Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2014, Vol. 9 ›› Issue (9): 968-972.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.133148

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Acupuncture and moxibustion reduces neuronal edema in Alzheimer’s disease rats

Hua Zhou, Guojie Sun, Lihong Kong, Yanjun Du, Feng Shen, Shuju Wang, Bangguo Chen, Xiaoling Zeng   

  1. Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
  • Received:2014-03-12 Online:2014-05-20 Published:2014-05-20
  • Contact: Guojie Sun, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430061, Hubei Province, China, sunguojie@sina.com.
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30772837; the Wuhan Municipal “Morning Sun” Science and Technology Plan, No. 200850731347.

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Abstract:

To examine the possible correlation of aberrant Wnt signaling and pathological changes in Alzheimer’s disease, we established a rat model of Alzheimer’s disease and measured axin and β-catenin expression in the hippocampus. Rats were pretreated with moxibustion or electroacupuncture, or both, at Baihui (GV20) and Shenshu (BL23). Axin expression was lower, β-catenin expression was greater, and neuronal cytoplasmic edema was visibly prevented in the rats that had received the pretreatments. Our results suggest that the mechanism underlying the neuroprotective effect of acupuncture and moxibustion in Alzheimer’s disease is associated with axin and β-catenin expression in the Wnt signal transduction pathway.

Key words: nerve regeneration, brain injury, acupuncture and moxibustion, pretreatment, Alzheimer’s disease, axin, β-catenin, NSFC grant, neural regeneration