The Effect Of Acupuncture On Hypothalamic Monoamine Neurotransmitters Of Rats In Perimenopausal Depression Model

Objective: With the purpose of deepening the understanding of changing mechanismof brain function in perimenopausal depression, exploring the mechanism of tonifying thekidney with acupuncture, providing the foundation for the theory and clinical applicationof treating the perimenopausal depression and promoting the application of traditionalChinese medicine on prevention and treatment of depression further, this study is toobserve the changing of general condition in rats which were made into the complexmodels of perimenopausal depression with both ovariectomy and chronic unpredictablemild stress and to research the influence of monoamine neurotransmitters like NE,5-HTand DA from the hypothalamus of rats in perimenopausal depression by tonifying thekidney with acupuncture under the guidance of the theory in traditional Chinese medicine.Methods:1.Build complex models of perimenopausal depression with bothovariectomy and CUMS, and then make an evaluation to estrous cycle.2.The castrated ratswere divided into5groups, which are acupuncture group, medicine group, stress group, nostress group and sham-operation group. The rats in the acupuncture group were giventonifying the kidney with acupuncture, choosing baihui(DU20), sanyinjiao(SP6) andshenshu(BL23), and the ones in the medicine group were given nilestriol and fluoxetine.Both treatment lasted for21days.3.Measure the weight of rats in every group separatelybefore modeling,7days after modeling,14days after modeling,7days after the treatment,14days after the treatment and21days after the treatment. Test the content of NE,5-HTand DA in the hypothalamus of rats with enzyme immunoassay.Results:1.There was no change to the estrous cycle from smears of vaginal cells for5constant days after the ovariectomy.2.There was no obvious difference on the weight ofrats among all the groups. By comparing the weight of rats14days and21days after the treatment, there was significant difference(P<0.05,P<0.01). The weight of rats in theacupuncture and medicine groups descended obviously(P<0.01), and it decreased moreslowly in the acupuncture group than that in the medicine group.3.Both acupuncture andmedicine could increase monoamine neurotransmitters in the hypothalamus of rats indifferent degree, and it had more advantage to improve the5-HT and DA in hypothalamusin the acupuncture group than that in the medicine group, but there was no significantdifference between two groups(P>0.05).Conclusion:1.It’s successful to make rats into depression models with CUMS. Therats models in perimenopausal depression can be made on the basis of ovariectomy andCUMS.2.Depression is easier to happen during perimenopause.3.Tonifying the kidneywith acupuncture therapy can improve the effect on model rats in perimenopausaldepression, and tonifying the kidney is the core principles of treatment to prevent and treatperimenopausal depression in traditional Chinese medicine.4.Both acupuncture andmedicine have effect on rats in perimenopausal depression, and they have similarmechanism, which can play a therapeutic role by regulating the monoamineneurotransmitter in hypothalamus, while acupuncture is superior to medicine.