Chronic electrical stimulation of four acupuncture points on rat diabetic neuropathy

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of chronic electrical stimulation of acupuncture points on rat diabetic neuropathy. Diabetes mellitus was induced by a single dose of intravenous streptozotocin. The efficacies of several different protocols of electrical stimulation were compared. The evaluation measures included nerve conduction velocity, tactile threshold and blood perfusion on eye and footpad. Electrical stimulation was administered 30 min/day for 4 weeks. On the 4(th) weekend of stimulation, when compared with the control group, the stimulated groups showed differential benefits on different evaluation measures. The results indicated that chronic electrical stimulation could reduce the functional deficits of diabetic neuropathy.