Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the main type of dementia affecting elderly people. The medicines used for treating AD have limits in their ability to alleviate cognitive and functional decline. Electroacupuncture (EA)

an economical alternative and complementary therapeutic measure used in Chinese medicine

has strong clinical applicability

and its treatment effects are more reliable as its stimulation factors can be standardized. EA has been effectively used for ameliorating spatial learning and memory impairment in AD patients and rodent AD models. Here

we summarized the mechanisms of EA on rodent AD models

aiming to provide a theoretical basis for identifying new targets and research directions

and exploring appropriate EA stimulation parameters

then provide a detailed methodology to optimize the effects of EA

ultimately reducing the heavy burden of treating AD patients on families and countries. Our review showed that 8 acupoints were used when treating AD animals; Baihui (GV 20) was the most frequently used. Four mechanisms of EA were studied: (1) protection of cerebral neurons from oxidative stress

apoptosis

neuroinflammation

synaptic plasticity and hormone levels; (2) regulation of metabolism

including glucose metabolism and plasma metabolism; (3) regulation of brainderived neurotrophic factor; and (4) regulation of β-amyloid peptide protein deposition.