Kainic acid 유발 간질 생쥐모델에서 소부혈(少府穴) 침치료의 해마 신경세포 보호효과연구

Objectives: The present study investigated the effects of acupuncture treatment and their mechanism by using the kainic acid (KA)-induced epilepsy mouse model. Materials and Methods: The seizure was induced by an intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of 30 mg/kg KA, and the acupuncture treatment was subsequently administered to acupoint Shaofu(HT8) bilaterally with two pretreatment sessions before injection (total 3 times over 3 days). Twenty four hours after injection, we observed the survival of neuronal cells in the CA3 region of the hippocampus. In addition, the activation of microglia and astrocytes was observed by using CD11b and GFAP immunohistochemistry in the same region. Results: The results indicate that acupuncture treatment reduced the rate of neural cell death in the CA3 region of the hippocampus and decreased the activations of microglia and astrocytes in this region. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that acupuncture treatment protects hippocampal neuronal cell death from KA-induced epileptic seizure by inhibiting the activations of microglia and astrocytes.