Abstract
Acupuncture has been used for the enhancement of functional recovery from various disorders including stroke. In the present study, the effects of acupuncture on the c-Fos expression and apoptosis in the hippocampal CA1 region of gerbils following transient global ischemia were investigated via immunohistochemistry for c-Fos and caspase-3 and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Enhanced Fos, TUNEL, and caspase-3 positivities were detected in the hippocampal CA1 region in the ischemic gerbils. Acupunctural treatment suppressed the ischemia-induced increment in the number of Fos-, TUNEL-, and caspase-3-positive cells: the most potent suppressive effect was observed at the Zusanli acupoint. These results suggest that acupunctural treatment alleviates ischemia-induced apoptosis and may aid in the recovery following ischemic cerebral injury.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 5-8 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Neuroscience Letters |
Volume | 347 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 14 2003 |
Keywords
- Acupuncture
- Caspase-3
- Ischemic gerbils
- Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling staining
- Zusanli acupoint
- c-Fos
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience(all)