【Animal modeling】-Effect of electroacupuncture on somatosensory evoked potentials in dogs with intervertebral disc prolapse

  Objective: To study the repairing effect of electroacupuncture on spinal cord injury in dogs with intervertebral disc prolapse and its effect on somatosensory evoked potentials.

  Methods: Beagle dogs were randomly divided into three groups. The model group and the electroacupuncture group were treated with balloon compression to make the model of intervertebral disc herniation. The electroacupuncture group was treated with electroacupuncture every day after the operation; the control group was treated with sham operation. The Texas Spinal Cord Injury Scale for Dogs (TSCIS) score was used for each dog before surgery (0 d) and on 1, 4, 7, and 14 days after surgery, and measured by electromyography. SEP and analyze its latency and amplitude.

  Results: The TSCIS scores of the model group and electroacupuncture group were significantly lower than those of the control group at 1 day after operation (P<0.01), and at 14 days after operation, there was a significant difference between the electroacupuncture group and the model group (P<0.01). ; The SEP latency of the model group and the electroacupuncture group was significantly decreased at 4 days after operation (P<0.05), and at 14 days after operation, the latency of the electroacupuncture group was significantly different from that of the model group (P<0.05); The amplitudes of SEP in the model group and electroacupuncture group were significantly lower than those in the control group 1 day later (P<0.05), and on the 14th day after operation, the amplitudes of SEP between the electroacupuncture group and the model group were significantly different (P<0.05).

  Conclusion: Electroacupuncture can effectively promote the repair of spinal cord injury in dogs with intervertebral disc prolapse, improve TSCIS score, restore SEP waveform, shorten its latency, and increase its amplitude; SEP can reflect the degree of spinal cord injury to a certain extent, and evaluate the effect of electroacupuncture.