Behavioral Changes and Hippocampus Glucose Metabolism in APP/PS1 Transgenic Mice via Electro-acupuncture at Governor Vessel Acupoints.
Objective:Investigating the effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) treatment on mice with Alzheimer's disease (AD), using Morris water maze (MWM) for spatial learning and memory behavior tests combined with micro-positron emission tomography (micro-PET) imaging for glucose metabolism in hippocampus.Methods:Thirty seven-month-old APP/PS1 mice were randomly divided into AD Model group (AD group), medicine group (M group) and EA group, C57BL/6 mice were used for Normal control group (N group),n= 10 in each group. Mice in M group received donepezil intervention by gavage with dose at 0.92 mg/kg. EA was applied at Baihui (GV20) and Yintang (GV29) acupoints for 20 min then pricked at Shuigou (GV26) acupoint, while mice in N, M and AD groups were received restriction for 20 min, with all treatment administrated once a day for 15 consecutive days. After the treatment, MWM was performed to observe behavioral changes in mice, then hippocampus glucose metabolism level was tested by micro-PET imaging.Results:Compared with that of AD group, the escape latency of M and EA groups declined significantly (P< 0.01), while the proportion of the platform quadrant swimming distance in total swimming distance showed an obvious increase (P< 0.01), and EA group occupied a higher percentage than that in M group. The micro-PET imaging showed that mice in AD group performed a lower glucose metabolic rate in hippocampus compared with N group (P< 0.01). Both M and EA groups presented a significant higher injected dose compared with AD group (P< 0.01), and the uptake rate of EA group was higher than M group.Conclusion:Both donepezil and EA have therapeutic effects on AD mice. To a certain extent, EA shows a better efficacy in treatment of AD by improving the spatial learning and memory ability, while also enhancing glucose metabolism in hippocampus.
School of Acupuncture Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Beijing, China.
Jin
J
Cao
Department of Rehabilitation in Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine Hangzhou, China.
Yinshan
Y
Tang
School of Acupuncture Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Beijing, China.
Yujie
Y
Li
Institute of Medical Laboratory Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
Kai
K
Gao
Institute of Medical Laboratory Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Beijing, China.
Xudong
X
Shi
School of Acupuncture Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Beijing, China.
Zhigang
Z
Li
Alzheimer’s disease; electro-acupuncture; glucose metabolism; hippocampus; micro-PET