Objective To observe the effect of electroacupuncture(EA) on the contents of hippocampal calcitonin gene-related peptide(CGRP) and neuropeptide Y(NPY) in cerebral ischemia(CI) rats.Methods Forty SD rats were randomly divided into normal control

sham operation(sham)

model and EA groups with 10 cases in each.CI model was duplicated by middle cerebral artery occlusion.EA(2 Hz

1 mA

continuous waves) was applied to "Shuigou"(GV 26) for 30 min

once daily for 5 days.Hippocampal tissue was taken for assaying the contents of CGRP and NPY with radioimmunoassay.Results Compared with sham group and normal control group

hippocampal CGRP content in model group decreased apparently(P<0.01)

while NPY content of model group increased significantly(P<0.01).Compared with model group

hippocampal CGRP in EA group increased considerably(P<0.01) and NPY content decreased obviously(P<0.01).Conclusion Electroacupuncture of GV26 can effectively adjust hippocampal CGRP and NPY contents in CI rats

which may contribute to its effect in improving cerebral ischemia.