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Source: Davis Enterprise
http://www.davisenterprise.com/forum/opinion-columns/good-posture-can-make-you-feel-better/
Are you a slumper? Check your posture right now to see if your shoulders are rounded forward and your back curled. Chances are you’ve eased into your natural posture: slouched down, head in alignment with your spine, shoulders back, back not straight. And your brain may be paying the price.
Researchers at several top academic institutions, including Harvard and Columbia universities, have been studying the link between bad posture and the brain for decades, and their recent findings show that improving posture can improve the brain’s function, and thus your mood and memory levels.
Researchers, for instance, found that when you assume what they call “power poses” of confident stance and tall, uplifted posture, your decision-making is subconsciously affected. When you stand or sit up taller, and pull your shoulders back and outward, your brain gets a signal that it’s the confident, powerful you in charge of your thinking, and, in turn, you might make more confident choices.
A 2003 Ohio State University study found that when you shake your head “no,” or nod your head “yes” while observing a scenario or listening to information, you may form positive or negative opinions about your observations depending on the motion of your head and its positive or negative message to the brain. And when you sit up straight, you’re more likely to think positively and recall more positive memories. Slumping and slouching can generate negative memories, thoughts and perceptions, which creates stress hormones in the brain, as opposed to happier hormones that can trickle down into your daily choices and create a more energetic, happier you that feels like working out. Everything is connected, and it all starts with how you hold your frame.
Dana Carney, a social psychologist at UC Berkeley, conducted a 2010 survey that was among the first to reveal that power poses demonstrating confidence (regardless of whether or not a person actually feels confident) increase levels of testosterone and lower levels of cortisol — the stress hormone — in the brain. Because testosterone is associated with self-confidence, having good posture can create hormones in the brain that make you feel more self-assured. Carney says the power pose sends a signal to the brain, and what begins as a neural impulse turns into an actual, physiological response that boosts brainpower.
And science aside, your posture affects how you see yourself, as well as how others see you. If you’re slumped down and slouching during a job interview, for example, the interviewer will likely see you as less confident, and perhaps will have a neural impulse to judge you as less capable. If you have good posture, with your shoulders back and your body aligned, you can look better in your clothes and will likely receive compliments from loved ones, which will boost your confidence and mood. You could also just love how you look in the mirror, which will make you feel lighter and more positive.
Good posture also pertains to walking. If you walk slumped down and in a shuffle, you look bedraggled and overwrought, which can make you actually feel bedraggled and overwrought. When you walk uplifted and with confidence, your brain registers “uplifted and with confidence,” and pumps out happy hormones to match the message.
Physical pain from bad posture can affect your brain, too. When you slouch often, you may experience back, neck, shoulder and even wrist pain, which can send signals to the brain that you’re suffering. The brain then needs to create pain-reducing hormones rather than happy ones. It’s quite hard to feel happy when you’re achy, sore or in such pain that you have to take medication for relief. Pain can cause depression when the brain gets sapped of positive hormones.
So in many connected ways, good posture makes for a happier brain. And with your happier brain, you have better relationships, fitness, work performance, more intimacy and other positive effects on your lifestyle.
There are several ways to improve your posture, including taking a Yoga for Better Posture class, or just yoga classes in general, since yoga elongates the body and retrains your frame to be more upright with your shoulders back and spine aligned, the position will soon feel more natural to you. Exercise as a whole also helps to improve posture.
You might also ask a co-worker or relative to help you get more mindful of your posture, with a gentle touch on your shoulder if you’re slouched down at your desk or kitchen counter. When you feel the touch, you’ll straighten up your posture and send a positive message to your brain. And even if you get a hundred touches in a day, you’ll eventually retrain your frame to hold power poses, and your helper won’t have to signal you to straighten up as often.
Source: How Stuff Works
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/chinese/how-to-treat-allergies-with-traditional-chinese-medicine.htm
Allergies occur when the body’s immune system misidentifies a normally harmless substance as a threat to the body. Common allergens (substances that produce allergic reactions) are foods, pollen, animal dander, mold, insect venom, drugs, and dust mites. An inflammatory reaction takes place in an attempt to eject this substance from the system, resulting in a variety of symptoms. A traditional Chinese medical treatment for pollen allergies, or hay fever, follows.
Causes of Allergies
Several Chinese patterns of disharmony may be involved in cases of allergies. In all cases, however, wind is part of the diagnosis, usually combining with another pathogenic influence in wind dampness, wind cold, or wind heat. Typical of patterns involving wind, allergy symptoms often occur without warning. In seasonal allergies, such as hay fever, the most common diagnosis is wind and dampness. This combination produces a sudden onset of symptoms: sneezing, itching eyes and throat, and a heavy sensation in the head with copious mucus.
Treatment with Herbs
The treatment strategy is to repel the wind with herbs that are dispersing in nature, such as Japanese catnip (Schizonepeta tenuifolia, jing jie) and Siler divaricata (fang feng). Herbs that drain dampness are also employed in order to clear the nasal passages and sinuses; the major herbs for this purpose are Angelica dahurica (bai zhi), magnolia flower buds (xin yi hua), and Xanthium sibiricum (cang er zi). This combination is known as Xanthium Decoction. An appropriate patent medicine is Bi Yan Pian.
Typically, an underlying weakness, often a deficiency of lung and spleen qi, makes persons with allergies susceptible to allergic reactions. Lung qi is responsible for the proper function of the entire respiratory tract, including the nasal passages. Spleen qi controls the transport of fluids; when spleen qi is impaired, weakening digestive function, it can lead to an overproduction of mucus, which tends to collect in the lungs. This weakness of qi is treated with tonifying herbs that bolster lung and spleen function, such as Codonopsis (dang shen), Atractylodes (bai zhu), Poria (fu ling), and prepared licorice (zhi gan cao).
An appropriate patent medicine for this type of deficiency is Six Gentlemen Teapills. This formula also contains Pinellia (ban xia) and aged citrus peel (chen pi), which enhance the base formula’s ability to clear mucus and dry dampness. A traditional Chinese medicine practitioner may customize the formula to meet a patient’s individual needs. For example, Chrysanthemum flowers (jua hua) and Cassia seeds (jue ming zi) can be added to soothe itchy eyes, and jujube dates (da zao) can be included to enhance the overall antiallergic action of the formula.
Treatment with Diet
Diet plays an important part in controlling seasonal allergies. Sweets, dairy products, and cold foods all tend to increase mucus buildup, putting ice cream and yogurt at the top of the list of foods to avoid during allergy season. When excessive mucus accumulates in the system, allergens stimulate a much stronger allergic reaction. Soups, salads (in warm weather), vegetables, and boiled grains are all easy for the body to digest. When digestion is efficient, there is less of a tendency for mucus to build up.
Treatment with Acupuncture
Treatment plans for allergies vary greatly, and the possible results range from temporary relief to complete remission. Acupuncture frequently relieves allergy symptoms immediately. Manipulation of points around the nose, such as Yintang, Bitong, and Large Intestine 20, usually relieves the nasal congestion and sneezing as soon as the needles are inserted.
Recently, a similar but more sophisticated system of allergy-elimination acupuncture has been developed in which the acupuncture is performed while the person is exposed to the allergen. Developed by Dr. Devi Nambudripad, this technique is called Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET). The patient undergoes allergy testing to identify the allergen. Then acupressure and acupuncture techniques are used to clear the allergen while the patient is exposed to it. This treatment reprograms the body to accept the allergen without producing an allergic reaction. The effects are long-term, and the allergy is virtually eliminated.
Source: Military.com
http://military-fitness.military.com/2013/04/the-as-of-april-acupuncture.html
With four rambunctious children in the house, my parents always found creative ways to burn off our endless energy/wear us down in the evening. One of my favorite memories was going to the old fashioned drive-in movie theatre in town possibly because it was the only time we were allowed to dress in our pajamas in public! We cuddled under blankets and watched The Jungle Book. Big old Baloo was my favorite character, a lumbering bear who didn’t have a care in the world and yet was full of wisdom for a wide-eyed jungle boy named Mowgli. One thing for sure about Baloo was his ability to enjoy the “simple bare necessities of life” from back scratches on the bark of a tree to picking “a pawpaw or a prickly pear.” Maybe Baloo was onto something – the right prick can be painless and may just heal what ails you…”You better believe it baby.”
Fear Not
Does the thought of being stuck with needles to improve your health seem counterintuitive not to mention potentially painful? Hopefully, by the end of this article you’ll become a believer in this equally ancient and modern modality of this complementary care.
Acupuncture’s roots date back to ancient Chinese medicine for pain treatment designed to balance the flow of energy through the body. If that’s too out there for you, think of your nervous system as a super highway. When traffic is flowing smoothly, everything is fine and you quickly and safely get to your destination. The minute people start tapping their brakes, traffic snarls and even stops. When those traffic jams are pinpointed and subsequently relieved, you’re back on the road. Acupuncture practitioners understand those points of congestion in your body and use tiny needles to stimulate nerves, relax muscles and improve the circulation to connective tissues. The end result is typically increased blood flow and pain reduction in many cases. Because the needles are placed just below the surface of the skin and at strategic points (commonly called meridians), their insertion is painless and blood free.
Pin Pointed
Although western medicine has its skeptics with regard to the overall benefits of acupuncture, science has pinpointed specific pain relief centers of the brain that are stimulated during treatment including the limbic system which encompasses the emotional, behavioral, memory and olfactory centers of the brain. According to the Mayo Clinic, acupuncture is used to relieve many symptoms including:
Headaches & Migraines
Low Back Pain
Menstrual Cramps
Tennis Elbow
Arthritis Pain
Muscle Pain
Chemotherapy side effects
Fibromyalgia Pain
Those who suffer from bleeding or bruising disorders, have a pacemaker (if mild electrical pulses are attached to the needles), or are pregnant should consult their health care professional before receiving acupuncture treatments.
I always make sure I have first-hand experience before referring others to health products and treatment options. I can honestly say that my acupuncture sessions have been very relaxing, reinvigorating, and not scary at all!
Safe and Certified
Be sure to confirm the credentials of the acupuncturist before receiving a treatment. They should be licensed and credentialed — most states require certification from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Additionally, disposable acupuncture needles are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to be sterile, nontoxic, labeled for single use and used only by qualified practitioners. Some insurance providers do cover acupuncture as a complementary procedure so be sure to check with your provider.
Pricked to Perform
Acupuncture may also serve as a great tuneup for your body. Recent studies also suggest acupuncture may be a great natural sports performance enhancer. The studies noted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found increases in muscle strength and power for those athletes, weekend warriors, soldiers and workers involved in resistance and endurance sports/training. If I haven’t convinced you to embrace the needle, consider acupressure as an alternative. Acupressure practitioners use the same “acupoints” but use deep pressure using fingers and thumbs rather than needles. No matter which modality you choose, reducing pain, relaxing muscles and increasing circulation are all good things. And, like Baloo, you may find yourself singing a happy tune once you’re all tuned up.
“When you find you can live without it~and go along not thinking about it~I’ll tell you something true~the bare necessities of life will come to you.” Baloo, The Jungle Book
Source: Health CMi
http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1290-new-acupuncture-relieves-heel-pain-plantar-fasciitis
Recent research indicates acupuncture is an effective and safe treatment for heel pain. Heel pain is a common foot condition often characterized by intense pain, especially when placing weight onto the foot. Pain on the back of the heel often indicates achilles tendinitis and pain on the underside of the heel often indicates plantar fasciitis. Heel pain is often treated with Kidney Channel and Ashi points.
One of the most common causes of heel pain, plantar fasciitis involves pain and inflammation of the band of tissue running across the bottom of the foot. The new research indicates that acupuncture is effective for plantar fasciitis, achilles tendinitis and many other forms of heel pain. Treatments for heel pain are featured in the HealthCMi online acupuncture CEU and PDA course entitled Plantar Fasciitis.
Biomedical approaches to heel pain treatment include behavioral therapy, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroid injections, small needle knife therapy, block therapy, shockwave therapy and surgery. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) historical records document success in the treatment of heel pain using acupuncture. This new scientific investigation confirms the historical data.
The researchers from Guangzhou Dongsheng Hospital and Guangzhou Social Welfare House examined 19 separate clinical investigations and discovered that 16 of the 19 studies made extensive use of ahshi acupuncture points to achieve optimal patient outcomes. In one investigation carried out by Xu Xuemeng et al., 66 patients were randomly divided into an acupuncture group and a control group. The acupuncture group received filiform acupuncture needle method treatment and the control group received triamcinolone acetonide acetate injections and local blocking therapy. The results were assessed six months following the treatment. The acupuncture group achieved an effective rate of 97% and the drug therapy group had a 76% effective rate.
Studies also indicate needling combined with moxibustion have a positive effect on patient outcomes. In one investigation carried out by He Yucai et al., 75 cases of heel pain were treated with acupoints Yongquan (KI1), Rangu (KI2), Taixi (KI3), Sanyinjiao (SP6), Chengshan (BL57) and ashi acupoints on the affected side. During the treatment, needles were quickly inserted perpendicularly using the lifting and thrusting method and mild reinforcing-reducing manipulation methods were applied. Needles were immediately withdrawn after a deqi sensation was achieved.
After needling, moxibustion was applied to ashi points on the heel. The moxibustion was applied for 10 minutes. Acupuncture and moxibustion were administered once per day for a period of six days, comprising one course. The second course started two days after the completion of the first. After two courses of treatment, the acupuncture group significantly outperformed the control group that was treated with ibuprofen sustained release capsules and the herbal formula Zhuanggu Guanjie Wan (Strengthening Bone and Joint Pills). Based on the 19 reviewed studies that were performed in the past five years, the researchers conclude that acupuncture is safer, easier to apply, and more effective than conventional treatments for heel pain. Copper spring handle filiform needles.
TCM Theory
The researchers give a historical account of TCM theory for the treatment of heel pain. In TCM theory, heel pain is often categorized as an illness of Numbness of Kidney or Numbness Syndrome. Heel pain often occurs in middle-aged or elderly people and is therefore in accordance with the TCM theory of “kidney governing bone.” A primary principle of acupuncture treatment is tonifying kidney Qi, warming the Du Channel and invigorating collaterals to unblock numbness and stop pain. To emphasize the importance of tonifying kidney Qi and Yin, acupuncture is mostly applied to the acupoints on kidney and bladder channels plus ashi points. To learn more about heel pain including plantar fasciitis, visit the HealthCMi webpage featuring the acupuncture continuing education CEU course entitled Plantar Fascitis.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/acupuncture-as-effective-as-drugs-in-treating-pain-trial-shows-20140329-35qec.html
An acupuncture trial in four Melbourne emergency departments has found it is just as good as drugs in relieving lower-back pain and that from sprained ankles and migraines.
The finding could open the door to Australian hospitals offering the low-cost Chinese therapy, which is used by more than 1 billion people worldwide for pain relief.
Emergency physicians at The Alfred, Northern, Cabrini and Epworth hospitals partnered with RMIT’s school of health sciences to see if acupuncture could relieve acute pain in hundreds of patients presenting to hospital with either lower-back pain, sprained ankles or migraines.
While data from the study is still being analysed and finalised for publication in a medical journal, one of the researchers, Dr Michael Ben-Meir, said it showed acupuncture offered the same level of pain relief as analgesic drugs when patients rated their pain one hour after treatment.
”Acupuncture was equivalent to what we defined as conventional medicine standard care, which was strong oral analgesia, such as Endone, Panadeine Forte, Voltaren and Valium,” he said.
Dr Ben-Meir, director of Cabrini Hospital’s emergency department, said the randomised controlled study of about 550 patients also found that the combination of acupuncture with standard pharmaceutical care delivered equivalent pain relief to acupuncture alone or standard care alone.
The emergency physician who studied acupuncture nine years ago and has since used it on patients at Epworth and Cabrini said the results aligned with his own experience of its efficacy for acute pain.
He said it was particularly good for people who did not want drugs, such as pregnant women, and for those whose pain was not relieved by Western medicine.
”I find acupuncture doesn’t always help all patients, but occasionally it’s the thing that really shifts them and gets them home and gets their symptoms resolved,” he said. ”It has an effect, there’s no doubt about that. It’s just, when do you use it? How often? Which points? And who delivers it? There’s a lot to be thought about and analysed before something like this is a standard therapy.”
The director of emergency medicine at The Alfred hospital, De Villiers Smit, said although he was initially sceptical about acupuncture, the study convinced him it was safe and effective in improving pain management.
He said study participants treated with acupuncture also tended to leave hospital earlier, suggesting it sped up emergency department care.
Another chief investigator of the project – the head of the school of health sciences at RMIT and a registered Chinese medicine practitioner, Professor Charlie Xue – said the study showed a very low rate of minor adverse events, such as bleeding at the needling sites.
While about 10 per cent of Australians use acupuncture in community-based clinics, Professor Xue said until now very little research had been done on its use for acute pain in hospital settings.
Dr Ben-Meir said although the exact mechanisms of acupuncture remained unclear, this was also the case for some Western medicines.
