Stimulated by Mu et al 2020.[1] On the beach 50 steps from the conference centre in Porto de Galinhas in October 2009. Thanks to Jens for the shoes. cLBP –chronic non-specific low back painSRs – systematic reviewskey to acronyms There was no choice for me this week, after 15 years Andrea has finally succeeded (with … Continue reading Acupuncture for cLBP
Category: Cochrane
CVD risk reduction from treatment of hot flushes
Inspired by Palma et al 2020.[1] CVD – cardiovascular disease Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Those readers who attended the BMAS Autumn meeting in 2019 may remember some of the details from the paper I am highlighting this week. Professor Angelo Cagnacci gave us a great presentation on his recently published research, and then finished … Continue reading CVD risk reduction from treatment of hot flushes
Reviewing, Race & Sex
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com I was spoilt for choice this week! Various papers had the potential to make the cut, but there was no easy way to draw them together, apart from the fact that many were systematic reviews.[1–5] The race and sex from the title refers to a couple of recent experimental papers … Continue reading Reviewing, Race & Sex
Manual acupuncture for migraine
Stimulated by Xu et al.[1] Photo by Anh Nguyen on Unsplash. I casually picked up my copy of the BMJ on Friday 27th March 2020. The date on the cover was 28th March, in case any of you go searching. The cover image is a road sign mandating “Keep your distance”. Obviously COVID-19 is the big story, so … Continue reading Manual acupuncture for migraine
Acupuncture vs propranolol in migraine
Stimulated by Chen et al 2019.[1] Photo by Carolina Heza on Unsplash. I nearly overlooked this paper when it popped up on my PubMed search a few days after being published online in the Journal of Neurology on 21st August 2019. I guess it was the comparison with propranolol, and the fact that beta-blockers have … Continue reading Acupuncture vs propranolol in migraine
Gastroparesis 2018
On the 18th December another Cochrane Review popped up on my daily PubMed search: Acupuncture for symptomatic gastroparesis.[1] Cochrane reviews are substantial pieces of work, with numerous peer and editorial review stages built in to the process. The rigorous approach to assessing bias and the adoption of the GRADE system to summarise findings often results … Continue reading Gastroparesis 2018
Hypertension 2018
The Chinese Cochrane Centre in Chengdu. In March 1999 the Chinese Cochrane Centre opened in Chengdu. Now that it has been established for some time, we are starting to see reviews on acupuncture that include the Chinese literature. I remember reviewing one on neuropathic pain for Cochrane,[1] but this one on hypertension was a surprise … Continue reading Hypertension 2018