Effects of electroacupuncture on unaffected limbs at very early stage of cerebral local focus ischemia in rats

To determine the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) treatment on unaffected limbs at very early stage of experiment local focus ischemic brain damage in rats. Method: Thirty SD rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) were randomly divided into EA on unaffected limbs group (HT) or affected limbs group(DT), and control group (MC) 10 rats in each group. Another lOrats was set as sham operation control group (OC). EA groups received EA on the accupoints of Quchi (LI 11) and Neiguan (PC6) on forelimb, and Zusanli (ST36) and Xiajuxu (ST39) on hindlimb. EA was given with opposing needle(ju ci) method, cross stimulation at left and right side, at 3mA, in cycles of (loose/dense) 10Hz:50Hz/5s: 10s, 15min per session, once a day, 7 sessions per week. Infarction volume of the brain was calculated by TTC dying and photoshop IPP analyses. Neurological scores were evaluated by modified neurological severity score (mNSS) method at day 3, 7, 14 and 21 post-MCAO. Result: The mNSS scores in HT group was lower than that of MC group at day 3 (P