Vaccination Does Prevent Illness as well as Spreading of Covid
Another great article from National Geographic about the vaccines and how they help to mitigate disease and its spread. After any infection, “you have white blood cells, specifically T and B cells, that hang around and remember that initial infection so that if you do become infected again, these memory cells respond by immediately multiplying…
Read MoreHygiene Hypothesis>Don’t fear all germs!!!
Dr. Graham Rook, an emeritus professor of medical microbiology at University College London, likens the immune system to a computer. He says that the microbes we encounter in daily life — on other people and in our spaces — are the data that the immune system relies on to program and regulate its operations. While…
Read MoreElectroacupuncture regulates inflammatory cytokines by activating the vagus nerve to enhance antitumor immunity in mice with breast tumors, Life Sciences,
This should be a big deal? These animal experiments that look at different immune factors could be irrelevant to humans, but when it comes to cancer, perhaps we should be taking a closer look. Also gratifying that they were able to link it to the vagus nerve and the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus…
Read MoreDr. Kariko, Hero of the Covid mRNA vaccine
An absolutely incredible story of a dogged, persistent scientist in the face of huge obstacles who persevered and was key in the effort to produce the mRNA vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna alike. I encourage you to read the whole thing. Inspiring! And it underscores the importance of basic science but also of following hunches…
Read MoreNetwork, degeneracy and bow tie. Integrating paradigms and architectures to grasp the complexity of the immune system
Fascinating background material for my chapter on the Immune System Tieri P, Grignolio A, Zaikin A, et al. Network, degeneracy and bow tie. Integrating paradigms and architectures to grasp the complexity of the immune system. Theor Biol Med Model. 2010;7:32. Published 2010 Aug 11. doi:10.1186/1742-4682-7-32 Abstract Recently, the network paradigm, an application of graph theory to…
Read MoreDepression can lead to shortened life span
When I read this title I immediately thought, “well sure, you don’t work out as much, don’t engage in healthy activities”. But in this study they controlled for other illness and lifestyle choices. So the take away, as they state, is that depression affects the whole body. Of course in Chinese Medicine there has never…
Read MoreGetting Past “Disease” to a Science of Wellness: Institute for Systems Biology
This article appeared in the Sunday Chronicle. And though Hood’s area of interest is different than mine, his goal is the same. To detect and treat preventatively before illness can become established. This is his Institute for Systems Biology. In a system focused on wellness, physicians would spend as much or more time helping patients…
Read MoreA new model for the HPA axis explains dysregulation of stress hormones on the timescale of weeks.
This study seeks to understand how the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, or HPA, can become so dysregulated. What they found is that the actual size or mass of the affected organs can change. Stress and its sequelae is so important to all aspects of health, that any insights into its workings can be key. Acupuncture lowers stress…
Read MoreEffects of acupuncture and moxibustion on serum contents of hematopoietic growth factor in mice with marrow inhibition
This acupuncture approach to bolstering deficient blood cell counts with chemotherapy, something that limits how much treatment a patient can get, may be promising. I’ve typically said that acupuncture probably doesn’t have a role in fighting cancer per se, but helps in optimizing during treatment. This may be further evidence that this could be true….
Read MoreSomato-Autonomic Effects of Acupuncture
Reading this article makes me extremely motivated to get back to my writing project!! This is part of what it’s all about and why I’ve been suspicious of non-penetrating needles as a control for a long time. Introduction Modern randomized clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of acupuncture for treating a range of conditions, including…
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