STUDY ON INVOLVEMENT OF L-ARG-NO IN THE PROTECTIVE ACTION OF ELECTROACUPUNCTURE ON CEREBRAL ISCHEMIC INJURY IN THE RAT

In the present study, the involvement of L-arginine(L-Arg) NO on the protective action of electroacupuncture(EA) on cerebral ischemic injury was observed in acute ischemia-reperfusion(IR) rat model by taking regional cerebral blood flow(r-CBF),cerebral water content(CWC),and blood nitric oxide(NO) contents as indexes. Results showed that 1) EA could cause r-CBF and serum NO content to increase and CWC to lower, suggesting an protective action of EA on IR cerebral injury; 2) intravenous injection of L-Arg also had an protective effect on cerebral IR cerebral injury, while L-NNA had no this effect; and 3) pre-treatment with L-Arg might strengthen the effect of EA further, while pretreatment with L-NNA could weaken its effect. It indicates that L-Arg-NO may be involved in the effect of EA in protecting the brain from ischemic injury.