Objective To observe the influence of scalp acupuncture on cerebral infarct size and expression of IL-10

IL-6

and IL-1βin the para-hippocampal gyrus in acute ischemic cerebrovascular disease(AICD)rats

so as to investigate its mechanisms underlying improvement of AICD.Methods Forty-eight male SD rats were randomly allocated to normal control(control)

AICD model

medication

and scalp acupuncture groups(n=12 per group).The AICD model was established by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery(MCAO).Rats of the medication group received intraperitoneal injection of Ammonium1-Pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate(APDC

100 mg·kg-1·d-1)

once daily for 7 days.Scalp acupuncture stimulation was applied to bilateral"Dingnieqianxiexian"(MS6)once daily for 7 days.Before and after intervention

the neurologic deficit score(NDS)and the neurological score(NS)were evaluated according to Longa's and Schbitz's methods

respectively.At the end of the intervention

the para-hippocampal gyrus and whole brain were collected respectively.The expression levels of IL-10

IL-6 and IL-1βin the para-hippocampal gyrus tissue were detected by immunohistochemistry

and the cerebral infarct volume of the brain was detected by triphenyltetrazollium chloride(TTC)staining after sectioning.Results Following modeling

the NDS

NS and the expression of IL-10

IL-6 and IL-1βin para-hippocampal gyrus were significantly increased in the model group compared with the control group(P<0.01).After the intervention

the NDS

NS and infarct volume

and the expression levels of IL-6 and IL-1βin the para-hippocampal gyrus were significantly decreased in both medication and scalp acupuncture groups compared with the model group(P<0.05)

and the expression of IL-10 was further obviously up-regulated in the scalp acupuncture group(P<0.05)rather than in the medication group(P>0.05).The effect of scalp acupuncture was obviously superior to that of medication in up-regulating IL-10 expression level(P<0.05).No significant differences were found between the medication and scalp acupuncture groups in the levels of NDS

NS

infarct volume

IL-6 and IL-1βproteins(P>0.05).Conclusion Scalp acupuncture can improve neurological function and reduce infarct volume in AICD rats

which may be associated with its function in up-regulating the expression of IL-10 and in inhibiting the expression of IL-6 and IL-1βto reduce inflammation reaction.