Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2021, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (7): 1252-1257.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.301020

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Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields promote cognitive function and hippocampal neurogenesis of rats with cerebral ischemia

Qiang Gao1, 2, 3, Aaron Leung2, 3, *, Yong-Hong Yang1, 2, 4, Benson Wui-Man Lau4, Qian Wang1, 2, Ling-Yi Liao1, Yun-Juan Xie1, Cheng-Qi He1, 2, *   

  1. 1 Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China;  2 Institute of Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Sichuan University–The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China;  3 Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China;  4 Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
  • Online:2021-07-15 Published:2021-01-07
  • Contact: Aaron Leung, PhD, aaron.leung@polyu.edu.hk; Cheng-Qi He, MD, hxkfhcq@126.com.
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81201513 (to QG).

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Abstract: Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) can improve the learning and memory impairment of rats with Alzheimer’s disease, however, its effect on cerebral ischemia remains poorly understood. In this study, we established rat models of middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion. One day after modeling, a group of rats were treated with ELF-EMF (50 Hz, 1 mT) for 2 hours daily on 28 successive days. Our results showed that rats treated with ELF-EMF required shorter swimming distances and latencies in the Morris water maze test than those of untreated rats. The number of times the platform was crossed and the time spent in the target quadrant were greater than those of untreated rats. The number of BrdU+/NeuN+ cells, representing newly born neurons, in the hippocampal subgranular zone increased more in the treated than in untreated rats. Up-regulation in the expressions of Notch1, Hes1, and Hes5 proteins, which are the key factors of the Notch signaling pathway, was greatest in the treated rats. These findings suggest that ELF-EMF can enhance hippocampal neurogenesis of rats with cerebral ischemia, possibly by affecting the Notch signaling pathway. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Sichuan University, China (approval No. 2019255A) on March 5, 2019. 

Key words: cerebral ischemia, cognitive function, electromagnetic fields, hippocampus, neurogenesis, plasticity, repair, signaling pathway, stroke, rat