Effect of Acupuncture plus Rehabilitation on Neurologic Deficit and VEGF Protein Expression in Cortex on the Infarction Side in Rats with Focal Cerebral Infarction / 上海针灸杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the effect of acupuncture plus rehabilitation on neurologic deficit and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein in cortex on the infarction side in rats with focal cerebral infarction, and to explore the action mechanism of acupuncture plus rehabilitation in promoting the recovery of impaired function in rats.Method Ninety healthy male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomized into a model group, an acupuncture group, a rehabilitation group, an acupuncture-rehabilitation group, and a sham operation group, and the five groups were further divided into three subgroups, i.e. 3 d, 7 d, and 14 d subgroups, 6 rats in each subgroup. The modified Zea-Longa method was adopted to prepare the model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) on theright side. Rats in the acupuncture group received simulant scalp-points cluster needling; the rehabilitation group was intervened by treadmill exercise; the acupuncture-rehabilitation group was intervened by scalp-points cluster needling plus treadmill exercise; the model group and sham operation group didn't receive any interventions. The modified Neurological Severity Score (mNSS) was adopted to evaluate the rat's neurologic deficit, and Western blotting was used to detect the expression of VEGF protein in cortex on the infarction side.Result Neurologic deficit wasn't found in rats in the sham operation group. After 3-day treatment, the mNSSs in the acupuncture group, rehabilitation group, and acupuncture-rehabilitation group were insignificantly different from the score in the model group (P>0.05), while the differences were statistically significant respectively after 7-day and 14-day treatment (P0.05). After 3-day treatment, the expression of VEGF protein in each treatment group was insignificantly different from that in the model group (P>0.05), while the expression of VEGF protein in each treatment group was significantly higher than that in the model group respectively after 7-day and 14-day treatment (P0.05).Conclusion Scalp-points cluster needling and rehabilitation both can improve the neurologic function in rat models of focal cerebral infarction, and enhance the expression of VEGF protein in infarction cortex, and the integration of acupuncture and rehabilitation can achieve a better result; the action mechanism is possibly related to the high expression of VEGF which can better promote the reconstruction and regeneration of the vessels in cerebral infarction area.