title: [Effects of acupuncture at "Zusanli" (ST 36) on cerebral proinflammatory cytokine and plasma neuron specific enolase in septic rats].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore protective effects of acupuncture at "Zusanli" (ST 36) on cerebral tissue in rats with sepsis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) was applied to duplicate the rat model of sepsis. According to random number table, thirty SD rats were divided into a sepsis model group (group A), a sepsis model plus electroacupuncture (EA) group (group B), and a sepsis model plus non-acupoint EA group (group C), ten rats in each one. EA with the same frequency and intensity at "Zusanli" (ST 36) and non-acupoint (0.5 cm laterally to "Zusanli") for 30 min was applied in the group B and group C, respectively. No treatment was given in the goup A. 6 hours after CLP, blood was acquired from abdominal aorta to measure the levels of neuron specific enolase (NSE). Then the rats were sacrificed by abdominal aorta exsanguination to take their cerebral tissue for measuring the levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six hours after CLP, the level of NSE was (3.51 +/- 0.39) ng/mL in group B, which was significantly lower than (7.72 +/- 0.64) ng/mL in group A (P<0.05). The level of NSE was (8.02 +/- 0.72) ng/mL in the group C, which had no statistical significance with group A (P>0.05). The levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6 in cerebral tissue in group B were significantly lower than that of group A and C (all P>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EA at "Zusanli" (ST 36) has certain protective effect on septic rat's brain, which has some relationship with decreasing levels of cerebral tissue proinflammatory cytokine and plasma NSE. EA at non-acupoint has no the same action.
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ming-Hua
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Xian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D015669:Acupuncture Points; D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase / Q000276:immunology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018805:Sepsis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase