Abstract: Objective To explore the effects of acupuncture-rehabilitation therapy on neurological function recovery and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) signaling pathway activation after permanent focal cerebral ischemia in rats. Methods Ninty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups, namely sham group, model group, acupuncture group, rehabilitation group and acupuncture-rehabilitation group, and 18 in each group. Each group was further divided into 3 days, 7 days and 14 days subgroups (n=6). Their middle cerebral arteries were occluded except those of sham group. The sham and model groups accepted no treatment, while the acupuncture group accepted cluster needling of scalp acupuncture, rehabilitation group accepted treadmill training, and the acupuncture-rehabilitation group accepted both acupuncture and treadmill training. They were assessed with modified Neurologic Severity Score (mNSS) 3, 7 and 14 days after modeling, while the expression of ERK1/2 and p-ERK1/2 were determined with Western blotting. Results The neurologic severity score reduced in all three treatment groups (P<0.05) compared with that of the model group at every time point, and was the least in the acupuncture-rehabilitation group (P<0.05) 7 and 14 days after modeling among the treatment groups. Meanwhile, the expression of p-ERK1/2 increased in all three treatment groups (P<0.05), and was the most in the acupuncture-rehabilitation group (P<0.05), as well as the rate of (p-ERK1/2)/(ERK1/2) (P<0.05). Conclusion Acupuncture-rehabilitation therapy can promote the neurological function recovery, which may be associated with activation of ERK1/2 signaling pathway.

Key words: cerebral ischemia, acupuncture-rehabilitation therapy, neurological function, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, rats