ABSTRACT
Ischemic stroke is a type of clinical syndrome caused by brain blood supply disorders due to various cerebrovascular diseases, which lead to local cerebral ischemia, hypoxic necrosis, and corresponding neurological defects. In recent years, the neurovascular unit mechanism of ischemic stroke has been proposed in modern medicine. With the principles of syndrome differentiation-based treatment and holistic view in traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture has the advantage of multi-target and multi-link effect and good clinical efficacy on this disease, and current studies have shown that acupuncture has a marked effect on each component and the whole of neurovascular unit. This article reviews the effect of acupuncture on the regulation of blood-brain barrier, astrocytes, microglial cells, neurons, and neurovascular units.