Effects of electroacupuncture preconditioning on jugular vein glucose level and cerebral edema in rats undergoing cerebral ischemia reperfusion that induced injury.

OBJECTIVE To determine the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) preconditioning on the blood glucose level in jugular vein and water content in brain tissues in rats undergoing cerebral ischemia reperfusion that induced injury. METHODS 90 healthy male Wister rats were randomly assigned to 3 groups: sham-operation (SH) group, cerebral ischemia reperfusion (IR) group and electroacupuncture (EA) preconditioning plus IR group. EA group was pretreated with EA delivered to acupoints of "Baihui" (Du 20) and "Shuigou" (Du 26) 30 min before cerebral ischemia. RESULTS No marked difference was observed in brain water content 2 h after procedure in IR group, SH group and EA group. Compared with SH group, the brain water contents in IR group and EA group were significantly higher 6 h after reperfusion and peaked at 48 h (P < 0.01). The blood glucose levels in EA and IR groups were significantly higher than that of SH group 2 h after reperfusion, which peaked at 6 h and tended to decline up to 24 h after reperfusion (P < 0.01). 2 h, 6 h, and 24 h after reperfusion, EA group had significantly lower blood glucose levels than IR group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION Electroacupuncture preconditioning can significantly inhibit the augmentation of the blood glucose level and attenuate cerebral edema induced by reperfusion, which leads to alleviation of injury caused by ischemia reperfusion.