Tag: acupuncture and brain research
Brain Scans Show Real Effect of Acupuncture
A report from The Guardian discussing recent findings showing that acupuncture works in a way distinct from any placebo. “Placebo acupuncture can ease short-term pain but the real thing might help to reverse the underlying pathology of a disease.” ” “I was completely floored,” he says. Whatever the acupuncture was doing, it wasn’t working as…
Read Moreeffects of electroacupuncture to the trigeminal nerve area on the autonomic nervous system and cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex.
This fascinating study has implications not only for improving stress profiles by increasing vagal activity as measured by HRV, but also is relevant regarding headache treatment with acupuncture. It also showed increased cerebral perfusion in the prefrontal cortex. Amazing! Keep in mind, big money is being thrown at these kinds of endeavors that use technologies…
Read MoreImprovement in Cognitive Function with 3 times per week Electroacupuncture for one month
This study shows an improvement in brain activity with 3 times a week, low frequency electroacupuncture at Ki6 and Bl 62. (Acupuncturists will recognize both of those points as opening points for “Special” meridians.) The P300 is an actual measure of brain activity which correlates with cognitive activity, not a questionnaire or memory cognitive test….
Read MoreModulation of brainstem activity and connectivity by respiratory-gated auricular vagal afferent nerve stimulation in migraine patients.
This study combines two key areas I’m interested in. One is using auricular vagal stimulation, and the other is migraine. Napadow has been a colleague of mine for over 10 years and he does brilliant work. He’s an expert in brain imaging and fMRI. Frankly, I’ve hesitated to use ear stim in migraine patients because…
Read MoreElectroacupuncture at GB20 Relieves Migraine and Lowers CGRP in Animals
I was not aware that migraine sufferers had cutaneous allodynia. That may account for the exaggerated autonomic response to needling I’ve noticed in the clinic. Neural Regen Res. 2017 May;12(5):804-811. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.206652. Electroacupuncture at Fengchi (GB20) inhibits calcitonin gene-related peptide expression in the trigeminovascular system of a rat model of migraine. Zhao LP1,2, Liu L1,…
Read MoreAcupuncture for Treatment and Prevention of Neurological Diseases: Modulation of Neurogenesis
I usually don’t post studies on the neurological research that is omnipresent in acupuncture literature because I think it’s too soon. But I listened to a podcast yesterday, where the relatively well known researcher was making claims and recommendations about diet and supplements. Acupuncture research is at the same level as the research on these…
Read MoreAcupressure for Cancer Fatigue: Richard Harris
The SAR conference finished yesterday and there were some very provocative presentations. The work that I am most amazed at is the work of Richard Harris from University of Michigan. But there were other very impressive presentations also. I’ve posted about Richard Harris’ work on Acupressure for cancer fatigue. He fleshed out and presented the…
Read MoreElectroacupuncture Promotes CNS-Dependent Release of Mesenchymal Stem Cells.
This study with a million authors is maily out of Florida. It’s pertinent for a variety of reasons. There is the remarkable fact that this huge group was able to get funding for such sophisticated acupuncture research and that it paid off. Way cool on all counts. Unfortunately, no emails available to try to get…
Read MoreElectroacupuncture Improves HPAA axis in animals
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26573696 Neuromodulation. 2016 Jul;19(5):498-506. doi: 10.1111/ner.12366. Epub 2015 Nov 16. Arginine Vasopressin and Arginine Vasopressin Receptor 1b Involved in Electroacupuncture-Attenuated Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Hyperactivity in Hepatectomy Rats. Zhu J1, Chen Z1, Zhu L1, Meng Z1, Wu G1, Tian Z1. Author information Abstract OBJECTIVE: The study aims to know the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) in maintenance of…
Read MorefMRI and Effective Migraine Acupuncture Treatment
In this study, they gave intensive treatment. Daily acupuncture for 5 days, 2 days off for 4 weeks. I was surprised that their results were not better. They also used three different treatment protocols, two relied heavily on gall bladder points, one with St 37 and Pianli. In sum, quite different protocols than what I…
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