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
Inspired by Wu et al. BMC Complement Altern Med 2018.[1] The title of this paper is rather eye-catching for the Western medic: Acupuncture decreased the risk of coronary heart disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Taiwan… Really? Are you suggesting that acupuncture is the next statin? Surely not! Well, let me start by saying … Continue reading CHD incidence in RA and acupuncture
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
Inspired by Sánchez-Mila Acupunct Med 2018 [1] I have been curious about the potential effect of acupuncture needling in muscles with high tone since witnessing the rapid relief of lumbar muscle spasm following insertion of acupuncture needles whilst serving as a medical officer in the British military. Subsequently I have tried the technique (combined with … Continue reading Needling and spasticity
Papers from the early 19th century Inspired by Cloquet, Sarlandière, Pelletan, Carraro, and Pouillet, on Acupuncture. Edinburgh Med Surg J 1827;27:190–200. On the 25th October 2018 three rather unusual papers appeared on my PubMed search.[1–3] They were remarkable because they were nearly two centuries late! So I guess there is an ongoing process of digitising … Continue reading e-19th century
– does sophisticated MRI data point us to optimal treatment? This blog was first published on 25th January 2018 on https://blogs.bmj.com/aim/ For some time, a group on the US east coast have been quietly scanning brains with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and related techniques to examine the effects of acupuncture. They hit the headlines in … Continue reading Rewiring the brain with acupuncture
