Calm Your Anxiety and Live Your Best Life with Acupuncture
Acupuncture works with your body so that you feel better and live longer naturally. When I first opened my practice in 1998, one of my first patients was a young mother with anxiety and panic attacks when driving, especially when crossing bridges. Her heart would beat rapidly, she’d get sick to her stomach, and have to…
Read MoreModulation of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) in the anti-inflammatory function of the vagus nerve
The α7nAcetylcholine receptor comes up again and again in research on inflammation and has been studied in the context of acupuncture too. Vagal activity is key to natural feedbacks for anti-inflammation. I’ve been monitoring Heart Rate Variability (HRV) for many years which is a measure of autonomic balance. Autonomic balance refers to the relative contributions…
Read MoreInternational Consensus Based Review and Recommendations for Minimum Reporting Standards in Research on Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (Version 2020)
As blog readers know, I’m using TAVNS in the office in conjunction with acupuncture. Some patients have a unit they use at home also. It is becoming a focus of keen interest in the allopathic medical community, so this article covers guidelines for its use. Front Hum Neurosci. 2020; 14: 568051. Published online 2021 Mar 23. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.568051…
Read MoreTRPA1 is necessary for IL-1β induced vagus nerve activity
This is an abstract from the recent Bioelectronic summit. I am keeping tabs on all of the cytokines and mechanisms because they, in many instances, can explain how acupuncture works. I realize this is can seem abstract, but with enough data coming in, we will have a fuller picture. Building the science brick by bridk….
Read MoreCovid Vaccine Pioneers and Others Win 2021 Lasker Awards in Medicine
I just love the story of one of the researchers, Katalin Kariko. I shared her inspirational story here. She persevered in her work on messenger RNA even though she didn’t even have a lab. “they are among the most prestigious prizes in medicine, and scores of Lasker winners have gone on to receive the Nobel…
Read MoreDopamine mediates vagal modulation of the immune system by electroacupuncture.
I’ve probably written about this paper before, but it’s part of the point by point case for acupuncture activating anti-inflammatory effects by exploiting the immune system. In this case, sciatic nerve electroacupuncture stimulates the vagus nerve to activate DOPA decarboxylase which leads to the production of dopamine in the adrenal medulla. Dopamine inhibits cytokine production. …
Read MoreCalifornia now the only state that’s advanced out of CDC’s ‘high’ COVID transmission category
California no longer has “high” community levels of coronavirus transmission, according to data published Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an achievement a top state health official credited to broad vaccination uptake and public compliance with restrictions such as mask-wearing. Update: California moved back into the “high” transmission level on Wednesday,…
Read MoreTAVNS and GERD, Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease
This study shows that transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (TAVNS) improves the symptoms of GERD through vagal activity. This study shows that transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (TAVNS) improves the symptoms of GERD through vagal activity. Zhang B, Hu Y, Shi X, Li W, Zeng X, Liu F, Chen JDZ, Xie WF. Integrative Effects and Vagal…
Read MoreMemory Improvement in Senescent Prone Mice With Electroacupuncture
The mice treated with acupuncture were better able to navigate a water maze and had a lowering of brain inflammatory markers.This study looks at senescent prone mice and delivers acupuncture in a set prescription once a week for 8 weeks (not intensive, at only once a week). The set prescription (for acupuncturists) is K3, Bl23,…
Read MoreRole of Neuroimmune Crosstalk in Mediating the Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic Effects of Acupuncture on Inflammatory Pain
I’m slowly making some progress on my chapter on Inflammation and acupuncture’s role in decreasing it, as well as other “natural” means of mitigating it. This article is a great summary of some of the messengers and mechanisms of how acupuncture works to limit inflammation. It’s complicated to be sure, but to me, very exciting. …
Read MoreSan Francisco and Iceland: Success Stories for the Covid Vaccine
Both Iceland and San Francisco are seen as having had low Covid case rates and high vaccination rates. But with the Delta variant, both places had a surge this summer in cases and hospitalizations. Iceland is 77% vaccinated, San Francisco 73%, the U.S. 53%. At the height of the surge in mid-August, the Washington Post reported…
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