Effect of Electroacupuncture on Nerve Growth Factor Expression in Ischemic Cortex of Rats with Focal Cerebral Ischemia / 广州中医药大学学报

ABSTRACT

[Objective] To observe the protective effect of acupuncture on ischemic cerebral damage. [Methods] SD rats were randomized into 2-week sham-operation (2W-SO) group (n=6) , 5-week sham-operation (5W-SO) group (n =6) , 2-week cerebral-ischemia (2W-CI) group (n-6) , 5-week cerebral-ischemia (5W-CI) group ( n = 6), 2W-CI + electroacupuncture (EA) group (n=6) and 5W-CI + EA group (n=6) . Except the sham-operation groups, cerebral ischemia was induced by heat-occlusion of middle cerebral artery in other groups. Changes of nerve growth factor (NGF) expression were monitored in ischemic cortex of rats with 2-week and 5-week ischemia by immunohistochemical method, and the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) was observed. [Results] Few NGF-positive cells were found in the ischemic cortex of sham-operation groups and the expression of NGF were obvious in cerebral ischemia groups as compared with the sham-operation groups ( P