Hot flushes and FABP2

Inspired by Chen et al 2022.[1] Figure 1 from reference 2. FABP2 – fatty acid binding protein 2FSH – follicle stimulating hormonehs-CRP – high sensitivity C-reactive proteinTNF-α – tumour necrosis factor alphaIP10 – interferon-inducible protein 10MCP-1 – monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 key to acronyms This week I am highlighting a paper that came up on … Continue reading Hot flushes and FABP2

Cortisol and the menopause 2021

Inspired by Cagnacci et al 2021.[1] Professor Angelo Cagnacci presenting at the BMAS Autumn Scientific Meeting in 2019. RCT – randomised controlled trialHRT – homone replacement therapyCVD – cardiovascular diseaseROS – reactive oxygen species (a form of free radicals)NO – nitrous oxidekey to acronyms This is the third and probably the last paper to come … Continue reading Cortisol and the menopause 2021

EA for sleep

Stimulated by Li et al 2020,[1] and Yu et al 2020.[2] Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com EA – electroacupuncturePSQI – Pittsburgh Sleep Quality IndexPMI – perimenopausal insomniaMA – manual acupunctureCBT-I – cognitive behaviour therapy for insomniaMSKCC – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CentreISI – Insomnia Severity Indexkey to acronyms I am starting the year with a … Continue reading EA for sleep

A 76-week trial

Inspired by Soares-Jr et al 2020.[1] Photo by Dellon Thomas on Pexels.com FSH – follicle stimulating hormoneKMI – Kupperman-Blatt Menopausal IndexVMS – vasomotor symptoms key to acronyms This trial (n=123) stood out for me when I watched the video abstract and saw the graph of results. It would have been easy to pass over the … Continue reading A 76-week trial

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

Do sham devices impede real acupuncture?

Stimulated by Kim et al 2019.[1] Photo by Iai_man_nung on Unsplash. I have been waiting for this network meta-analysis to be published since reviewing it 18 months ago. It introduces data to support an idea that I have had in my head for some time but never thought to actually try to quantify. This paper … Continue reading Do sham devices impede real acupuncture?