EA for insomnia in PD

Stimulated by Gu et al 2025.[1] Photo by Freeman Zhou on Unsplash – Shanghai, China. EA – electroacupuncturePD – Parkinson’s diseaseNMS – non-motor symptomsMA – manual acupunctureIF – impact factorPDSS – Parkinson’s disease sleep scaleREM – rapid eye movement sleepRBD – REM sleep behaviour disorderRLS – restless legs syndromeSDB – sleep disordered breathingEDS – excessive … Continue reading EA for insomnia in PD

Acupuncture or reflexology for sleep in ALL

Stimulated by Babamiri et al 2025.[1] Photo by Jonathan Borba on Pexels.com ALL – acute lymphoblastic leukaemiaIF – impact factorAML – acute myeloblastic leukaemiaCML – chronic myeloblastic leukaemiaCLL – chronic lymphoblastic leukaemiaPSQI – Pittsburgh sleep quality indexMCID – minimum important clinical difference – key to acronyms There are several novel aspects about the paper I … Continue reading Acupuncture or reflexology for sleep in ALL

IA plus SSRI in MDD

Stimulated by Wu et al 2024.[1] IA – intradermal acupunctureSSRI – selective serotonin reuptake inhibitorMDD – major depressive disorderEA – electroacupunctureMA – manual acupunctureIF – impact factorZung SDS – Zung self-rating depression scalePSQI – Pittsburgh sleep quality indexFC – functional connectivityMCID – minimal clinically important differenceGPT – generative pre-trained transformer – key to acronyms I … Continue reading IA plus SSRI in MDD

Acupuncture in Alberta 2 2024

Inspired by Lu et al 2024.[1] Moraine Lake, Alberta, by John Lee on Unsplash. ABCHIP – Alberta Complementary Health Integration ProjectEQ-5D-5L – EuroQol Group 5D-5L instrument [2]QALY – quality adjusted life yearQoL – quality of lifeCEA – cost effectiveness analysisCBA – cost benefit analysisCAD – Canadian dollars – key to acronyms This paper reports the economic … Continue reading Acupuncture in Alberta 2 2024

Acupuncture in Alberta 2024

Inspired by Lu et al 2024.[1] Moraine Lake, Alberta, by John Lee on Unsplash. ABCHIP – Alberta Complementary Health Integration ProjectBPI – brief pain inventoryPSQI – Pittsburgh sleep quality indexPHQ9 – patient health questionnaire 9PROMIS – patient-reported outcomes measurement information system [2]SF – short formEQ-5D-5L – EuroQol Group 5D-5L instrument [3]NRS – numerical rating scaleQoL – … Continue reading Acupuncture in Alberta 2024

Acupuncture and stroke risk in insomnia

Inspired by Huang et al 2024.[1] Visual abstract from Huang et al 2024.[1] IF – impact factorAPC – article publishing chargeNHIRD – national health insurance database (Taiwan)LGTD2000 – longitudinal generational tracking database from 2000NSAIDs – non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugsaHR – adjusted hazard ratio – key to acronyms This is another large retrospective cohort study from Taiwan … Continue reading Acupuncture and stroke risk in insomnia

Acupuncture for sleep in PD 2024

Stimulated by Yan et al 2024.[1] PD – Parkinson’s diseaseIF – impact factorRCT – randomised controlled trialPDSS – Parkinson’s disease sleep scaleUPDRS-III – unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale part 3 (motor examination)MCID – minimum clinical important difference – key to acronyms This paper in JAMA Network Open (IF 10.5) reports on a single-centre sham controlled … Continue reading Acupuncture for sleep in PD 2024

Acupuncture and dementia risk in insomnia 2023

Inspired by Huang et al 2023.[1] Visual abstract from Huang et al 2023.[1] WHO – World Health OrganisationPRC – Peoples Republic of ChinaLHID – Longitudinal Health Insurance DatabaseNHIRD – National Health Insurance Research Database (Taiwan)HR – hazard ratioaHR – adjusted hazard ratioNSAID – non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugMAOI – monoamine oxidase inhibitorSSRI – selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor … Continue reading Acupuncture and dementia risk in insomnia 2023

EA and COMT Val158Met 2023

Stimulated by Yang et al 2023.[1] Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com.You might expect this sort of character to be Val Val ie homozygous for guanine at codon 158 of the COMT gene. EA – electroacupunctureAA – auricular acupunctureCOMT – catechol-o-methyltransferaseMSK – musculoskeletalBFA – battlefield acupuncture (an AA protocol – See: Ears and the battlefield)rs – … Continue reading EA and COMT Val158Met 2023

EA for depression-related insomnia

Inspired by Yin et al 2022.[1] Photo by VAZHNIK on Pexels.com EA – electroacupunctureMA – manual acupunctureSC – standard carePSQI – Pittsburgh Sleep Quality IndexHAM-D – Hamilton Depression Rating ScaleHAMD-17 – the sum of the first 17 items on the HAM-Dkey to acronyms This 3-armed trial from Shanghai is the biggest trial (n=270) of acupuncture … Continue reading EA for depression-related insomnia