Abstract: Objective To compare the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at different acupoints on the neuroethology and expression of neurocan after focal cerebral infarction in rats. Methods The healthy male adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham group (n=5), model group (n=20), Shuigou-Baihui (SB) group (n=20), Ganshu-Shenshu (GS) group (n=20) and Zusanli-Quchi (ZQ) group.All the rats were modeled with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) except sham group, and were randomly divided into 5 sub-groups as 1 d, 3 d, 7 d, 14 d and 21 d after cerebral ischemia. Their neuroethology was evaluated with Longa's score, and the expressions of neurocan mRNA and protein were detected with RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry in ischemic cortex. Results No dysfunction was found in the sham group. The neurological function recovered gradually 3 d after modeled, and improved significantly 7~21 d after modeled in each EA group compared with those in the model group (P<0.05). The expression of neurocan mRNA and protein gradually increased 1 d after modeled in the model group, peaked 14 d after modeled, and remained high level 21 d after modeled (P<0.01). The expressions of neurocan mRNA and protein were less in each EA group than in the model group 3 d after modeled (P<0.05), and were less in the SB group and GS group than in ZQ group (P<0.05). Conclusion The expression of neurocan increased significantly in ischemic cortex. EA may down-regulate the expression of neurocan after acute cerebral infarction, and improve the neuroethology. EA at SB and GS is more effective than at ZQ.

Key words: cerebral infarction, electroacupuncture, neurocan, axon regeneration, neuroethology