How effective is scalp acupuncture for the treatment of stroke?
In a study of scalp acupuncture applied immediately following a stroke it was reported that both thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and 6-ketone prostaglandin F10 (6KP) levels in the blood plasma were affected. These biochemicals are the stable metabolites of substances involved in platelet clumping: thromboxane A2, which induces clumping of platelets and contraction of arteries, and prostaglandin I2, which inhibits platelet clumping and inhibits formation of arterial atheromas (by reducing cell proliferation). The physicians treated 20 patients who had suffered an ischemic stroke within the prior 10 days. It was shown that stroke patients had higher plasma TXB2 levels and lower plasma 6KP levels than healthy persons. After performing acupuncture on the stroke patients, the TXB2 levels declined and the 6KP levels rose. The changes were statistically significant, though the parameters did not reach the levels of healthy patients. The improvements in TXB-6KP levels were interpreted as a biochemical m
