Observation-treatment-and-Study-mechanism Of Accupuncture On Spinal Cord Injury In Rat

Background:The treatment of spinal cord injury(SCI) is a difficult point in clinical medicine field nowadays.Although hundreds of medical scholars has made great efforts and explored in this field.But still can not find a way to completely cure the disease.With the development of technology,especially for in-depth study of various stem cells,we have got a new idea to treat such diseases.Some researchers found that:Endogenous neural stem cells(ENSCs) have an important role on the repairment of SCI.As we all know:acupuncture treatment has a significant effect on SCI,but the mechanism is not clear. Some of them suggest that acupuncture can promote the expression of Neurotrophic Factors(NTFs),such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF) and nerve growth factor(NTF). And some NTFs, such as BDNF and basic fibroblast growth factor(bFGF),are found can promote proliferation of ENSCs in other studies.So we envision:acupuncture treatment can,through the way that promoting the proliferation of ENSCs and directionally inducing them to differentiate into neurons,repair the injured spinal cord and reconstruct the nerve function.Objective:Observe the effect of acupuncture on spinal cord injury and to explore the mechanism of spinal cord injuryMethod:25 SD rats were randomly divided into three groupsrthe normal control group(group A,n=5),the spinal cord injury group(group B,n=10) and acupuncture treatment group after spinal cord injury(group C,n=10).The spinal cord of the rats wasn't injuried in group A,but in group B and group C the spinal cord injury was made by improved Allen's method.The rats in group B were mot given any treatment,while the animals in group C received acupuncture treatment once per day.The rats were killed two weeks later and the samples were taken from the region which has rostral and caudal levels.And the length from both of the two levels to the center injure was 5 mm.The expression of Nesting Brd,NSE and GFAP was analysed by immunohistochemistry in the samples. Before taking the samples, the rats were made BBB score and neurological examinations.Result:Both of the expresstion of Nestin and Brdu in group C was more than the expression in group B(P<0.05).The expresstion of NSE in group C was more than the expresstion in group B(P<0.05).The expresstion of GFAP in group B was more than that in group C(P<0.05).The rats in group C get high scores and significant recovery of neurological function.Conclusion:Acupuncture can activate endogenous neural stem cells after SCI in rat and has its role in promoting recovery of neurological function.