Ren-Zhen Zhang, Xin Zhang, Tian-Tian Zhu, Yu-Juan Ye, Ming-Li Su, Yu-Ting Wei, Xing-Ke Yan

School of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Xing-Ke Yan, Acupuncture and moxibustion and Massage College of Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 35 Dingxi East Road, Lanzhou, People’s Republic of China, Email yanxingke@126.com

Purpose: Exploring the effects of acupuncture at the “Yizhi Tiaoshen” acupoint on blood oxygen metabolism and neurological function changes in the brain regions of AD model rats.
Methods: The AD model was replicated by intraperitoneal injection of D-galactose combined with bilateral hippocampal CA1 injection of Okadaic acid (OA). Thirty rats with successfully replicated model were selected through Morris water maze experiment and randomly divided into model group, donepezil hydrochloride group, and acupuncture group, with 10 rats in each group. After treatment, fNIRs were used to detect changes in Oxy Hb, Deoxy Hb, and Total Hb in the cerebral cortex of rats in each group, in order to evaluate the neurological function changes in key brain areas.
Results: The escape latency of the donepezil hydrochloride group and the acupuncture group was shortened, the number of crossings through the original platform increased, and the duration of stay in the quadrant where the original platform was located was prolonged. Based on fNIRs detection, the main differential channels of blood oxygen metabolism in AD rats were identified as 2– 2 and 8– 7, corresponding to the prefrontal and parietal lobes, respectively. The concentrations of Oxy Hb and Total Hb were significantly increased in both treatment groups, while the concentration of Deoxy Hb was significantly decreased.
Conclusion: Acupuncture with the “Yizhi Tiaoshen” acupoint formula and donepezil hydrochloride can improve the learning and memory function of AD rats, and its mechanism may be related to improving blood oxygen metabolism in the prefrontal and parietal regions and protecting neuronal function.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, “Yizhi Tiaoshen” acupoint, acupuncture, functional near-infrared spectroscopy technique, brain function