Table_1_Acupuncture Improves White Matter Perfusion and Integrity in Rat Model of Vascular Dementia: An MRI-Based Imaging Study.DOCX

White matter lesions induced by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion are associated with cognitive impairment in vascular dementia (VaD). Previous studies have shown that acupuncture can ameliorate the cognitive deficits of individuals with VaD. However, the neuroimaging mechanisms of acupuncture on white matter perfusion and integrity remain elusive. In this study, the VaD model was induced by bilateral common carotid arteries occlusion (BCCAO) in rats. Novel object recognition task and Morris water maze were performed to evaluate short-term memory and spatial learning and memory. Arterial spin labeling and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were used to measure the cerebral blood flow (CBF) and the white matter integrity. Pathological examinations detected the myelin loss and concomitant neuroinflammation. The results demonstrate that BCCAO rats with reduced CBF exhibited worse performance and altered DTI parameters, including decreased fractional anisotropy, increased radial diffusivity, and axial diffusivity in white matter regions. Acupuncture ameliorated cognitive impairment, increased CBF, and protected the myelin sheath integrity but not the axons of BCCAO rats. These protective effects of acupuncture on white matter were significantly correlated with improved CBF. Pathological examination confirmed that the loss of myelin basic protein and microglial accumulation associated IL-1β and IL-6 production were attenuated by acupuncture treatment. Our findings suggest that acupuncture protects cognitive function of BCCAO rats by improving white matter perfusion and integrity.

慢性脑低灌注诱导的脑白质病变与血管性痴呆（vascular dementia, VaD）患者的认知功能损害密切相关。既往研究表明，针灸可改善血管性痴呆患者的认知缺损。然而，针灸对脑白质灌注与完整性的神经影像学机制仍尚不明确。本研究采用大鼠双侧颈总动脉闭塞（bilateral common carotid arteries occlusion, BCCAO）法构建血管性痴呆模型。通过新物体识别实验与莫里斯水迷宫实验，分别评估大鼠的短时记忆能力与空间学习记忆能力。采用动脉自旋标记（Arterial spin labeling）与弥散张量成像（diffusion tensor imaging, DTI）技术，检测大鼠脑血流量（cerebral blood flow, CBF）与脑白质完整性。通过病理学检测观察髓鞘丢失及伴随的神经炎症反应。研究结果显示，脑血流量降低的BCCAO模型大鼠行为学表现更差，且脑白质区域的弥散张量成像参数发生改变：各向异性分数降低、径向弥散系数升高，轴向弥散系数亦出现升高。针灸干预可改善BCCAO模型大鼠的认知功能损害，提升其脑血流量，保护髓鞘完整性，但对轴突无显著保护作用。针灸对脑白质的上述保护效应与脑血流量的改善显著相关。病理学检测结果证实，针灸治疗可减轻髓鞘碱性蛋白的丢失，以及与小胶质细胞聚集相关的白细胞介素1β（IL-1β）和白细胞介素6（IL-6）的产生。本研究结果表明，针灸可通过改善脑白质灌注与完整性，保护BCCAO模型大鼠的认知功能。