title: Acupuncture improves cognitive deficits and increases neuron density of the hippocampus in middle-aged SAMP8 mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether acupuncture could improve cognitive deficits and reduce the loss of neurons in mice models of ageing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male 7.5-month-old senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) and age-matched senescence-resistant inbred strains 1 (SAMR1) were divided into four groups (n=15 per group): SAMP8 acupuncture group (Pa), SAMP8 non-acupuncture point control group (Pn), SAMP8 control group (Pc) and SAMR1 normal control group (Rc). The behaviours were examined by the Morris water maze test and the neuron density in the hippocampus was estimated by the optical fractionator technique.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Morris water maze test demonstrated that the cognitive deficits of SAMP8 mice were improved by acupuncture treatment. Neuronal loss was found in hippocampal regions CA1 (-24%), CA3 (-18%) and DG (-28%) of Pc compared with Rc. The neuron number in hippocampal CA3 and DG of the Pa group was significantly increased by therapeutic acupuncture compared with the Pc group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Acupuncture improved the cognitive impairment of middle-aged SAMP8 mice which could be attributed to the reduced neuron loss in hippocampal regions CA3 and DG. These results suggest that reducing neuron loss in the hippocampus by acupuncture is a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and cognitive impairment diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, First People’s Hospital of Chenzhou, Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Guomin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xuezhu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Xuemei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jianchun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Jingxian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000375:Aging; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D003071:Cognition; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology*