Objective:To observe the influence of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation(taVNS) on fasting plasma glucose(FPG) and serum insulin(INS) in Zucker diabetes fatty(ZDF) rats and explore the regulatory effect of taVNS on blood glucose in ZDF rats.Methods:A total of 20 male ZDF rats were randomized into a model group and a taVNS group,10 rats in each one.Besides,the other 10 Zucker Lean(ZL) rats were selected to be a control group.The rats in the control group were fed with common forage and those in the model group and the taVNS group were fed with high-sugar and high-fat forage.The intervention of electric stimulation was applied in the rats of taVNS group,with 2/15 Hz in frequency,disperse-dense wave and 2 mA in intensity.Each intervention lasted 30 min,once a day,consecutively for 12 weeks.No any intervention was given in the control group and the model group.The body mass and FPG level were recorded once every 2 weeks in the rats.After the experiment,the rats were sacrificed and blood sample was collected.Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was adopted to determine the level of serum INS in the rats.Results:After the modeling,compared with the control group,the body mass and FPG level were all higher(P <0.05,P <0.01) and the concentration of serum INS was lower(P <0.01) in the rats of the model group.After intervention,compared with the model group,the body mass was lower in week 6 to 10(P <0.01,P <0.05),FPG level was lower in week 8 to 12(P <0.01,P <0.05) and serum INS concentration was higher(P <0.01) in the rats of the taVNS group.Conclusion:TaVNS apparently improves in hyperglycemia in ZDF rats and increases serum insulin concentration in the rats.
Objective:To explore whether auricular concha eletroacupuncture(ACEA)is effective in regulating lipidlipoprotein metabolism in rats submitted to cold stress.Methods:Thirty-six adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were placed in four groups(9 rats in each group),the rats in three groups of which were submitted to cold stress for fourteen days,the last one of which was a control group.After the cold stress process,in those three groups,the rats of one group were with no treatment(stress only),two were treated with either ACEA or auricular margin eletroacupuncture(AMEA)repeated for fourteen days.On the 14th day,all the rats were sacrificed after all experimental procedure for blood sampling.Blood glucose,triglycerides(TG),total cholesterol(TC),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C)and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C)levels were tested by using the collected serum.Plasma lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase(LCAT)was measured with ELISA kit.Results:ACEA down-regulated the TG level(P<0.05)and LDL-C level(P<0.05),and up-regulated HDL-C level(P<0.05)and LACT level(P<0.05).AMEA did not regulate the bio-markers.Conclusion:ACEA played an important role in regulating lipid-lipoprotein metabolism in rats submitted to cold stress.
