Abstract: Objective To observe the effect of different stimulative ways of scalp penetration acupuncture on acute stroke. Methods 90 inpatients with acute stroke from July, 2011 to July, 2014 were randomly divided into manual acupuncture group (n=30), electroacupuncture group (n=30) and simple acupuncture group (n=30). All the groups accepted scalp penetration acupuncture from Baihui (GV20) to Taiyang (EX-HN5) and stimulated manually, electrically and simply maintained, respectively. They were assessed with Neurological Deficit Score (NDS), measured with neuron-specific enolase (NSE) before and 14 days after treatment. The incidence of improvement was observed. Results The NDS was the least in the manual acupuncture group (P<0.05), as well as the serumal level of NSE (P<0.05). The incidence of improvement was the most in the manual acupuncture group (P<0.05). Conclusion The manual stimulation of scalp penetration acupuncture is more effective on the acute stroke.

Key words: stroke, scalp acupuncture, penetration, manipulation, electroacupuncture