Effects of electroacupuncture on unaffected limbs at very early stage of cerebral local focus ischemia in rats

Objective:To determine the effects of electroa cupuncture(EA) treatment on unaffected limbs at very early stage of experiment local focus ischemic brain damage in rats.Method:Thirty SD rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) were randomly divided into EA on unaffected limbs group(HT) or affected limbs group(DT), and control group (MC) 10 rats in each group. Another10rats was set as sham operation control group (OC). EA groups received EA on the accupoints of Quchi (LI 11)and Neiguan (PC6) on forelimb, and Zusanli (ST36) and Xiajuxu (ST39) on hindlimb. EA was given with opposing needle(ju ci) method, cross stimulation at left and right side, at 3mA, in cycles of (loose/dense)10Hz:50Hz/5s:10s, 15min per session, once a day, 7 sessions per week. Infarction volume of the brain was calculated by TTCdying and photoshop IPP analyses. Neurological scores were evaluated by modified neurological severity score(mNSS) method at day 3, 7, 14 and 21 post-MCAO.Result:The mNSS scores in HT group was lower than that of MC group at day 3 (P0.05); At day 7 and 14,the scores in both EA groups were lower than that of MC group (P0.01) and also significant differences werefound between both EA groups(P0.01). The mNSS scores in both EA groups were almost returned to the level ofOC group at day 21 and much lower than that of MC group(P0.01). The infarction volume in HT group wasless than that in DT group, while that in both EA groups was lower than that in MC group(P0.05).Conclusion:EA on unaffected limbs at very early stage after stroke had greater beneficial effect in facilitating neurological function recovery and allviating the infarction volume of brain, compared to that on affected limbs.