FGF2 and brain infarction: Besides, compared with the rats that received only thrombolysis 6 h after the embolic stroke model was established, the rats that received acupuncture for 30 min 2 h after stroke and before thrombolysis showed lower neurologic scores, less infarct volumes, and more expressions of VEGF and bFGF in ischemic areas of the cerebral cortex, indicating that acupuncture was able to prolong the time window of thrombolysis in cerebral infarction rats, which may be connected with the up-regulation of VEGF and bFGF expressions in ischemic cerebral cortex (51).