Acupuncture, haemodialysis and depression

Inspired by Yu et al 2025.[1] Photo by jason hu on Pexels.comThis island is at the top of Poyang Lake, approximately 7km below where it opens into the Yangtze River just east of Jiujiang. IF – impact factorHAM-D – Hamilton depression rating scaleWHOQOL-100 – World Health Organisation quality of life 100MCID – minimum important clinical … Continue reading Acupuncture, haemodialysis and depression →

EA for nocturia 2025

Inspired by Liou et al 2025.[1] AI generated image. EA – electroacupunctureMA – manual acupunctureIF – impact factorMSKCC – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterADT – androgen deprivation therapyIPSS – international prostate symptom scoreMCID – minimal clinically important difference – key to acronyms This week we are sticking with the urinary system, and I have chosen … Continue reading EA for nocturia 2025 →

Acupuncture for ARC 2025

Inspired by Cao et al 2025.[1] Photo by Anton Nikolov on Unsplash. ARC – acute renal colicRCT – randomised controlled trialIF – impact factorIM – intramuscularUTI – urinary tract infectionVAS – visual analogue score (usually 10cm horizontal line with no pain or worst pain at each end)NRS – numerical rating scale (11-point digital verbal scale from 0 to … Continue reading Acupuncture for ARC 2025 →

Ferroptosis acupuncture and VCID

Inspired by Zhang et al and Yang et al 2025.[1,2] Tianjin Eye on the Hai river. Photo by Vishnu Panday on Pexels.com VCID – vascular cognitive impairment and dementiaIF – impact factorVCIND – vascular cognitive impairment no dementiaJIA – juvenile idiopathic arthritisRAS – family of genes that encode small GTPase proteins (literally short for RAt … Continue reading Ferroptosis acupuncture and VCID →

EA for OAB 2025

Inspired by Lv et al 2025.[1] Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com EA – electroacupunctureOAB – overactive bladderVES – vaginal electrical stimulationTTNS – transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulationTENS – transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulationTEAS – transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulationPTNS – percutaneous tibial nerve stimulationOABSS – overactive bladder symptom scoreMCID – minimal clinically important differenceSNM – sacral neuromodulation – … Continue reading EA for OAB 2025 →

Acupressure plus TENS in labour

Inspired by Gu et al 2025.[1] Photo by 东旭 王 on Unsplash. TENS – transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulationTEAS – transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulationSW-CRT – stepped wedge cluster randomised trialLDU – labour and delivery unitCEQ – childbirth experience questionnaire – key to acronyms This is a large trial from Shanghai evaluating two non-pharmacological approaches to treating … Continue reading Acupressure plus TENS in labour →

APA in cLBP 2025

Inspired by Kawi et al 2025.[1] Vaccaria hispanica seeds from the Government of Canada seed identification site. APA – auricular point acupressurecLBP – chronic low back painIF – impact factorMSK – musculoskeletalNRS – numerical rating scaleRMDQ – Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire – key to acronyms This is a moderately large 3-arm trial (n=272) from the US. … Continue reading APA in cLBP 2025 →

EA for JIA 2025

Stimulated by Khadour et al 2025.[1,2] A Hartley guinea pig doing an impression of an SD rat – the strain used in the experimental research mentioned below.This image feature previously on the blog – EA for guinea pig OAK. EA – electroacupunctureJIA – juvenile idiopathic arthritisIF – impact factorELISA – enzyme-linked immunosorbent assayCaspase-1 – cystine … Continue reading EA for JIA 2025 →

MPS 2025

Stimulated by Steen et al 2025.[1] MPS – myofascial pain syndrome(s)PM&R – physical medicine and rehabilitationMSK – musculoskeletalLS – lumbosacralIF – impact factorTPI – trigger point injectionLA – local anaestheticDN – dry needlingSR – systematic reviewRCT – randomised controlled trialLTR – local twitch responseIMS – intramuscular stimulation – key to acronyms Review papers on MPS … Continue reading MPS 2025 →

Acupuncture in COPD 2025

Inspired by Li et al and He et al 2025.[1,2] Photo by Robina on Unsplash. COPD – chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseEA – electroacupunctureAPI – allergic pulmonary inflammationIF – impact factorGOLD – Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease6MWD – 6-minute walk distanceSGRQ – St. George’s Respiratory QuestionnaireHRQoL – health-related quality of lifeMCID – minimal clinically important difference – … Continue reading Acupuncture in COPD 2025 →