Journal of Medical Hypotheses and Ideas4Electro-acupuncture could be an effective pretreatment for cerebral ischemia7777FengZhangYiWuJieJiaQing-ChuanGuoYong-ShanHu20151005Electroacupuncture, the integration of traditional Chinese acupuncture and modern electrotherapy, has been used for clinical treatment of cerebral ischemic disease in both eastern and western countries; however, the mechanism underlying its effects is still unknown. It is well known that excessive glutamate results in neuronal excitotoxicity after ischemic stroke. Previous studies have indicated that electro-acupuncture may downregulate the overactivation of glutamate after ischemia, and a recent study implied that electro-acupuncture prior to ischemia could induce brain ischemic tolerance. Based on the present information, we hypothesize that electro-acupuncture could be an effective pretreatment for cerebral ischemia by regulating the glutamatergic system.https://ijmhi.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijmhi/article/view/77https://ijmhi.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijmhi/article/download/77/77