Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2021, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (7): 1229-1234.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.301018

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Transcranial pulse current stimulation improves the locomotor function in a rat model of stroke

Wen-Jing Wang1, 2, #, Yan-Biao Zhong1, #, Jing-Jun Zhao2, 3, #, Meng Ren2, Si-Cong Zhang1, 2, Ming-Shu Xu4, Shu-Tian Xu2, Ying-Jie Zhang4, Chun-Lei Shan1, 2, *   

  1. 1 Center of Rehabilitation, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China;  2 School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China;  3 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan Province, China;  4 Laboratory of Neurobiology, Shanghai Research Institute of Acupuncture and Meridian, Shanghai, China
  • Online:2021-07-15 Published:2021-01-07
  • Contact: Chun-Lei Shan, PhD, shanclhappy@163.com.
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China, No. 2018YFC2001600 (to CLS); the Shanghai Health Commission Accelerated the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine Three-Year Action Plan Project, No. ZY(2018-2020)-CCCX-2001-06/2004-05 (to CLS); the Program of Shanghai Academic Research Leader, No. 19XD1403600 (to CLS); and the National Natural Science Foundation of China for the Youth Project, No. 81704163 (to JJZ).

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Abstract: Previous studies have shown that transcranial pulse current stimulation (tPCS) can increase cerebral neural plasticity and improve patients’ locomotor function. However, the precise mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. In the present study, rat models of stroke established by occlusion of the right cerebral middle artery were subjected to tPCS, 20 minutes per day for 7 successive days. tPCS significantly reduced the Bederson score, increased the foot print area of the affected limbs, and reduced the standing time of affected limbs of rats with stroke compared with that before intervention. Immunofluorescence staining and western blot assay revealed that tPCS significantly increased the expression of microtubule-associated protein-2 and growth-associated protein-43 around the ischemic penumbra. This finding suggests that tPCS can improve the locomotor function of rats with stroke by regulating the expression of microtubule-associated protein-2 and growth-associated protein-43 around the ischemic penumbra. These findings may provide a new method for the clinical treatment of poststroke motor dysfunction and a theoretical basis for clinical application of tPCS. The study was approved by the Animal Use and Management Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China (approval No. PZSHUTCM190315003) on February 22, 2019. 

Key words: motor function, neural plasticity, non-invasive brain stimulation, protection, repair, stroke, transcranial pulse current stimulation