Objective To observe the effect of electroacupuncture(EA)on synovia superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity

malondialdehyde(MDA) and nitric oxide(NO) contents in rabbits with knee osteoarthritis(KOA).Methods A total of 40 New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into control

model

massage and EA groups

with 10 cases in each.KOA model was established by gypusum fixing method.EA(1.6-2 Hz

1-2 mA) was applied to left "Yanglingquan"(GB 34)

"Xuehai"(SP 10)

"Zusanli"(ST 36) and "Liangqiu"(ST 34) for 25 min

once daily for 21 days.For massage group

the affected knee joint was pressed

kneaded

stretched and rotated repeatedly for 15 min every time

followed by forced running about 100 m.The intra-joint synovia was collected(0.4-0.6 ml) for detecting contents of SOD with xanthine oxidase method

MDA with thiobarbituric acid method and NO with nitrate reductase method.Results Compared with control group

synovia SOD activity in model group decreased considerably(P<0.05)

while MDA and NO contents increased significantly(P<0.05).After 3 weeks' treatment

compared with pre-treatment and model group

synovia SOD activity increased markedly(P<0.05)

and MDA and NO contents lowered remarkably in both EA and massage groups(P<0.05).No significant differences were found between EA and massage groups in these 3 indexes(P>0.05).Conclusion Both EA and massage can raise synovia SOD activity and lower MDA and NO content

which may contribute to their effect in relieving knee osteoarthritis in the rabbit.