Neuroprotective effect of electroacupuncture against acute ischemic stroke via PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway-mediated autophagy

Acupuncture has been used to treat ischemic stroke, and mounting evidence demonstrates the neuroprotective and autophagy-mediated actions of electroacupuncture (EA). This review summarizes the evidence that EA affects different stages of autophagy, its neuroprotective action, and effects of different acupoints in treating ischemic stroke. Systematic searches were conducted on English and Chinese databases (MEDLINE, Elsevier, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure). Studies published up until February 2021 were considered for inclusion, and a final of fifty articles were included in this review. There is evidence that acupuncture promotes neuroprotection by modulating autophagy, and the treatment effectiveness is related to the acupoint selection and timing of treatment administration.