Electroacupuncture Therapy for Cognitive Impairment after Spinal Cord Injury

Summary

This study established a standardized electroacupuncture procedure aimed at treating cognitive impairments after spinal cord injury. Moreover, the protocol for performing the Y maze and novel object recognition experiments to assess the efficacy of electroacupuncture in ameliorating cognitive deficits was described in detail.

Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a highly disabling and destructive disease of the central nervous system (CNS), which not only leads to limb motor and sensory dysfunction but also disrupts the structure and function of the hippocampus and cortex, leading to cognitive impairment, which seriously affects patients' quality of life. Thus, it is imperative to explore effective treatment approaches and assessment methods. Electroacupuncture (EA) is a novel therapy that integrates traditional acupuncture with contemporary electrotherapy technology, which has the advantages of high safety and few side effects, and has been widely utilized in the management of SCI. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the Governor Vessel connects the brain and the spinal cord. Therefore, EA at the acupoints located on the Governor Vessel can effectively restore the functions of the brain and the spinal cord. In this protocol, we employed Allen's method to construct the SCI model. We introduced an EA procedure aimed at treating cognitive impairments in rats with SCI. Furthermore, we described in detail the operation process of the Y maze and novel object recognition (NOR) experiment to assess the efficacy of EA in ameliorating cognitive deficits in rats. This research not only provides a treatment protocol that serves as a reference for cognitive impairment after SCI but also offers preliminary experimental support for the validation of therapeutic strategies for this condition and subsequent research exploration.

Introduction

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a common central nervous system (CNS) disorder, typically resulting from damage to the spinal cord or its surrounding structures due to external forces. This condition can lead to sensory, motor, and autonomic nervous dysfunction below the injury level¹. More critically, SCI can also induce secondary complications such as anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairment^2,3, which are detrimental to patients' rehabilitation and significantly diminish their quality of life. Multiple epidemiological studies have found that the risk of Alzheimer's disease (A....

Protocol

All experimental procedures were performed in strict compliance with the National Institutes of Health Guidelines for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (Approval ID: BUCM-2024042505-2065).

1. Animal preparation

1. Select male adult Sprague Dawley (SD) rats weighing 220.0 g ± 20.0 g for the experiment.
2. House the animals in the Experimental Animal Center of the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine at a controlled temperature (24 ± 2 °C) and under a 12-h dark/light cycle, with sterile drinking wat....

Results

EA improves the motor function of SCI rats
On the 1^st day after SCI operation, the BBB scores of the Model group were recorded at 0, indicating the successful establishment of the SCI model. Throughout the 1^st, 7^th, 14^th, 21^st, and 28^th days post-operation, the BBB scores of the Model group were significantly lower than those of the Sham group (P < 0.01). Notably, on the 7^th, 14^th, and 28^t.......

Discussion

SCI is a stressful event that inflicts severe trauma on patients' physiology and psychology, leading not only to motor and sensory dysfunction but also to cognitive impairment³. As reported⁴, the risk of cognitive decline after SCI is 13 times higher than that in healthy individuals. The middle-aged and elderly patients with SCI exhibit a higher susceptibility to AD compared to their peers who have not experienced SCI⁶. Following an injury, SCI p.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
0.9% saline	Beijing suolaibao technology Co., Ltd.	IN9000, P1022-10
4% paraformaldehyde	Beyotime	P0099
75% medical alcohol, iodophor	Beijing oubei biology science and technology Co., Ltd	OB40126-1, HX0098A	Used for disinfection
Acupuncture needles	Zhongyan Taihe Co., Ltd	ZY500
Anesthetic machine for small animals	Shanghai Yuyan Instruments Co., Ltd	ABM
Animal behavior analysis system	Beijing zhong Shi di Chuang technology Co., Ltd	ZS-XWT-II
Centrifugal machine	Eppendorf, Germany	5811FR080384
Electroacupuncture device	Shantou Medical Instrument Factory Co., Ltd	6805-D	Used for electroacupuncture treatment
ELISA kits	Jianglai Biology Science and Technology Co., Ltd	JL18365, JL20896	Used to detect IL-1, IL-6 levels
Gelatin sponge	Jiangxi Xiang'en Medical Technology Development Co., Ltd	24092901
Hematoxylin solution, Eosin solution	Sigma-Aldrich	03971	Used for HE staining
Infinite Horizon Impactor	Lexington, KY, United States	IH-0400	Used for constructing a spinal cord injury model
Isoflurane	Shenzhen Ruiwode Life Science and Technology Co., Ltd	R510-22-10
Microscope	OLYMPUS
Penicillin sodium	Coolaber	CP8271-5g
Phenobarbital Sodium	Sigma-Aldrich	P3761
SD rats	Sibeifu (Beijing) Biology Technology Co., Ltd	SCXK2019-0010
SPSS	IBM	Version 26.0	Statistical software
Sucrose	Beijing Solarbio Technology Co., Ltd	S8271
Xylene	Shanghai Aladdin Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd	X112050