that rats crossed the location of the platform was significantly decreased in the 9th day after MCAO( P 0.05),indicating that cerebral I / R injury resulted in cognitive impairment.However,electroacupuncture significantly decreased the latency and route and increased the time of crossing the area which the platform located in Morris water maze test( P 0.05).Collectively,these data suggested that electroacupuncture at Shentingand Baihuicould ameliorate cognitive impairment in cerebral I / R injured rats.TTC staining showed that electroacupuncture treatment profoundly reduced cerebralinfarct volumes in I / R injured rats( P 0.05).Conclusion:Electroacupuncture at Shentingand Baihuican improve the cognitive function and has a protective effect on cerebral ischemia reperfusion injured rats.