Objective To observe the effect of electroacupuncture(EA)stimulation of"Fenglong"(ST 40)

"Sanyinjiao"(SP 6)plus manual acupuncture(MA)stimulation of"Shuigou"(GV 26)and "Baihui"(GV 20)on Caspase-3protein expression in the cerebral cortex of rats with hyperlipemia and cerebral ischemia(HL-CI)

so as to reveal its mechanisms underlying improvement of HL-CI.Methods Forty-five rats were randomly divided into normal control

sham operation

model

EA group I(EA+MA was given for 14 days

i.e.

7days before CI

and 7days more after HL-CI)and EA group II(EA+MA was given for only7 days after HL-CI)

with 9rats being in each group.The HL-CI model was established by feeding the animals with high fat forage for 6weeks and then making an occlusion of the unilateral middle cerebral artery by regional application of quantitative paper adsorbing 50% FeCl3solution(10μL).Rats of the sham operation group were treated with the same procedures only without application of FeCl3 solution.For rats of the EA group I

EA(1-3mA

2Hz/100Hz)was applied to bilateral acupoints SP 6and ST 40(for 20min)

and MA stimulation applied to GV 26 and GV 20.EA was conducted once daily for 7days after 6weeks' high fat forage feeding

and EA+MA intervention was conducted once daily for 7days after CI modeling.For rats in the EA group II

EA+MA was applied to the same 4acupoints once a day for 7days only after CI modeling.The neurological impairment was assessed by Zea Longa's scoring.The blood sample was taken from the abdominal aorta for measuring the contents of serum cholesterol(CHO)

triglyceride(TG)and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C)and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C).Pathological changes of the cerebral cortex were observed after H.E.staining

and the expression of cerebro-cortex Caspase-3was analyzed by immunohistochemistry.Results Following modeling

the neurological score

CHO

TG and LDL-C contents

and the number of Caspase-3positive cells as well as Caspase-3immunoactivity level were significantly increased in the model group(P<0.05)

while serum HDL-C level was obviously decreased(P<0.05).After the treatment

the increased neurological score

CHO

TG and LDL-C contents

and the number of Caspase-3positive cells and Caspase-3immunoactivity level were considerably decreased in the EA group I and II(P<0.05)while the decreased HDL-C level was notably increased relevant to the model group(P<0.05).The effects of the EA group I were notably superior to those of EA group II in down-regulating the neurological score

CHO

TG and LDL-C levels and the expression of Caspase-3protein(P<0.05).No significant differences were found between the normal control and sham operation groups in the neurological scores 20 min and 7days after modeling and Caspase-3expression levels(P>0.05).H.E.staining showed a reduction of the apoptotic cells and inflammatory cells in both EA group Ⅰ and Ⅱ.Conclusion Both EA and EA+MA interventions can improve neurological function in HL-CI rats

which may be related to their effects in adjusting the levels of serum lipids and down-regulating the expression of cell apoptosis-related Caspase-3protein in the ischemic cortex.Moreover

the cerebral ischemia injury may be lightened by EA-lowering hyperlipemia first.