CASP3 and stroke disorder: In addition, we also found that the expression of the proteins Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3, and cleaved caspase-3 was elevated following a stroke event; EA downregulated the expression of Bax, caspase-3, and cleaved caspase-3 protein while upregulating Bcl-2 protein expression in the ischemic brain of stroke rats.