[Mechanism of acupuncture in treatment of ischemic stroke: a review].

Acupuncture can intervene in and treat ischemic stroke (IS) through multiple targets and pathways. In recent years, experimental studies have shown that the mechanism of acupuncture in the treatment of IS mainly involves the promotion of nerve repair and regeneration, the regulation of the activity of neurotransmitters, the improvement of cerebral blood flow, the alleviation of brain edema, the reduction of oxidative stress, the inhibition of apoptosis and autophagy, and the suppression of inflammatory responses. This paper reviewed the available mechanisms of acupuncture in the treatment of IS to provide theoretical support for the clinical application of acupuncture against IS and references for further research.

[Progress of researches on mechanisms of acupuncture therapy for cerebral hemorrhage].

Acupuncture therapy has been widely used in clinical treatment of consciousness, cognitive function, mental and motor disorders after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in China, and has achieved good results. We, in the present paper, summarized development of studies on the underlying mechanism of acupuncture therapy for ICH in recent 20 years. Outcomes showed that acupuncture can relieve symptoms of ICH by 1) inhibiting inflammatory response, 2) alleviating brain edema, 3) inhibiting apoptosis, 4) activating autophagy, 5) inhibiting iron death, 6) alleviating oxidative stress, 7) promoting nerve regeneration, 8) improving brain circulation, 9) regulating neurotransmitter levels, and 10) promoting angiogenesis. In the future, we suggest that clinical trials for exploring the rule of dialectical acupoint selection in the treatment of ICH should be strengthened, and in-depth studies on the interrelation among the acupuncture targets are conducted to improve the theory of acupuncture effects.