He said rising health costs should encourage more scientific assessment of low-risk complementary medicines because new drugs were expensive to develop and could cause side effects.
Source: Health CMi
http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1285-acupuncture-relieves-knee-osteoarthritis-new-study
Researchers conclude that acupuncture has a significant curative effect on patients with knee osteoarthritis. This condition often involves joint pain, swelling, stiffness, decreased range of motion and the formation of bone spurs. More than 27 million people in the U.S. have osteoarthritis with the knee being one of the most commonly affected areas. In this recent study, the researchers from a community hospital in Beijing treated 200 cases of knee osteoarthritis using acupuncture. The overall effective rate was 98%.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) categorizes knee osteoarthritis as a Bi syndrome, which is often caused by a combination of wind, cold and dampness. The 200 patients’ courses of illness ranged from 2 months to 30 years. The researchers divided the cases into three 3 (based on timing of the attack and the pain index) and shapes based on the characteristics of the affected joints. The three phases are the attack phase, recovery phase and stable phase. The five types are: normal type, narrow joint space on the inner side of the knee type, narrow joint space on the outer side of the knee type, bending type with an angle of less than 180 degrees while the knee joint is straightened at normal posture and mixed type with 2 or more aforementioned morphological changes.
For patients in the attack phase, electroacupuncture was combined with the bleeding technique and cupping. For the recovery phase, electroacupuncture was the major treatment aimed primarily at alleviating pain. Bleeding technique and cupping were applied is some cases dependent on the differential diagnosis. For the stable phase, the main task was to restore or improve the muscles of the knee joint and to restore or rebuild the normal functions of muscles and ligament tissues around the knee joint. A special focus on restoring muscle volume and muscle strength of the quadriceps femoris was employed.
During the electroacupuncture treatment, researchers used different needling methods such as local single-needle puncture and local multi-needle puncture. For example, they applied a triple point penetration method, which is a complex acupuncture method combining the traditional triple-puncture and point-penetration methods. Researchers chose from four sets of acupoints during needling, which were the above knee set, below knee set, lateral/medial knee set and the behind the knee set. Acupuncture points UB37 (Yinmen), BL40 (Weizhong), BL56 (Chengjin) and BL57 (Chengshan) were chosen according to individual differential diagnoses. For the normal type, needling was applied to the above knee and below knee sets. For the narrow joint space on the inner side of the knee type, the lateral/medial knee and behind knee sets were chosen. For the narrow joint space on the inner side of the knee type, the behind knee set and customized combinations of individual acupoints were chosen. For the mixed type, acupoints were chosen per differential diagnoses.
Electroacupuncture was primarily applied using low frequency continuous waves. The type of the wave and intensity was chosen dependent upon patient tolerance. Needling was retained for 15-20 minutes for each treatment and was administered three times a week. Ten treatments comprised one course. The period of treatment lasted from 1 to 3 courses.
The bleeding technique involved the pricking blood and cupping methods. The researchers primarily selected single-use 5ml syringes instead of three-edged needles because the former has a smaller surface area. Blood pricking was applied to EX-LE4 (Neixiyan), EX-LE5 (Waixiyan), BL40 (Weizhong) and alarm points laterally and medially to the knee. Following pricking, cupping was applied to increase the volume of bleeding. Generally, the blood pricking technique was administered every 5-7 days.
Among the 200 patients receiving treatment, 64 patients (32%) fully recovered, 112 patients (56%) showed marked improvements, 20 patients (10%) showed moderate improvements and four patients (2%) showed no improvements. The overall effective rate was 98%. Based on the outcome, the researchers concluded acupuncture combined with the bleeding technique is effective for treating knee osteoarthritis.
Source:
http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/news-features/TMG10721280/Pretty-vs-Pregnant-pregnancy-and-fertility-acupuncture.html
Acupuncture has never really been on my radar. However that changed last summer when acupuncture facials became one of the hottest treatments in the beauty world. As a dutiful beauty editor, I went off to meet London-based acupuncturist and Chinese doctor, John Tsagaris, who is famed for his facials.
Part of my consultation was discussing my overall health and I thought I may as well mention that I was trying to get pregnant. He suggested that a fertility acupuncture session may be more relevant at that moment in time, I thought ‘why not’ and fertility acupuncture is what I got.
