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Medical Research

Evaluation of Autonomic Nervous System Function Using Heart Rate Variability Analysis During Transient Heart Rate Reduction Caused by Acupuncture.

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Medical Research

Nerve Stimulation: Immunomodulation and Control of Inflammation.

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Medical Research

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Acupuncture Stimulation via the Vagus Nerve, revisited

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Medical Research

Mast cells are important regulator of acupoint sensitization via the secretion of tryptase, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and histamine.

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Case Studies

Abstract for NANS meeting. TAVNS and Autonomic Balance in the Acupuncture Clinic: Clinical Case Study

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Medical Research

Mechanism Underlying Acupuncture-Ameliorated Depressive Behaviors by Enhancing Glial Glutamate Transporter in Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress (CUMS) Rats.

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Medical Research

HRV study: Anti-inflammatory and autonomic effects of electroacupuncture in a rat model of diet-induced obesity

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Medical Research

Acupuncture modulates the abnormal brainstem activity in migraine without aura patients.

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Medical Research

Laser Ear Acupuncture and HRV

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Ethics in Medicine

Endorsement of Acupuncture: SF Chronicle

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Medical Research

Evaluation of Autonomic Nervous System Function Using Heart Rate Variability Analysis During Transient Heart Rate Reduction Caused by Acupuncture.

This article shows that heart rate decreases during 2 minutes of manual stimulation at one acupoint.  High Frequency normalized units increases, which implies increased parasympathetic activity.  Napadow showed that that a decrease in heart rate during needling implies an “orienting” response, and an increase in heart rate implies an aversive response.  So it would be…

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Medical Research

Nerve Stimulation: Immunomodulation and Control of Inflammation.

Immunomodulation and control of inflammation Torres Rosas 4.7.2018 Another great article by Luis Ulloa and Torres-Rosas.  I can’t stress enough the importance of this kind of thinking.  Calm your system, you calm inflammation and autoimmune. Trends Mol Med. 2017 Dec;23(12):1103-1120. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2017.10.006. Epub 2017 Nov 20. Nerve Stimulation: Immunomodulation and Control of Inflammation. Ulloa L1,…

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Medical Research

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Acupuncture Stimulation via the Vagus Nerve, revisited

I am re-posting this from a few years ago.  I’m reworking my abstract for the NANS (North American Neuromodulation Society) meeting since the deadline has been postponed. This article is a great resource for some of the basic science behind vagal nerve stimulation via acupuncture at Stomach 36 and outcomes. Full article here. PLoS One….

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Medical Research

Mast cells are important regulator of acupoint sensitization via the secretion of tryptase, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and histamine.

This article gets to the heart of how I’m thinking about acupuncture.  There is a school of thought that nerve stimulation is necessary to achieve clinical results.  Longhurst, for example, is an advocate for that approach and all of his protocols employ electroacupuncture.  I’m assuming his mental model assumes that nerve stimulation is the basis…

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Case Studies

Abstract for NANS meeting. TAVNS and Autonomic Balance in the Acupuncture Clinic: Clinical Case Study

This is my abstract for the upcoming NANS conference in NYC.  It was accepted!  So to NYC for me in August. Introduction: Improving autonomic balance (increasing parasympathetic activity and decreasing sympathetic activity)leads to better immunity, pain tolerance, mood, longevity and inflammation. Both Transcutaneous Auricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation (TAVNS)[i] and acupuncture[ii] [iii] [iv]have been shown to…

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Medical Research

Mechanism Underlying Acupuncture-Ameliorated Depressive Behaviors by Enhancing Glial Glutamate Transporter in Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress (CUMS) Rats.

This article is a great example of the preventative effects of acupuncture.  They invoke Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress (CUMS), and then give acupuncture 36Stomach and Liver 3. “improving sucrose consumption, latency, and food intake in CUMS rats. However, acupuncture appears to achieve an antidepressant effect later than riluzole does because it might need accumulated stimulation…

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Medical Research

HRV study: Anti-inflammatory and autonomic effects of electroacupuncture in a rat model of diet-induced obesity

I get asked about acupuncture and obesity so often.  My standard reply is that if I could treat obesity I’d be a billionaire many times over.  Maybe I should make more of an effort!!  Unfortunately, there are no details given in the abstract and no free online access, so I’m not sure what protocol they…

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Medical Research

Acupuncture modulates the abnormal brainstem activity in migraine without aura patients.

A sizable portion of my practice is devoted to migraine patients, finding best treatments and researching their physiological response.  This paper looks at the role of abnormal brainstem activity in migraine patients without aura and how acupuncture affects it.  As with most Chinese studies we can only partly draw conclusions since they treated 5 x…

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Medical Research

Laser Ear Acupuncture and HRV

It’s not surprising that there are gender differences in response to ear laser acupuncture, but I AM surprised that there is an increase in LF/HF or increase in stress levels with laser ear acupuncture. Full text here Medicines (Basel). 2018 Mar 15;5(1). pii: E24. doi: 10.3390/medicines5010024. Gender Differences in Laser Acupuncture-Results of a Crossover Study…

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Ethics in Medicine

Endorsement of Acupuncture: SF Chronicle

“The American College of Physicians has gone so far as to recommend acupuncture as a first treatment for low back pain, and the Joint Commission’s “Pain Management Standards” now includes acupuncture as a non-pharmacological strategy for managing pain.”… “..Or maybe all those needles stimulate the body to heal itself or suppress pain. Or maybe getting…

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