title: [Effect of pre-electroacupuncture at "Zusanli" (ST 36) on DA and 5-HT contents and their ratio in hypothalamus and striatum in exercise rats].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To observe anti-fatigue effect and mechanisms of pre-electroacupuncture (EA) at "Zusanli" (ST 36) in rats undergoing acute treadmill running.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups: a quiet group (group Q, n = 10), a model group (group M, n = 20) and an EA preconditioning group (group EAP, n = 20). After adaptation for undergoing treadmill running, all the rats in group M and group EAP were trained on acute treadmill running. Besides, EA with continuous waves, 2 Hz in frequency and 2 mA in intensity was applied at bilateral "Zusanli" (ST 36) for 30 min, which was applied once daily for continuous 6 days before treadmill running for the rats in Group EAP. Plasma lactate contents were measured immediately and 3 hours after treadmill running, respectively. Changes of dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) contents obtained immediately and 3 hours after treadmill running, respectively, in hypothalamus and striatum, were detected and compared, and DA/5-HT ratios were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with group Q, the levels of blood lactate and hypothalamic 5-HT tented to increase in rats of group M, and the contents of hypothalamic DA increased significantly (P < 0.01), while the contents of striatal DA and 5-HT in group M decreased significantly (both P < 0.01) at 3 h after treadmill running. Immediately after treadmill running, the contents of DA and 5-HT increased significantly in hypothalamus (both P < 0.01), but decreased significantly in striatum (both P < 0.01) in group EAP, compared with those in group M. Moreover, EA pretreatment markedly decreased the levels of blood lactate (P < 0.05) and hypothalamic 5-HT (P < 0.01), and obviously elevated the ratio of DA/5-HT in the hypothalamus (P < 0.01) at 3 h after treadmill running.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preventive EA at "Zusanli" (ST 36) can accelerate recovery from fatigue, which may be related to its reducing accumulation of blood lactate, elevating DA/ 5-HT ratio in the hypothalamus of the rats undergoing treadmill running.
authors.affiliation: The Third Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Cun-Xin
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jian-Qiao
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Xiao-Mei
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.forename: Xiao-Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Ying
mesh_terms: D015669:Acupuncture Points; D000818:Animals; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D015671:Electroacupuncture; D015444:Exercise; D005221:Fatigue / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin; D004298:Dopamine