Effects Of Electroacupuncture With Different Frequency Intensity Waveform Treatment Duration On The Restoration Of Injured Sciatic Nerves In Rats: An Experimental Study

Acupuncture therapy, accepted widely as "green therapy" which is safe, eutherapeutic, economic and convenient, has been largely proved effective on peripheral nerve injury. With respect to probe into the action mechanism and find out the optimal stimulation parameters, we studied the effects of electroacupuncture treatment on injured sciatic nerve in Wistar rats with different frequency, intensity, waveform and treatment duration by using of electron microscope, immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization technique.Model Wistar rats with forceps-injured sciatic nerve were divided at random into electroacupuncture treatment group (including continuous wave group, intermittent wave group, dilatational wave group,2Hz group, 15Hz group,50Hz group,100Hz group, 200circle/min group and 150circle/min group),positive control group (drug treatment), negative group (without any treatment),sham operation group (sciatic nerve not injured). At the very time of 7d, 14d, 28d after treatment each group were studied about the histomorphologic changes ,recovery of nervous function and the expression of GDNF,FGF,IGF GDNFmRNA, CNTFmRNA of injured sciatic nerve and corresponding segmental spinal cord motorneuron.Results showed that: (1)all groups increased the recovery ratio of sciatic function index (SFI) in rats, especially 2Hz, 200circle/min. (2) all groups accelerated the recovery of MNCV of injured nerve, (3) each waveform groups increased recovery ratio of gastrocnemius wet weights in rats at each treatment duration. (4)all groups alleviated injured nerve swelling and degeneration, and promoted synaptic regeneration, (5)all group promote the expression of GDNF, FGF, IGF, GDNFmRNA, CNTFmRNA in injured nerve and corresponding segmental spinal cord, (6)continuous wave group,...