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 MoreSpecific vagus nerve stimulation parameters alter serum cytokine levels in the absence of inflammation
This is an important article to keep in mind. Just as in this latest article from Harvard, stimulation parameters really matter when trying to activate vagal activity. This study is in animals and directly stimulation the vagus nerve. If you get it wrong, you can get the opposite effect. That is why I think my…
Read MoreTranscutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation and heart rate variability: Analysis of parameters and targets
Use of Trancutaneous Auricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation TAVNS, might be helpful to augment acupuncture for many different conditions since improved parasympathetic activity can mitigate inflammation globally in the body. I’ve been studying this with HRV in conjunction with acupuncture, which also improves parasympathetic activity. Machetanz K, Berelidze L, Guggenberger R, Gharabaghi A. Transcutaneous auricular vagus…
Read MoreHow Acupuncture Targets Inflammation. From Harvard Gazette
Harvard gazette does a great job explaining the importance of this Nature article that I wrote about when it came out. It’s great to have professional science writers do the explaining! A subset of neurons in the hindlimbs have been found to trigger an anti-inflammatory response when acupuncture is applied. Andrey Popov “This study…
Read MoreThe Role of the Vagus Nerve in Fibromyalgia Syndrome
Patients with fibromyalgia often have low vagal activity and low Heart Rate Variability. Acupuncture and TAVNS can help. Review article The role of the vagus nerve in fibromyalgia syndrome Author links open overlay panelDaniel F.MartinsabFrederic J.F.ViseuxcdDaiana C.SalmabAnny Caroline AvelinoRibeiroaHelen Kassiana Lopesda SilvaaLynsey A.SeimeEdsel B.BittencourtfGianlucaBiancoghAri Ojeda OcampoMoréiWilliam R.ReedjkLeidianeMazzardo-Martinsl Show more Add to Mendeley Share Cite https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.10.021Get…
Read MoreVitamin B2 for migraines
Riboflavin, or Vitamin B2, 400 mg, has been shown to be effective in preventing migraine. This article isn’t new. In fact I’ve discussed Vitamin B2 for headaches before. But it’s a good reminder to me and, hopefully, the readers too! Cheap, Safe Migraine Relief Riboflavin, aka vitamin B2, may offer migraine sufferers an inexpensive treatment…
Read MoreExercise activates vagal induction of dopamine and attenuates systemic inflammation
Even low intensity exercise can improve overall inflammation, not by muscle response but due to vagal nerve activity. One session of low intensity exercise in mice attenuated serum levels of inflammatory markers (cytokines), and increased anti-inflammatory cytokines. It appears that TNF (tumor necrosis factor-a proinflammatory cytokine) was decreased because of activity in the subdiaphragmatic vagus…
Read MoreMolecular and Functional Neuroscience in Immunity
Molecular and Functional Neuroscience in Immunity Valentin A. Pavlov, Sangeeta S. Chavan, and Kevin J. Tracey Center for Biomedical Science and Center for Bioelectronic Medicine, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Northwell Health, Manhasset, New York 11030, USA Stimulation of somatosensory signaling to the CNS by acupuncture activates a brain muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) mechanism…
Read MoreA neuroanatomical basis for electroacupuncture to drive the vagal–adrenal axis
Maybe it sounds hyperbolic, but this article is a true breakthrough. As patients and readers of the blog know, I’ve been focused on the relationship between autonomic balance/stress response and acupuncture for a long time. I measure Heart Rate Variability (HRV), a measure of autonomic balance in the clinic routinely. I have always been interested…
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 More