THE FOLLOWING ARE SYMPTOMS AND CONDITIONS COMMONLY TREATED BY THE WASHINGTON ACUPUNCTURE CENTER. STROKE RESIDUALS Stroke is the sudden onset of paralysis or paresis from thrombosis or hemorrhage of blood vessels in the brain. It is usually the result of cerebral arteriosclerosis or congenital abnormalities of blood vessels and may be triggered by elevations of blood pressure. Clots from blood vessels in the legs or the site of surgery may be carried to the brain and cause strokes. Drugs, such as hormones or amphetamines, increase the chances of strokes even in young people. Most medical textbooks state that a person will recover from a stroke as much as he is going to during the first two years afterward and that stroke residuals still present then will be permanent. Acupuncture, however, has been successful in restoring function and feeling to parts of the body paralyzed by strokes more than five years afterwards. After the first few acupuncture treatments, a patient usually experiences a sensation of warmth in the paralyzed limb indicating that function will be restored as treatments are continued. Besides restoring feeling and function to paralyzed limbs, acupuncture can relieve the depression and emotional liability which often accompanies strokes. It can also relieve amnesia, aphasia, spasticity and generalized weakness, while regulating blood pressure and giving the patient a feeling of well-being. next