Dementia GLP-1 Drugs Fail to Slow Dementia
though GLP-1’s do affect atherosclerotic heart disease and alcohol addiction, they fail in three studies to slow dementia.
Read MoreGenetic Contribution to Lifespan, More than you think but still hopeful
I was happy to see a name that I hadn’t heard in awhile, Uri Alon. It was years ago, but he did a fantastic TED talk on how to find your topic for research. He’s playful and also an expert on chemotaxis. (I contributed to one Biochemistry journal article and it was on chemotaxis.)…
Read MoreTAVNS and Acupuncture: Stress, inflammation, and resilience among patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma
This study looks at stress and vagal nerve activity in outcomes of oral squamous cell carcinoma which is very common in Asia. They look at interventions such as TAVNS and acupuncture in conjunction with HRV monitoring. Something I’ve been interested in, well, seemingly forever. @ previous blogs here and here • Stress biology , poor…
Read MoreTAVNS: Transcutaneour Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Alleviates Cardiac Dysfunction in Takotsubo Syndrome
This study is closely aligned with the study in this blog post. Both research groups are looking at a mouse model of stressed hearts/heart attacks and evaluating the effect of the vagus nerve. This simple, noninvasive intervention of TAVNS may be a reasonable add on for emergency room visits where patients are being evaluated for…
Read MoreAcupuncture: Multimodal Enhancement of Colonic Motility by at ST36 is Mediated by TRPV1+ Cutaneous Sensory Fibers.
This study looked at how acupuncture improves gut movement, focusing on a specific nerve receptor called TRPV1 at the acupuncture point ST36 (Zusanli). I had a section in my book on Zusanli, and blogged about it here Researchers used mice and applied electrical, manual, heat, and capsaicin stimulation at ST36. All types of stimulation significantly…
Read MoreAcupuncture for Migraine Without Aura and Connection-Based Efficacy Prediction:
This study tested whether real acupuncture works better than sham acupuncture for people with migraines without aura. I’ve had many migraine patients whose migraines decreased significantly with acupuncture. Here and here. 120 adults were randomly assigned to real or sham acupuncture, with 12 sessions over 4 weeks. People receiving real acupuncture had fewer migraine days,…
Read MoreCentral-sensitization and neuro-immune axis via microglial modulation in acupuncture treatment for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis-associated pain.
This arthritis study provides more evidence for acupuncture’s effect on the neuro-immune axis, central sensitization, vagal nerve activation, and microglian suppression. We’ve discussed the neuro-immune axis many times, and of course vagal nerve activation. (Both these topics were covered in my book) Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) causes chronic pain in children that often does…
Read MoreDamage from a heart attack comes from brain signals and vagus input
This animal study shows that there is cross talk between the brain and heart and vagus nerve which can worsen the damage of heart attacks. Why is this important? It again, highlights the outsized role that the vagus nerve and inflammation have on our lives. I’ve written about heart disease here and and the link…
Read MoreTaVNS: Potential for Fibromyalgia via Autonomic Nervous Syste
Fibromyalgia is now recognized as a “real” condition (decades ago patients were told it was all in their head.) I’ve discussed it on the blog here and here. My YouTube episode on this here. I welcome TaVNS being studied as an approach of treating one of the key underlying issues rather than chasing symptoms. Perin…
Read Morecomparison of two acupuncture protocols for animal model IBS
This rat study found that acupuncture plus moxibustion improved visceral pain in IBS, but an acupoint strategy based on “treating the root and the branch” (PC6, CV4, ST36) outperformed a conventional protocol. The BB approach more effectively normalized heart rate variability, balanced cardiac stress hormones (ANP and BNP), and corrected metabolic disruptions linked to energy…
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