Now, I want to present the facts as they were and leave you to make any judgements or thoughts. My husband and I had been trying to get pregnant by the time I saw Tsagaris. We are young and healthy with no pre-existing health conditions. We weren’t worried about it not happening but just figured it was a matter of timing. I had one appointment with Tsagaris, he also prescribed me some Chinese herbs that I took and a few weeks later I was pregnant. It could be a complete coincidence, I will never know, but I know that I’m grateful that he decided I didn’t need a facial.
I’ve spoken to lots of women about trying to conceive, and everyone has a different story to tell. For some it’s an easy journey, for others it feels like an uphill battle, there isn’t a one-shoe-fits-all way of it making it happen but a common thread seems to be, at least amongst the women I’ve chatted to, that acupuncture was suddenly something they were thinking about or had tried. I spoke to Tsagaris about why he thinks acupuncture is beneficial, whichever stage of the pregnancy pathway you’re on.
Trying to conceive:
“Nearly half of my patients come to me because they’re trying to have a baby. When I see them it’s not actually their fertility I focus on, I look at the whole body and every aspect of that person’s health; their sleep patterns, periods and their digestion. This holistic approach is necessary because for acupuncture to work the whole body needs to be balanced. Acupuncture gets everything back to ‘point zero’ to allow the body to regulate and behave the way it’s meant to. I also believe it can’t work on its own. I always prescribe Chinese herbs in conjunction so that we are working from the outside and the inside. Many of my clients are having conventional fertility treatments, like IVF, and supplement with acupuncture and there are more studies showing that acupuncture significantly increases the success rate of IVF.”
During pregnancy:
“I only recommend acupuncture during the first five to six months of a pregnancy. It can be helpful for easing morning sickness, nausea and constipation but otherwise just let your pregnancy take its course. I sometimes see patients if they are overdue at which point acupuncture can encourage labour to start. I once went to see a patient in hospital, placed my first needle and contractions began!”
Post pregnancy:
“Acupuncture can be beneficial post pregnancy but I think Chinese herbs work better at this stage as women need something more substantial to rebuild their energy levels and rebalance their system. Plus they can be taken at home, even I don’t think women want to be going for acupuncture when they’ve just had a baby.”
Source: Health CMi
http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1282-acupuncture-treats-depression-by-normalizing-genes-new-study
Acupuncture alleviates depression by normalizing gene expression. A new laboratory investigation demonstrates that acupuncture benefits brain biochemistry and regulates gene expression related to depression. The researchers conclude that electroacupuncture treats “depression by modifying or regulating the expression of various genes.” Depicted is acupoint Yintang shown to help gene expression in depression.
Acupuncture was applied to acupuncture points Baihui (DU20) and Yintang on depression model laboratory rats. Electroacupuncture was applied the needles at 2 Hz with an intensity of 1 mA. Needle depth was 2 mm. Needles were applied once per day for 21 days and were retained for 20 minutes during each acupuncture treatment.
At the Healthcare Medicine Institute, we provide many acupuncture continuing education courses for acupuncture CEU and PDA credit on the treatment of depression and emotional disorders. This new research conducted by Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and Chinese PLA General Hospital, however, adds the first ever examination of electroacupuncture on the whole-genome level in relation to the treatment of depression. All prior research and acupuncture continuing education focused on single gene level expression.
The multi-gene approach was discussed by the research team. They note that depression causes “abnormal gene expression” in “a large number of genes” and add that this deleteriously affects “multiple brain functions” and affects nerve cells. Depression causes deleterious biochemical changes and these changes cause more depression. The researchers note, this “vicious circle makes it difficult to cure conditions such as depression.” The researchers note that this educational investigation indicates “that electroacupuncture at Baihui and Yintang modulates depression by regulating the expression of particular genes.”
A total of 21 genes imbalanced by depression were normalized by the application of electroacupuncture. Depression abnormally upregulates some genes and downregulates other genes. Electroacupuncture homeostatically balanced both up and downregulation of gene expression to normal levels. Electroacupuncture also restored normal behaviors in the laboratory rats including actions in sucrose consumption, the swim test and the open field test.
All 21 genes examined “were closer to a normal level” after the application of electroacupuncture. Genes were examined in the hippocampus, an area of the brain associated with learning, memory and emotions. The hippocampus was selected because “depression is attributable to comprehensive regulation of multiple hippocampal genes….” The researchers conclude that the effective action of electroacupuncture on relieving depression is “related to gene regulation.”
