Korean Journal of Acupuncture

Society for Meridian and Acupoint (경락경혈학회)
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Acupuncture Treatment at HT8 Protects Hippocampal Cells in Dentate Gyrus on Kainic Acid-Induced Epilepsy Mice Model

소부혈(少府穴) 자침(刺鍼)이 Kainic Acid로 유도(誘導)된 간질(癎疾) 동물(動物) 모델의 해마(海馬) 치상회(齒狀回)에 미치는 영향(影響)

  • Kim, Seung-Tae (Dept. of Meridian and Acupoint, College of Korean Medicine, BK21 Oriental Medical Science Center, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Chung, Joo-Ho (Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine) ;
  • Jeong, Wu-Byung (Department of Pediatrics, College of Oriental Medicine, Dongguk University) ;
  • Kim, Jang-Hyun (Department of Pediatrics, College of Oriental Medicine, Dongguk University) ;
  • Kang, Min-Jung (College of Nursing Science, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Hong, Mee-Sook (Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine) ;
  • Park, Hae-Jeong (Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine) ;
  • Kim, Yeon-Jung (College of Nursing Science, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Park, Hi-Joon (Dept. of Meridian and Acupoint, College of Korean Medicine) ;
  • Lee, Hye-Jeong (Dept. of Meridian and Acupoint, College of Korean Medicine)
  • 김승태 (경희대학교 한의과대학 경혈학교실, 한의과학사업단) ;
  • 정주호 (의과대학 약리학교실) ;
  • 정우병 (동국대학교 한의과대학 소아과) ;
  • 김장현 (동국대학교 한의과대학 소아과) ;
  • 강민정 (경희대학교 간호과학대학) ;
  • 홍미숙 (의과대학 약리학교실) ;
  • 박해정 (의과대학 약리학교실) ;
  • 김연정 (경희대학교 간호과학대학) ;
  • 박히준 (경희대학교 한의과대학 경혈학교실) ;
  • 이혜정 (경희대학교 한의과대학 경혈학교실)
  • Published : 2007.12.27
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Abstract

Objectives : Epilepsy is one of the most common serious brain disorders that affect people of all ages, and it is characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. We examined whether acupuncture can reduce both the incidence of seizures and hippocampal cell death in dentate gyrus (DG) using a mouse model of kainic acid (KA)-induced epilepsy. Methods : ICR mice ($20{\sim}25$ g) were given acupuncture once a day at acupoint HT8 (sobu) bilaterally during 2 days before KA injection. After an intracerebroventricular injection of 0.1${\mu}g$ of KA, acupuncture treatment was subsequently administered once more (total 3 times), and the degree of seizure was observed for 20 min. Three hours after injection, we confirmed the neural cell death using cresyl violet staining and silver impregnation staining, and determined the expressions of c-Fos and glutamate decarboxylase (GAD)-67 using immunohistochemistry techniques in the DG. Results : KA induced epileptic seizure, neural cell death, increased c-Fos expression and decreased GAD-67 expression in the DG. Acupuncture treatment at HT8 reduced the severity of the epileptic seizure and inhibited neural cell death from KA. In addition, acupuncture normalized the expressions of c-Fos and GAD-67 in the same areas. Conclusions : These results demonstrated that acupuncture treatment at HT8 may reduce the KA-induced epileptic seizure and neural cell death in the DG possibly by normalizing c-Fos expressions and the gamma-aminobutyric acid neurons.

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