Effect of acupuncture combined with minimally invasive hematoma aspiration on brain injury in the acute stage of intracerebral hemorrhage

Objective To investigate the effect of acupuncture combined with minimally invasive hematoma aspiration on a rabbit model of brain injury in the acute stage of intracerebral hemorrhage （ICH）. Methods A total of 65 healthy New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into a sham operation （SO） group, an ICH group,a hematoma aspiration （HA） group, and an acupuncture and hematoma aspiration （AHA） group. Models of ICH were established in the latter three groups. The HA group was treated with minimally invasive hematoma aspiration and the AHA group was treated with both acupuncture and minimally invasive hematoma aspiration. At 6 hours and 1, 3 and 7 days after the ICH models were established, brain water content （BWC） was measured, and the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 （ MMP-9 ） in the rabbits＇ brains was detected by immunohistochemistry. MMP-9activity was detected by gelatin zymography. Results The BWCs of the ICH group, HA group and AHA group rabbits were significantly higher than those of the SO group. The BWCs of the HA group and AHA group animals descended significantly more than those in the ICH group as time went on, especially on the 3rd day in the AHA group. Immunohistochemistry and gelatin zymography showed that the expression and activity of MMP-9 in these test groups decreased with time, especially on the 3rd day in the AHA group. Conclusions Acupuncture combined with hematoma aspiration can reduce injury in the acute stage of ICH, and inhibition of the expression of MMP-9 may be the mechanism. Key words: Acupuncture;  Aspiration;  Cerebral hemorrhage;  Matrix metalloproteinase-9