Anticonvulsion effect of acupuncture might be related to the decrease of neuronal and inducible nitric oxide

¹Department of Neurobiology, Institute of Acupuncture Research, Shanghai Medical University, PR China.

|April 18, 2000

Summary

Electroacupuncture (EA) treatment reduced elevated nitric oxide synthase (NOS) levels in rats with penicillin-induced epilepsy. This suggests EA

Area of Science:

Background:

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures.
Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) plays a role in neuronal function and has been implicated in epilepsy.
Electroacupuncture (EA) is a therapeutic technique used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the changes in hippocampal nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoform levels during penicillin-induced epilepsy in rats.
To evaluate the effect of EA on these NOS levels in the epilepsy model.

Main Methods:

Epilepsy was induced in Wistar rats by hippocampal injection of penicillin.
EA was applied to the "Feng Fu" (DU 16) and "Jin Suo" (DU 8) acupoints.
Hippocampal nitric oxide synthase (NOS) mRNA levels were quantified using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Main Results:

Penicillin-induced epilepsy significantly increased neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA levels.
Epithelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) mRNA levels showed no significant change.
EA treatment inhibited epilepsy and significantly decreased both nNOS and iNOS mRNA levels, without affecting eNOS mRNA.

Conclusions:

Penicillin-induced epilepsy is associated with increased hippocampal expression of nNOS and iNOS.
The anticonvulsant effects of EA may be mediated by the downregulation of nNOS and iNOS.
These findings highlight a potential therapeutic mechanism for EA in epilepsy management.

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