Temporal effect of acupuncture on amino acid neurotransmitters in rats with acute cerebral ischaemia.

Background: Acupuncture stimulation at GV26 during the acute phase of cerebral ischaemia can effectively reduce brain damage induced by ischaemic injury. However, the time course of the effects of acupuncture stimulation has not yet been thoroughly studied.

Objective: To investigate the effects of manual acupuncture (MA) on glutamic acid (Glu) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) expression in the cerebrospinal fluid of rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and determine whether there is a temporal effect of acupuncture on the treatment of cerebral ischaemia.