Electroacupuncture at the Wangu acupoint suppresses expression of inflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus of rats with vascular dementia / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

Objective To examine whether electroacupuncture at the Wangu acupoint (GB 12 ) , whose position is similar to the cerebellar fastigial nucleus ,can reduce inflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus of rats with vascular dementia (VD) to provide theoretical evidence for treating VD with electroacupuncture .Methods Healthy Sprague‐Dawley rats ( n=54 ,300 -450 g) were randomly divided into three groupssham surgery group ,VD group ,and electroacupuncture group .The ethologic scores of VD rats were evaluated and the mRNA expressions of inflammatory cytokines (TNF‐α,IL‐6 and IL‐1β) in the hippocampus were assessed and the hippocampal tissues were observed by hematoxylin‐eosin (HE) staining .Results Compared with VD group ,in electroacupuncture group the rats' learning ability improved significantly and the mRNA expressions of TNF‐α, IL‐6 and IL‐1β decreased . Simultaneously ,the damage extent of nerve cells in the hippocampal tissues decreased , and their morphology recovered to nearly normal .Conclusion Electroacupuncture at the Wangu acupoint can decrease the level of inflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus and reduce the damage extent of nerve cells in the hippocampus ,thus providing a new neuroprotective method for VD .