The genes Tmp32, Vgf:Tmp32 and Vgf are downregulated during depression and are normalized by upregulation with electroacupuncture. These genes regulate neuroactive steroid hormones that affect the nervous system. They regulate the function of the synapses, inflammation, myelination, the central nervous system and the HPA axis. The gene Trim32, involved in cell regulation, “was downregulated in depression and returned to normal after electroacupuncture.” The same was found for Igf2, a gene that promotes nerve cell proliferation and increased neurotransmitter levels between synapses. In the same way, Loc500373 was normalized. This gene is involved in ATP formation and energy metabolism. Electroacupuncture was shown to “promote ATP formation” and therefore benefed cell function. Depicted is the human brain and hippocampus.
Brain protein synthesis is damaged by depression. This is reflected in the downregulation of gene Rtn4. Electroacupuncture normalized Rtn4 levels and facilitated restoration of normal protein biosynthesis in the brain. Also, electroacupuncture normalized levels of Hifla, an important gene involved in cellular apoptosis. In all, acupuncture normalized all 21 genes studied.
Electroacupuncture successfully downregulated genes involved in oxidative stress and inflammation that had been upregulated by depression. This normalization benefits the brain by “maintaining tissue structure” and “restoring cell function.” The researchers note that this effect provides “evidence to the observed clinical effect of electroacupuncture on depression.” Overall, electroacupuncture demonstrated the ability to normalize gene levels involved in transcription/translation, neurotransmission and signal transduction, inflammation relating to the immune system, metabolism, enzymatic reactions and protein biosynthesis.
Depression is a serious mental disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. Neuroendocrinological studies now demonstrate a connection between human biology and depression. This latest research, combined with a series of other recent investigations, demonstrates that acupuncture regulates biochemical reactions in the hippocampus including effects on gene expression. Criticisms of acupuncture as a “pseudoscience” by authors in publications such as Forbes Magazine will hopefully be redacted given the enormous body of new research to emerge in the last 2 years on the biochemical effects of acupuncture on the endocrine system and brain chemistry. The new research helps to bridge the gap between biomedical research and the efficaciousness of acupuncture. Hopefully, a new consensus will emerge wherein effective medicine can be judged by patient outcomes and scientific research.
Source: ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=118179&page=1&singlePage=true
Many moons ago, a wandering Nepalese prince sat under a tree, vowing not to rise until he attained enlightenment. After a long night of deep meditation, Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha, saw the light and declared that suffering is subjective, and can be reduced through self-awareness.
Today, 2500 years later, a growing number of American doctors and healthcare workers are teaching people who are ill how to apply Buddha’s epiphany to their lives.
In hospitals, businesses and community centers around the country, meditation is increasingly being offered as a method of stress reduction, and to help patients better cope with the physical pain and mental strain associated with many medical conditions, including heart disease and HIV infection.
Recent research shows meditation’s soothing effects can be detected in arterial walls and in the brain. Once considered outside the mainstream, today more insurers are paying for meditation, both as a form of medication and as preventive medicine.
Learning to ‘Disidentify’
“Meditation is the act of disidentifying from inner thought flow and concentrating on calming and healing,” explains Robert Thurman, Ph.D., a professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University in New York and the first American to become a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Through meditation, doctors help patients detach from their pain and anxieties and cultivate a connection between the mind and the body, he says.
While there are many kinds of meditation, the mindfulness approach, used widely in hospitals around the country, focuses primarily on breathing. Practices vary, but the basic idea involves sitting comfortably, with eyes closed, spine straight and attention focused on breathing.
Practitioners aim to maintain a detached, calm awareness of their thoughts and sensations. Through mindfulness, experts say, meditators learn to pay attention to the present and cultivate clarity of mind, equanimity and wisdom.
Minor Mindfulness Miracles
All of which may sound very abstract. Unless, points out Jeff Brantley, Ph.D, Director of the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program at the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine in Durham, N.C., you are a patient who is suffering.
“We had one patient, a 40-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer who was enrolled in the 8-week MBSR program. At her exit interview she said that before the course began 5 minutes wouldn’t go by without her worrying about what would become of her and her young family and now, after the class, she can concentrate on other things for more than hour at a time, even days,” Brantley says, calling the results “a minor miracle.”
The Duke program is one of at least 70 such mind-body based courses modeled on the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Stress Reduction Clinic, in Worcester, Mass., created in 1979 by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn. Taught mainly in hospitals around the country, mindfulness training is typically run as an 8-week-long outpatient program to complement other medical treatments.
