Electroacupuncture is protective to the blood-brain barrier in rabbit with acute cerebral infarction / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe whether electroacupuncture (EA) is protective to the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in rabbits with acute cerebral infarction and explore the underlying mechanisms. Methods Eighty rabbits were used in this study. After establishing the acute cerebral infarction rabbit model,all the animals were randomly allocated to a model group and an EA group. The acupoint "Bai Hui" and "Shui Gou" in Du meridian in the rabbits of the experimental group were stimulated by EA. The content of ANP,cAMP and cGMP was examined. Results Compared with the model group,the content of ANP in blood plasma and cAMP in brain tissue of the EA group significantly increased,while the content of cGMP decreased,the ratio cAMP/cGMP increased nearly to the normal level. Conclusion The EA exerted protective effect and promoted repair of BBB in rabbits with acute cerebral infarction,which might be modulated by the changes of the content of ANP in blood plasma and cAMP,cGMP in brain tissue.