Effect and mechanism of electroacupuncture preconditioning on postoperative cognitive function in aged rats / 实用医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the effect of electroacupuncture pretreatment on cognitive function in aged rats and its possible mechanism. Methods 60 healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups(n =20):control group (group C),simple operation group (S group),operation + electroacupuncture stimulation group (E Group),E group in the preoperative electroacupuncture stimulation Baihui、Neiguan、Qu pool and Zusanli,1 d,continuous stimulation 7 d. Group S and E were treated with hepatic ischemia-reperfusion. The water maze test (MWN)was performed at 1d before operation and 1,3,5 d and 7 d after operation,and the escape latency and swimming distance were recorded. The expression of Wnt protein ,β-catenin and phosphorylated glycogen synthase kinase-3β(p-GSK-3β) in cerebrospinal fluid were measured. Results Compared with group C ,the escape latency and swimming distance were significantly prolonged in group S and E at 1-7d(P<0.05),and the contents of Aβand p-tau-181 in S and E group were increased(P<0.05),the contents of Wnt protein,β-catenin protein and p-GSK-3β protein in group E were significantly increased (P < 0.05),and the contents of Wnt protein ,β-catenin and p-GSK-3βprotein in group S were significantly decreased(P<0.05);Compared with group S,the escape latency and swimming distance were significantly shortened in group E (P < 0.05),the levels of Aβ and p-tau-181 protein in group E were decreased(P<0.05),and Wnt protein andβ-catenin protein in group E were significantly lower than those in group E (P < 0.05),and p-GSK-3β protein were significantly increased (P <0.05). Conclusion Pretreatment with electroacupuncture can significantly improve the cognitive function of aged rats,the mechanism may be related to the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.