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Combination of Electroacupuncture and Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy Enhances Functional Recovery After Ischemic Stroke in Rats

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Abstract

Both electroacupuncture and constraint-induced movement therapy have been reported to produce therapeutic effects on the recovery of ischemic stroke. The combined use of these two therapies is not rare clinically, although its effectiveness is not yet clear. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the combination of electroacupuncture and constraint-induced movement therapy in ischemic stroke rats, and to explore the potential molecular mechanisms. Ischemic stroke rat models were established by middle cerebral artery occlusion. Then, the rats were assigned to receive one of the following interventions: sole electroacupuncture, sole constraint-induced movement therapy, the combination of both therapies, and no treatment. Functional recovery was assessed with the beam balance test and rotarod test. The infarct volume of the brain and the expression of the molecules Nogo-A, P75NTR, NGF, BDNF, and VEGF in the brain tissue were investigated. The results demonstrated that the combination of the two therapies significantly improved neurological functional recovery in ischemic stroke rats compared to each therapy alone (P < 0.01). We also observed a significant decrease in infarct volume in rats receiving the combined treatment. Nogo-A and P75NTR were downregulated and NGF, BDNF, and VEGF were upregulated in the combined treatment rats compared to the control rats. In conclusion, the combination of electroacupuncture and constraint-induced movement therapy enhanced functional recovery after ischemic stroke in rats, and it is a promising treatment strategy in the rehabilitation of stroke. The anti-Nogo-A effect of electroacupuncture may explain its good compatibility with CIMT in ischemic stroke rats.

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Availability of Data and Material

The datasets used or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Xiaoting Chen from the Animal Experimental Center of West China Hospital for technical assistance in animal experiments.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81572231) and the Project of the Science and Technology Department in Sichuan province (Grant No. 2019YJ0119).

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Author notes

  1. Dong Wang and Lijuan Li contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rehabilitation Medicine Center, Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 61004, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Dong Wang, Lijuan Li, Qing Zhang, Zejun Liang, Liyi Huang, Chengqi He & Quan Wei

  2. Key Laboratory of Rehabilitation Medicine in Sichuan Province, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Dong Wang, Lijuan Li, Qing Zhang, Zejun Liang, Liyi Huang, Chengqi He & Quan Wei

Authors
  1. Dong Wang
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  2. Lijuan Li
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  3. Qing Zhang
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  4. Zejun Liang
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  5. Liyi Huang
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  6. Chengqi He
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Contributions

DW, QW, and CH conceived and supervised the study. LL, QZ, ZL, and LH analyzed data. DW, LL, and ZL wrote the manuscript. LH, QZ, made manuscript revisions. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Quan Wei.

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Ethics Approval

The protocol for the animal experiments was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University (20190012).

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Wang, D., Li, L., Zhang, Q. et al. Combination of Electroacupuncture and Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy Enhances Functional Recovery After Ischemic Stroke in Rats. J Mol Neurosci 71, 2116–2125 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-021-01863-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-021-01863-1

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