Effects of electro-acupuncture combined with rTMS on p-CREB expression after focal cerebral ischemia in adult rats

Objective:To investigate the effects of electro-acupuncture(EA) combined with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS) on phosphorylated CAMP responsive element binding protein(p-CREB) expression after focal cerebral ischemia in adult rats and to explore the mechanism of EA combined with rTMS in treating ischemic brain injury. Method:The model of transient focal cerebral ischemia was made by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery.Seventy-five Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal group,model group,EA group,rTMS group and EA combined with rTMS group. The expressions of p-CREB in hippocampus were detected and the neurologic impairment rating,ability of learning and memory were observed at the 7th、14th and 28th d after infarction respectively. Result:The number of p-CREB-positive cells in hippocampus after focal cerebral ischemia in model group was higher at the 7th d,lower at the 28th d than that in nomal group(P0.05) ;higher in EA group,rTMS group,EA combined with rTMS group than that in model group at each time point and nomal group at the 7th and 14th d(P0.05) ,higher in EA combined with rTMS group than that in EA group,rTMS group at 7 and 14th d,and there was no difference between EA group and rTMS group. The improvement of neural motor function as well as the indexes of learning and memory were much better in EA group,rTMS group,and EA combined with rTMS group compared with model group(P0.01,P0.05) ,and the improvement were the most obvious in EA combined with rTMS group. Conclusion:EA combined with rTMS can enhance the expression of p-CREB in hippocampus after focal cerebral ischemia,which might be one of the important mechanisms of EA combined with rTMS in treating ischemia brain injury.