Influence of the percutaneous impulsive current stimulation of hepatic region on the hepatic tissue of exercise-induced fatigue rats

Objective To investigate the effects of percutaneous impulsive current stimulation of hepatic region on the antioxidant indexes,glycogen contents and pathological changes of liver in exercise-induced fatigue rats.Methods Seventy-two male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group,exercise group and stimulating group(24 each).The rats in both exercise and stimulating groups underwent a forced swimming training to establish the exercise-induced fatigue model,and then the rats in stimulating group were treated with percutaneous impulsive current stimulation.At the end of 1st,3rd and 5th week after modeling,8 rats were randomly chosen from each group and sacrificed after 24 hours food and water depriving,the hepatic superoxide dismutase(SOD),malondialdehyde(MDA) and glycogen contents were determined,and the histopathological changes of liver tissues were observed.Results At the end of 1st,3rd and 5th week after modeling,the hepatic glycogen content and SOD activity showed the following order: control group exercise group stimulating group(P0.05),and the MDA content was as: control group exercise group stimulating group(P0.05),except that no significant difference existed between control group and exercise group on all the three indexes at the end of 1st week.It was observed by microscopy that the pathological changes aggravated gradually with the fatigue aggravating.At the end of 5th week after modeling,the liver tissue swelling,hepatic sinus narrowed and even vanished in exercise group,and the changes were obviously milder in stimulating group.Conclusion The percutaneous pulsive current stimulation of hepatic region in exercise-induced fatigue rats may improve the activity of antioxidant enzymes in liver,promote free radical-scavenging and hepatic glycogen synthesis,delay the occurrence of exercise-induced fatigue,and promote the recovery from exercise-induced fatigue.