The aim, according to a website dedicated to Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, is to assist people in taking better care of themselves “through a gentle but rigorous daily discipline of meditation and relaxation.”
Doctors refer patients to mindfulness programs for any number of diseases and disorders, including heart disease, anxiety and panic, job or family stress, chronic pain, cancer, HIV infection, AIDS, headaches, sleep disturbances, type A behavior, high blood pressure, fatigue and skin disorders.
In keeping with the growing interest in preventative medicine, some insurance companies, such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield in Massachusetts and a number of insurers in what Thurman calls “the more enlightened states like Oregon and California,” are now paying for all or part of these programs.
Research for Coverage
While the National Institutes of Health says it is too soon to quantify the medical benefits of meditation, Anita Greene, spokeswoman for the Institute’s Complementary and Alternative Medicine division, concedes, “It is a therapy worthy of further scientific investigation to refute or support the health claims being made.”
In fact, in 1999, the NIH granted Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, $8 million during a five-year period to study the effects of meditation in African Americans with cardiovascular diseases.
Researchers at Maharishi say that relaxing and reducing stress through transcendental meditation may reduce artery blockage and the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to a study released in the March issue of the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke (see related story).
Another recent pilot study, published in the May 15 issue of NeuroReport, by Sara Lazar, Ph.D., a Harvard research fellow in psychology at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, suggests meditation activates specific regions of the brain that may influence heart and breathing rates. Using a brain imaging technique known as functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, Lazar measured blood flow changes in experienced meditators.
“What we found were striking changes. There was significant decrease in blood flow and activity in specific areas of the brain,” says the study’s senior author Dr. Herbert Benson, president of the Mind/Body Medical Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Mass.
The usual, fight-or-flight brain response liberates adrenalin and is stressful to the body, he explains, but during meditation the brain acts to quiet the body through concentrated breathing or word repetition, evoking a relaxation response that minimizes the harmful effects of stress.
“It does away with the whole separation of mind and body and gives further proof to insurers that [meditation] is cost effective,” he says. Ultimately, Benson predicts, medicine will be akin to a three-legged stool, leaning on pharmaceuticals, surgeries and procedures, and self-care, which includes, meditation, nutrition, exercise and health management.
A Tool for Transformation
But, Thurman points out, meditation is for more than just health benefits: It is a tool for seeking inner transformation. Meditation practices in the health field are secular, however.
“We get everyone from born-again Christians to avowed atheists. We tell people we are not trying to make anyone into anything,” Duke’s Brantley reassures. No matter what their religious persuasion, he says, patients find an increased awareness and appreciation of their lives.
Registered nurse Shirley Gilloti, a San Rafael, Calif., health educator and mindfulness training teacher agrees, “I tell people to try to bring more mindfulness to saying their rosary if that’s what they do.”
Source: WFMZ-TV
http://www.wfmz.com/lifestyle/Life-Lessons/life-lessons-acupunctureold-treatment-for-new-babies/24900764
Kim Ricard’s daughters are her world, so when they’re feeling under the weather, it can turn everything upside down. “It’s horrible to see them sick,” says Ricard. She said she’s found a way to help her 1- and 7-year-olds get better in as little as 24 hours: with acupuncture.
But instead of a needle, acupuncturist Netta Hart uses a small metal tool to stimulate acupuncture points. “A needle would be just way too much stimulation for a baby,” says Hart. Hart focuses on points on the legs, chest, stomach, and back that are tied to the immune system.
“Certainly medications have their place, but they’re used way too frequently and way too soon,” she said. “[However], acupuncture stimulates your own body to respond.”
About 150,000 kids get acupuncture every year, and studies show it can help with much more than just colds. Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital found after a year of getting traditional acupuncture with a needle, kids said their pain from headaches, stomach aches, and other chronic complaints reduced from an average eight out of 10 score to a three.
Other studies show acupuncture can ease asthma in preschool kids, crying in babies with colic, and pain in kids after tonsillectomies. “By that evening, generally, they feel better and sleep better that night,” Ricard said. “Any parent of a child knows that a good night of sleep is just heaven,” she added.
In a review of 37 studies, Australian researchers found in the hands of a trained practitioner, acupuncture is safe for kids. Only one out of 10 kids experienced mild side effects like bruising or pain.
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