Objective To study the underlying mechanism of electroacupuncture(EA) in relieving epilepsy in pentylenetetrazole(PTZ)-induced epilepsy rats.Methods Twenty SD rats were randomly divided into normal control

model

EA

Nimodipine groups

with 5 cases in each.Epilepsy model was established by intraperitoneal injection of PTZ(32.0 mg/kg)

once daily for 28 days.EA(100 Hz

0.6 mA) was applied to "Baihui"(GV 20) and "Dazhui"(GV 14)

once daily for 7 days.For Nimodipine group

the rats were given with nimodipine(0.25 mg/kg

i.p.)

once daily for 7 days.Electroencephalogram(EEG) was recorded and the fluorescence intensity of Ca2+ of the hippocampus tissue sections was detected by laser scanning confocal microscope(LSCM) after incubation in artificial cerebrospinal fluid containing Flou-3/AM(10 μmol/L) and pluronic F-127(5 μl).Results Compared with model group

the latencies of epileptic EEG seizure prolonged obviously(P<0.05)

and epileptic EEG seizure frequencies decreased significantly(P<0.05) in EA and Nimodipine groups.The fluorescence intensity of intracellular Ca2+ in hippocampus tissue in model group was obviously higher than that in control group(P<0.01).In comparison to model group

Ca2+ levels in EA and Nimodipine groups lowered considerably(P<0.05

P<0.01).No significant differences were found between EA and Nimodipine groups in the aforementioned 3 indexes(P>0.05).Conclusion EA has an obvious anti-epileptic effect

which may be closely related to its effect in downregulating the increased hippocampal Ca2+ level in PTZ-kindled epilepsy rats.