ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the effect of acupuncture on ghrelin,estradiol (E2) and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal osteoporosis rats.Methods According to the random number table method,60 female Sprague-Dawley rats aged 3 months,were randomly divided into surgery group (40 rats) and sham group (20 rats).The osteoporosis model was established by bilateral ovariectomy.Three months after the operation,a significant decrease in BMD of lumbar vertebrae and femur of the model rats as measured by dual energy X-ray absorptionmetry against the sham group indicated successful establishment of the osteoporosis model.Then surgery group was randomly divided into a model subgroup,a acupuncture subgroup and an estrogen subgroup,with 10 rats in each subgroup.The acupuncture subgroup was treated with electroacupuncture,estrogen subgroup with subcutaneous injection of estradiol benzoate,sham group and model subgroup without any treatment.After 3 months of intervention all the rats were sacrificed,BMD of the lumbar vertebrae and femur was measured,ghrelin and E2 were determined.Results Serum ghrelin in acupuncture subgroup (399 pg/ml) and estrogen subgroup (276 pg/ml) were significantly lower (P ＜ 0.01) than that in model subgroup (546 pg/ml); serum E2 in acupuncture subgroup (128.02 pg/ml) and estrogen subgroup (182.89 pg/ml) increased significantly (P ＜ 0.05) than that in model subgroup (72.10 pg/ml) ;lumbar vertebrae BMD in acupuncture subgroup (0.212 g/cm2) and estrogen subgroup (0.231 g/cm2) increased significantly (P ＜ 0.05) than that in model subgroup (0.191 g/cm2),but in acupuncture subgroup the effect on improving the level of E2,ghrelin and lumbar vertebrae BMD was less than that in estrogen subgroup (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Acupuncture intervention can improve lumbar vertebrae BMD and serum E2 level of postmenopausal osteoporosis rat model,down regulate serum ghrelin level,but the overall effect of acupuncture is less than estrogen.