Tag: acupuncture animal research
Bee Venom and the Anti-inflammatory Response
The article below.is related to the previous blog post about vagal stimulation leading to decreased inflammation. The use of bee venom may be a more elegant and cheaper solution. Probably why it won’t gain much industry interest. I would love to be able to study this technique in conjunction with HRV. Toxins (Basel). 2015 Mar…
Read MoreElectroacupuncture ST36 prevents postoperative intra-abdominal adhesions formation.
Fascinating study that shows electroacupuncture at St36 can reduce postoperative adhesions by anti-inflammatory cholinergic effects. Sham acupuncture does not have the same effect. Vagotomy reduces this effect. So somehow St36 has vagal enhancing characteristics. This is a key point for me since vagal tone is, to a large extent, what I am measuring…
Read MoreBee Venom at St36 reduces autoimmune encephalomyelitis
Bee venom has been used traditionally in Chinese Medicine for decades but it seems to be getting more “buzz” lately. (pardon the pun) This article shows that the bee venom needs to be injected into Stomach 36 for it to work, not in other acupuncture points. Stomach 36 is the classic point (earth of…
Read MoreElectrical Ear Stim leads to Smaller Infarct Size in Rats
This is of interest since my recent bedside research has been looking at the effects of ear stim on the last 5 minutes of acupuncture treatment. In general, I do see a decrease in LF/HF, or decrease in stress response with ear stim. Bain Stimul. 2015 Jan-Feb;8(1):7-12. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2014.09.009. Epub 2014 Sep 28. Electrical Stimulation…
Read MoreAcupuncture 2 Hz and 100 Hz effects on fMRI default mode
This article show different effects of electroacupuncture depending on the frequency used. It also shows that this effect takes 20 minutes to develop. I’m focusing quite a bit on what happens within an individual acupuncture treatment with HRV, and find that usually the autonomic response is going back to baseline at about 15 minutes….
Read MoreEar Acupuncture Helps Stroke in Rats
Study looking at 1 hour electrical stimulation of the ear, cavum concha, in rats for 1 hour after experimentally induced cerebral ischemia. It lead to a smaller stroke volume area in the brain. Anecdotally, I haven’t seen anything too interesting in the ear with HRV, which one would expect given the vagal innervation. Brain…
Read MoreVariation of Stimulation Intensity and Neural REgulation in Mirror Image pain
This article looks at two levels of manual stimulation on GB 30 in rats with in a neuropathic pain model. They find no difference to the control in mild stimulation, but they do see an up regulation in the strong stimulation group. Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. 2014 Apr;39(2):106-11. [Effect of mild and strong manual acupuncture…
Read MoreEffect of acupoint catgut-embedding therapy on changes of structure of hippocampal neurons in senile chronic stress rats
This study ambitiously explores catgut-embedding for the havoc wrought by stress on senility. One of Sapolsky’s key findings was that stress causes a feed forward loop on the hippocampus during senility. The altered hippocampus then causes more stress, which then leads to more senility. This is a particular nasty ramification of stress. I am…
Read MoreAcupuncture for Sepsis and Immune Enhancement
This is a report on a recent lab study on mice where sepsis (life threatening, whole body infection) was induced. But it adds to the weight of evidence and does mention the role of the vagus, the focus of my research. This study also emphasized the role of intact adrenal glands. It also outlines the role of…
Read MoreLow Frequency Transcutaneous Electrostimulation More Effective on Opiate Receptors in Animal Studies
Low frequency acupuncture better than high frequency for pain in animal study. Interesting since there has been a lot of research on the different opiate receptors involved in 2Hz versys 100 hz. Maybe bogus? Maybe not? J Neurosci Res. 2014 Jan 31. doi: 10.1002/jnr.23351. [Epub ahead of print] Low- and high-frequency transcutaneous electrical acupoint…
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