Stimulated by Zhao et al 2019.[1] Photo by Dominik Lange on Unsplash. This paper was published online earlier this week but appeared on my PubMed search this morning. I was planning to write about hemifacial spasm today, highlighting quite a big (n=539) neurosurgical review of MVD (microvascular decompression) from China,[2] but this paper on electroacupuncture … Continue reading Chronic stable angina and point specificity
Stimulated by Abanes et al 2019.[1] Photo by Ian Espinosa on Unsplash. This is a small feasibility study that came out last month. I saw it on my PubMed searches but could not access full text. It was a single arm (n=16) study, so I felt I was not missing too much by not seeing … Continue reading Perceived stress 2019
Stimulated by Sun et al 2019.[1] Photo by Alora Griffiths on Unsplash. Ever since I started reading sham controlled acupuncture trials in the early 90’s I have focussed most on the adequacy of the treatment (probably in a self-referential way) compared with the stimulus strength in the sham. I saw Jorge Vas’s trial in OA knee published in … Continue reading Parameters of dose for acupuncture
Stimulated by Lv et al 2019.[1] My eldest two cherubs demonstrating examination of the knee ;-)One is now an actor - guess which one! The paper that I am highlighting in this piece has two relatively novel features. First, and most interesting is the testing of two different doses of active EA (electroacupuncture) in a … Continue reading Strong EA & CPM in OAK
Stimulated by Lo et al 2019.[1] Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash. This paper caught my eye because I advocate the use of electroacupuncture (EA) in frozen shoulder, but I find it hard to know whether or not I am doing any good. There is little or no controlled trial data in this specific condition, whilst there is … Continue reading EA for frozen shoulder
Inspired by Dietzel et al 2019.[1] Image by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash. This paper was published very recently in the journal Neurocritical Care. I was more familiar with it than you might expect because, on request of the senior author, I had checked the English a couple of times for submissions to different journals … Continue reading SAH headache 2019
Inspired by Mak et al J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2019.[1] Photo by Mike on Unsplash.Taken from the Sky Tower in Auckland in 2011.Standing on a glass floor at this height generates a degree of anxiety! This paper caught my eye because the title seems to pronounce a definitive negative result to a useful question concerning the … Continue reading Does EA fail in GAD and IBS?
Inspired by Wang et al Chest 2018.[1] Photo by David Yanutama on Unsplash. I am a bit slow to comment on this paper that was published nearly a year ago. This morning a colleague from Madrid asked my opinion on an earnest letter dismissing the research.[2] I had a quick look over both and thought the original … Continue reading Acupuncture non-inferior to NRT
Inspired by Siqueira et al 2018.[1] A shot from the Ealing half marathon 2018 at around the 9 mile point - my arms were aching after taking over 2k of photos through a heavy zoom lens whilst waiting for my boy (5448) to come past 😀 This paper popped up on PubCrawler this morning. I’m … Continue reading Needling runners’ knees
Inspired by Liu et al. Mayo Clin Proc 2019.[1] Another huge trial from the team at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing. This follows on from two previous large multicentre trials,[2,3] both of which I have reported on in this blog: https://bmas.blog/2018/10/05/ea-for-chronic-severe-functional-constipation/ and https://bmas.blog/2018/10/11/ea-for-stress-urinary-incontinence/ Having established specific effects of electroacupuncture (EA) in … Continue reading EA vs conventional Rx in MUI
