| Objective:To examine the effects of hyperbaric oxygen combined with acupuncture on cognitive function in type 2 diabetic rats.Methods:The type 2 diabetic rat models were established: 39 adult SD rats were fed on high-sugar and high-fat diet for 6 weeks, followed by intraperitoneally injection of streptozotocin (30 mg/kg) only once. Three days later, random blood glucose (RBG) was measured by tail vein sampling. If the RBG was more than 16.7mmol/L, suggesting the successful establishment of the type 2 diabetic mellitus in rats. The Morris water maze test was used to measure the cognitive function in all diabetic rats. By using the random number table method the rats were divided into three groups: control group, hyperbaric oxygen group and hyperbaric oxygen combined with acupuncture group (n=13 in each group). The rats in hyperbaric oxygen group were treated with hyperbaric oxygen, and the rats in hyperbaric oxygen combined with acupuncture group were treated with hyperbaric oxygen combined with acupuncture (once a day, 30 days). After all the interventions, the cognitive function of all rats was tested by the Morris water maze test.Results:After 30 days of intervention, compared with the control group and before intervention, rats in the hyperbaric oxygen group and hyperbaric oxygen combined with acupuncture group had significantly lower blood glucose（P<0.05，0.01）, and hyperbaric oxygen combined with acupuncture group was superior to hyperbaric oxygen group in blood glucose decrease（P<0.01）. Compared with the control group and before intervention, rats in the hyperbaric oxygen group and hyperbaric oxygen combined with acupuncture group had shorter escape latency（P<0.01）, more times of crossing the platform （P<0.01）. Compared with hyperbaric oxygen group, rats in the hyperbaric oxygen combined with acupuncture group showed more significant improvement in escape latency（P<0.05） and numbers of crossing platforms（P<0.01）.Conclusion:Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can significantly improve cognitive function of type 2 diabetes rats, and its combination with acupuncture has a more significant improvement effect. This may suggest that hyperbaric oxygen combined with acupuncture therapy is more conducive to early rehabilitation of cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetic patients. |
