Acupuncture for Migraine versus erenumab: 2020 study
Manual acupuncture for migraine This is from the British Medical Acupuncture Society Blog. It is from 2020 but very pertinent today! I love the tone of this blog. Lighthearted but fervent! A large portion of my practice is devoted to acupuncture for migraine. The basic points that he makes are 1. That he was amazed that…
Read MoreEfficacy and Mechanisms of Acupuncture for Migraine
Migraine is a condition I treat frequently in the clinic. This review article goes into the different mechanisms that account for acupuncture’s often dramatic results. The studies suggest that it can affects neuropeptides, immune cells, proinflammatory and excitatory neurotransmitters, and modulate neuronal-sensitization-related mediators, endocannabinoid system, and serotonin system activation. Clinical studies show that acupuncture can…
Read MoreAcupuncture versus Ajovy_fremanezumab
There was no difference between the acupuncture and fremanezumab in the reduction of monthly migraine rates. Think about that! This is an injectable, expensive drug that you would need to take for a long time. I would venture to guess from my own experience with migraine patients, that with acupuncture you need less and less…
Read MoreEar stimulation to Lower Blood Pressure: RAVANS or TAVNS
I’ve been looking at vagal activity with ear stimulation, or transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (TAVNS)in the clinic for several years. As readers know, acupuncture calms the stress response by increasing vagal activity. TAVNS should increase vagal activity also. If I can show this, it would give me added confidence in having people use a…
Read MoreHuberman: Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal, HRV and vagus
One of the mail goals of my practice is to improve patients’ autonomic balance and increase vagal activity. I firmly believe if we can encourage vagal activity, we will see benefits to mood, immunity, pain all of which leads to longer life. Besides acupuncture, TAVNS, exercise, probiotics and good sleep, breathing is a key lever…
Read MoreVagus Nerve as Modulator of the Brain-Gut Axis in Psychiatric and Inflammatory Disorders
I’ve been alerted to ever more mention of the vagus nerve in the popular press. I’ve been interested in the vagus nerve and parasympathetic activity for longer than I choose to admit. That is why I measure Heart Rate Variability in the clinic to get a glimpse into patients’ parasympathetic tone overall and how it…
Read MoreExpiratory-gated Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation (taVNS) does not Further Augment Heart Rate Variability During Slow Breathing at 0.1 Hz
This study is relevant because of the RAVANs technology that synchronizes TAVNS with expiration. In these authors study they use 100Hz which may nor may not be optimal, just as tragus and cavum concha may not be optimal. But nonetheless, they saw now difference in HRV. TAVNS is running up against real problems in showing…
Read MoreHRV and Photobiomodulation for Vagal and Sympathetic ANS modulation
If nothing else, I aim to improve my patients’ autonomic balance by increasing their vagal activity. Stimulating the vagus nerve indirectly to increase parasympathetic activity and decreasing sympathetic activity. Acupuncture can increase vagal activity as well as transcutaneous auricular vagal stimulation. I am extremely excited by this study. Not only does it validate my approach of…
Read MoreMedical Device Makers Spend Millions to loosen Regulations
This is an older article and back up for some of the writing I’m doing. It’s a good summary of the pressures to take these devices to market.
Read MoreEffects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation on the resting state of major depressive disorder
This study investigated the mechanism underlying the immediate effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) on major depressive disorder (MDD). The study involved 58 MDD patients and 54 healthy controls who underwent taVNS treatment. They were looking at which brain areas were affected. . Their findings suggest that taVNS has an immediate modulatory effect…
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