Objective To compare clinical therapeutic effects of scalp acupuncture, plum-blossom needles tapping the head area combined with speech training and simple speech training on aphasia of ischemic apoplexy. Methods Sixty cases of aphasia of ischemic apoplexy were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each group. The patients in the control group received speech training, and in the observation group, on the basis of speech training, acupuncture was given at the anterior oblique line of vertex temporal, the posterior oblique line of vertex temporal and the middle line of vertex, and after withdrawal of the needles, the area enclosed by the 4 lines of the anterior oblique line of vertex temporal, the middle line of vertex, the posterior oblique line of vertex temporal, and connective line of Qǔbìn （曲鬓 GB 7） with Xuánlí（悬厘 GB 6） was tapped 2-3 times with plum-blossom needles. The assessment criteria in Chinese Aphasia Set Tests were used for comparison of scores of all the sub-items between the two groups. Results After treatment, scores of information amount, fluency, retelling, naming of words, naming of colors, naming of response, answer to yes or no question, hearing and recognizing, executing an order, etc. were signif icantly increased in both the two groups （all P0.05）, and the scores of all the above items in the observation group were more significantly increased as compared with those in the control group （all P0.05）. Conclusion Scalp acupuncture, plum-blossom needle tapping combined with speech training has a significant therapeutic effect on aphasia of ischemic apoplexy, which is better than that of simple speech training.
