Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Stimulation Reduces Ischemic Stroke Volume by Improving Cerebral Collateral Blood Flow

Overview

Journal J Cereb Blood Flow Metab

Publisher Sage Publications

Specialties Cardiology & Vascular Diseases
Endocrinology
Neurology

Date 2022 Feb 25

PMID 35209740

Authors

Hannelore Kemps

Chantal Dessy

Laurent Dumas

Pierre Sonveaux

Lotte Alders

Jana Van Broeckhoven

Lena Perez Font

Sara Lambrichts

Sebastien Foulquier

Sven Hendrix

Bert Brone

Robin Lemmens

Annelies Bronckaers

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Extremely low frequency electromagnetic stimulation (ELF-EMS) has been considered as a neuroprotective therapy for ischemic stroke based on its capacity to induce nitric oxide (NO) signaling. Here, we examined whether ELF-EMS reduces ischemic stroke volume by stimulating cerebral collateral perfusion. Moreover, the pathway responsible for ELF-EMS-induced NO production was investigated. ELF-EMS diminished infarct growth following experimental stroke in collateral-rich C57BL/6 mice, but not in collateral-scarce BALB/c mice, suggesting that decreased lesion sizes after ELF-EMS results from improved collateral blood flow. analysis demonstrated that ELF-EMS increased endothelial NO levels by stimulating the Akt-/eNOS pathway. Furthermore, ELF-EMS augmented perfusion in the hind limb of healthy mice, which was mediated by enhanced Akt-/eNOS signaling. In healthy C57BL/6 mouse brains, ELF-EMS treatment increased cerebral blood flow in a NOS-dependent manner, whereas no improvement in cerebrovascular perfusion was observed in collateral-sparse BALB/c mice. In addition, ELF-EMS enhanced cerebral blood flow in both the contra- and ipsilateral hemispheres of C57BL/6 mice subjected to experimental ischemic stroke. In conclusion, we showed that ELF-EMS enhances (cerebro)vascular perfusion by stimulating NO production, indicating that ELF-EMS could be an attractive therapeutic strategy for acute ischemic stroke by improving cerebral collateral blood flow.

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