J Tradit Chin Med. 2002 Mar; 22(1): 51-4.

Effect of acupuncture on free radicals in rats with early experimental spinal cord injury.

Wu Y, Sun Z, Li Z, Zhao Y, Sun S.

Second Affiliated Hospital, Heilongjiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, Harbin 150001.

Effect of acupuncture on free radicals after spinal cord injury was observed in rats with experimental spinal cord injury (SCI). Results indicated that within 24 hours after SCI malondialdehyde (MDA) increased progressively, 2 hours after SCI it reached the peak; and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity decreased significantly at the same hours, the decrease being the most marked 2-6 hours after SCI. The MDA content in the acupuncture group was significantly lower (P < 0.05) and the SOD activity higher (P < 0.01) than that of the control group respectively. It is suggested that acupuncture inhibits production of MDA and increases the SOD activity.