Objective To observe the effect of electroacupuncture(EA)on hippocampal apoptosis and learning-memory ability in vascular dementia(VD)mice so as to investigate its underlying mechanism in the treatment of VD patients.Methods Kunming mice were randomly divided into sham-operation(sham

n=13)

model(n=15)

EA(n=16)and Nimodipine(intragastric gavage

30 mg/kg for 15 days

n=15)groups.VD model was duplicated by occlusion of bilateral carotid arteries and reperfusion.EA(2-80 Hz

2 mA)was applied to "Dazhui"(GV 14)

"Baihui"(GV 20)

"Geshu"(BL 17)and "Zusanli"(ST 36)for 10 min

once daily for 15 days.Step-down and step-up tests were performed to assess the animal's memory and learning abilities separately;and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-nick end-labeling(TUNEL)method was used to display the apoptotic cells of the hippocampus tissue.Results In comparison with sham group

the animals' reaction time upon electric shock stimulation

both step-up and step-down error times

and hippocampal apoptosis number in model

EA and Nimodipine groups increased significantly(P<0.01);while the reaction latency upon electric shock of model

EA and Nimodipine groups decreased significantly(P<0.01).Compared with model group

the reaction time

both step-up and step-down error times and hippocampal apoptosis number of both EA and Nimodipine groups decreased significantly(P<0.05

P<0.01);while the reaction latency of EA and Nimodipine groups increased considerably(P<0.01).Comparison between EA and Nimodipine groups showed that the reaction latency of EA group was obviously longer than that of the later group(P<0.01)

and the step-down error times of EA group was markedly lower than that of Nimodipine group(P<0.05).No significant differences were found between these two groups in other indexes(P>0.05).Conclusion EA can ameliorate VD mice's learning-memory abi-lity

which may be closely related to its effect in reducing hippocampal apoptosis.