Effect of electroacupuncture at ST36 on the cerebral metabolic kinetics of rheumatoid arthritis rats
This animal study looks at the effects of acupuncture on Stomach 36 on brain metabolism in rheumatoid arthritis rats. The electroacupuncture improved the animals’ arthritic symptoms, but also altered their brain metabolic markers especially in the PAG, and hippocampus. Liang F, Du L, Rao X, Li Y, Long W, Tian J, Zhu X, Zou A,…
Read MoreHormesis/preconditioning mechanisms, the nervous system and aging
Organisms face various stressors throughout life, necessitating adaptive responses to prevent disease and death. Environmental factors like dietary restriction, exercise, and cognitive stimulation may enhance health and longevity through a hormesis-like mechanism. This article delves into the hormesis hypothesis for disease resistance and longevity, emphasizing nervous system studies. Arumugam TV, Gleichmann M, Tang SC, Mattson…
Read MoreExtreme Treatments Going Mainstream?
For athletes out there, or those of you who are interested in health and performance hacks, I’m sharing this article from the Wall Street Journal. It covers cold therapy (gloves to lower temperature), infrared light, magnet chairs… I think the cold gloves are probably safe, but I would wait for others to try the infrared…
Read MoreCardiovascular effects of auricular stimulation – and auricular acupuncture
Readers may be aware that I’ve been using transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation in the clinic, usually with heart rate variability monitoring. It can increase vagal “rest-and-digest” activity, lowering anxiety, blood pressure and anxiety and improving mood. It’s also been studied for cardiac effects. The number of studies on auricular stimulation (AS) techniques, including transauricular vagus…
Read MoreHormesis and Anti-Aging
This is a fantastic summary of how hormesis help us throw off “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” Single or multiple exposure to low doses of otherwise harmful agents, such as irradiation, food limitation, heat stress, hypergravity, reactive oxygen species and other free radicals have a variety of anti-aging and longevity-extending hormetic effects. “Although…
Read MoreVisualization, Vagus Nerve and Spirals
This video makes the parallel between the brain science behind visualization, and how we think about acupuncture can help or hurt out results. Spirals are everywhere in nature. Our bodies incorporate spirals also in all of our feedback loops, which is one of the prime ways that acupuncture works. I have been interested in visualization…
Read MorePhenylephrine No Better Than Placebo
FDA advisory panel’s declaration paves way for removal of dozens of medicines in the U.S. Your favorite cold medicine for a stuffy nose may soon be unavailable. An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration declared Tuesday that an ingredient in widely used oral decongestants doesn’t work, setting the stage for dozens of products…
Read MoreBetter Heart Rate Variability Leads to Better Emotional Control in Depressed Women
This study is looking at the high emotion regulation difficulties in women with depression. What they found was that higher (healthier HRV, higher vagal tone) lead to better emotional control and less severe depressive symptoms. Lower HRV has even been associated with cognitive decline.The explanation si that there is increased cognitive flexibility in patients with…
Read MoreEffectiveness of Acupuncture for Pain Control After Cesarean Delivery: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Is adding preoperative acupuncture to standard pharmacological therapy effective for pain control in patients after cesarean delivery?This study interests me for a couple of reasons. Post op pain is common. It is also very common to receive opiates after surgeries. Anything to decrease pain post op is to be investigated. Usichenko is a researcher I…
Read MoreHow Acupuncture Controls the Stress Response
In this episode we’re going to dive into the way acupuncture has an incredible ability to reduce the stress response. It’s a game-changer for your health and well-being. Please click on my photo for a related video! I have a personal story to share with you. I had to step away from traditional medical practice…
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