Electroacupuncture may protect the brain after restored blood flow by simultaneously suppressing several damaging cellular pathways and promoting repair processes.
The paper reviewed experimental evidence from rat models of interrupted and restored brain blood flow, examining electroacupuncture administered either before or after injury. It considered effects on cognitive function, brain tissue structure, and biological mechanisms including cellular self-digestion, oxidative damage, inflammation, programmed cell death, blood–brain barrier integrity, and new blood vessel formation.
Across the reviewed experiments, electroacupuncture was associated with reduced cognitive impairment and improved brain tissue appearance. It appeared to limit several interconnected sources of nerve-cell injury, including excessive cellular self-digestion, oxidative stress, inflammation, and programmed cell death, while supporting restoration of the blood–brain barrier and formation of new blood vessels.
