Electroacupuncture ameliorate learning and memory by improving N-acetylaspartate and glutamate metabolism in APP/PS1 mice

Abstract

ObjectiveTo explore the precise mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) to delay cognitive impairment in Alzheimer disease.MethodsN-Acetylaspartate (NAA), glutamate (Glu) and myoinositol (mI) metabolism were measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy, learning and memory of APP/PS1 mouse was evaluated by the Morris water maze test and the step-down avoidance test, neuron survival number and neuronal structure in the hippocampus were observed by Nissl staining, and BDNF and phosphorylated TrkB detected by Western blot.ResultsEA at DU20 acupuncture significantly improve learning and memory in behavioral tests, up-regulate NAA, Glu and mI metabolism, increase the surviving neurons in hippocampus, and promote the expression of BDNF and TrkB in the APP/PS1 transgenic mice.ConclusionThese findings suggested that EA is a potential therapeutic for ameliorate cognitive dysfunction, and it might be due to EA could improve NAA and Glu metabolism by upregulation of BDNF in APP/PS1 mice.

Verum- versus Sham-Acupuncture on Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in Animal Models: A Preclinical Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…In the four rats models, intraperitoneal injection of scopolamine (SCO) was used to establish an AD model in one study [29] and intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of Aβ 1-42 was used in two studies [34,35], and the ICV injection of Aβ 1-40 was used in the rest one study [38]. In mice models, three studies adopted APP/PS1 double transgenic mice model [28,33,39], and the rest used SAMP8 mice model as mentioned above [27,32,36,37,40].…”

“…Of the 12 studies, rats were used in four studies, including SD rats used in two studies [29,38] and Wistar rats used in two studies [34,35]. e remaining studies adopted mice for modeling, including three studies adopted APP/PS1 double transgenic mice [28,33,40], and the rest used SAMP8 mice.…”

“…Among the 12 studies, only two studies described the specific random method [37,39]. Similarly, only two studies clearly showed that the baseline characteristics had been evaluated or adjusted among the groups before the intervention [35,39], and two studies reported that caregivers or investigators were blinded during the study [29,33], respectively. No study clarified if allocation was adequately concealed and what randomization technique was applied in the trial.…”

“…Eleven studies [27][28][29][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] adopted escape latency as an outcome indicator, and all reported a positive effect of verum-acupuncture in reducing escape latency. However, there was a high heterogeneity among the studies (p < 0.00001, I 2 � 84%), and random effects model thereby was performed for analysis.…”

“…Platform crossover numbers were adopted as an outcome in eight studies [27,28,[33][34][35][37][38][39], and all of these studies reported the positive effect of verum-acupuncture in increasing platform crossover numbers. However, there was a heterogeneity among the studies (p < 0.00001, I 2 � 91%) and random [28] U N U Y U N Y Y Y Y 5 Lee et al [29] U N U Y Y U Y Y Y Y 6 Li et al [32] U N U Y U N Y Y Y Y 5 Lin et al [33] U N U Y Y U Y Y Y Y 6 Yu et al [34] U N U Y U U Y Y Y Y 5 Li et al [35] U Y U Y U N Y Y Y Y 6 Zhao et al [36] U N U Y U N Y Y Y Y 5 Luo et al [37] Y N U Y U N Y Y Y Y 6 Guo et al [38] U N U Y U U Y Y Y Y 5 Liu et al [39] Y Y U Y U U Y Y Y Y 7 Li et al [40] U N U Y U N Y Y Y Y 5…”