Tag: acupuncture and immune response
Autonomic Function, HRV, in Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis
This article looks at autonomic balance before and after a series of 12 acupuncture sessions. (Update: full article text here.)What they say is that the patients with Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis have a higher resting heart rate to start, and blunted cardiovascular response to cold pressor test. This is fascinating to me since one of the…
Read MoreAcupuncture for Allergic Rhinitis
This article is from the group in Berlin, and back ground for a subsequent blog post. Their conclusion was that acupuncture was effective, but not cost effective. I would argue that they didn’t run the experiment long enough. In my own case, my allergies have been under control for decades since my original acupuncture treatment…
Read MoreAcupuncture & Neuro Endocrine Immune Network
A review article from China. Good stuff! Plus free full text link below. Substantial evidence has shown that the skin is a neuroimmunoendocrine organ; the body skin is rich in nervous, endocrine, immune tissues structurally, and closely associated with these three systems in function. And exogenous noxious stimuli to the skin can affect the NEI…
Read MoreImmunity and the Nervous System
Kevin Tracey is the researcher using implantable electrodes to stimulate the vagus nerve to damp down the hyperimmune response in rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions. This is the abstract from a talk at Cold Springs Harbor. Since acupuncture cured my allergies, I looked for a biomarker for treatment and have been measuring heart rate variability…
Read MoreAcupuncture and IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome
A detailed study of the science behind acupuncture/moxibustion effect on IBS including animal studies and theory. Free online paper at the link.
Read MoreVagal Tone and Immune Regulation
This ties into my area of interest of monitoring vagal tone during acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture can be helpful with pain, but more interestingly, with immune problems such as allergy. Since immune function is thought to be implicated in so many modern ailments, from rheumatoid arthritis to cancer to autism, this type of thinking may…
Read MoreFrom Task Force on Allergic Rhinitis: Acupuncture OK
If you scroll to the very bottom you see the “money quote.” I know that sentence doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it actually is. For them to not only include it in their guidelines, but even the abstract, is quite an endorsement. Nice! Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2015 Feb;152(1 Suppl):S1-43. doi: 10.1177/0194599814561600. Clinical…
Read MoreBee Venom and the Anti-inflammatory Response
The article below.is related to the previous blog post about vagal stimulation leading to decreased inflammation. The use of bee venom may be a more elegant and cheaper solution. Probably why it won’t gain much industry interest. I would love to be able to study this technique in conjunction with HRV. Toxins (Basel). 2015 Mar…
Read MoreThe Inflammatory Reflex: Scientific American
Altered immune response is involved in the occurence of diabetes, arthritis, allergies and perhaps even autism. So in medicine, immunity is a key area of research. The current issue of Scientific American has a synopsis written by Kevin Tracey, one of the founders of Set Point Medical. We’ve talked about their bioelectric company on the…
Read MoreNPR: Acupuncture for Allergies
From NPR, it appears “New guidelines from the Academy of Otolaryngology should make it easier for people and their doctors to choose the treatments that will help the most, from over-the-counter remedies like antihistamines to more serious interventions like allergy shots and even surgery.”… “Acupuncture may help relieve symptoms and improve quality of life…
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