Acupuncture stimulation at specific acupoints improved
cerebral microenvironment and promoted the proliferation and differentiation of
transplanted hippocampal neural stem cells (NSCs) and improved cognitive
function of Alzheimer’s model. It has been reported in journal of Molecular
Neurobiology.
NSCs, with the potential for neural regeneration,
represent a promising clinical strategy for Alzheimer’s. However, under the
influence of the host microenvironment, only few grafted NSCs survive,
proliferate, and differentiate into functional neural cells, which eventually
results in decreased anti-dementia efficacy.
Recently, Dr. Lan Zhao and colleagues in China conducted
a study to evaluate whether acupuncture will improve host microenvironment
grated with NSCs in Alzheimer’s model. Acupuncture stimulation was applied, 24
hrs after hippocampal NSCs transplantation, at CV17, CV12, CV6, and bilateral
ST36 acupoints for 30 s daily for 15 days. Five days after acupuncture, behavioural
tests showed that acupuncture significantly improved cognitive functions
compared with control group. Biochemical studies revealed that acupuncture
markedly increased expression of neurotrophic factors, such as basic fibroblast
growth factor, epidermal growth factor and brain derived neurotrophic factor in
the hippocampal tissues compared with control group, indicating that
acupuncture improved hippocampal microenvironment leading to better survival,
proliferation and differentiation of hippocampal NSCs, resulting in improved
cognitive function.
Reference
Zhao L, et al., Acupuncture
Improves Cerebral Microenvironment in Mice with Alzheimer's Disease Treated
with Hippocampal Neural Stem Cells. Mol Neurobiol. 2016 Aug 24. [Epub ahead of
print] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27558235
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