A study in Nature Neuroscience published just yesterday (May 30, 2010) shows one possible mechanism of pain relief through acupuncture: the release of adenosine. Adenosine is a very potent anti-inflammatory compound and most chronic pain is caused by inflammation.
For more on this new study from the University of Rochester, check out a general article on it in the UK’s Guardian newspaper by clicking here, or click here to read the study itself.
As people recover from whatever their chief complaint was when they first came in to the office, I am inevitably asked, “Hey, I”ve also had this {x} condition. Can you do anything for that?” Acupuncture and Chinese medicine have a surprisingly large breadth and depth, being the primary care modality for the Chinese people for thousands of years. As such, there’s usually some solution for just about any issue.
One issue I’ve been asked about repeatedly and have not had a lot of resources to deal with is sleep apnea (along with snoring). Up ’til now.
A study last year in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine split two groups: one was trained to do breathing exercises daily, while the other did throat exercises, including swallowing and chewing motions, placing the tip of the tongue against the front of the palate and sliding it back, and pronouncing certain vowels quickly and repeatedly. After three months, those who did the throat exercises snored less, slept better and reduced the severity of their condition by 39 percent. They also reduced neck circumference, a known risk factor for apnea. The control group who did the breathing exercises showed almost no improvement.
To learn more about this study, check out this link.
As I so often do, I thought I’d repost an article I read that I thought you’d all find interesting. So funny how many times I’ve heard MDs (and others) say, “Oh, acupuncture is just a placebo treatment.” Whether or not it is, my clinical experience has taught me that doctors often have no idea how to treat something, and as this article points out, they very often do indeed prescribe placebos. According to a new study published in the British Medical Journal, U.S. doctors regularly give placebo treatments such as vitamins, sedatives or even antibiotics to patients, even though in many cases these doctors don’t expect such treatments to help the patient’s underlying disease. Read more by clicking here.
I wish I had more time to read fiction. Instead, the time that I do have to read is generally taken with current topics in healthcare so that I can keep up with my patients’ needs.
One recent read was the poorly-titled but well-written “Anti-Cancer” by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD.
A research doctor who got cancer himself, it’s an evidence-based approach to keeping oneself cancer-free, primarily through dietary advice, though it has much more to offer. It’s a quick read, has useful, actionable intelligence, and I highly recommend it to all.
Check out the author’s story below…
You can, of course, purchase it on Amazon by clicking here (no, I don’t get any kind of commission!).
While focused on food, Michael Pollan, a professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley, has been writing about where our food comes from, and what to eat, for years. His best sellers (much recommended) include “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” and “In Defense of Food,” among other titles. In the end, his readers have often asked what foods they should be eating. In response, he has written a quick and easy to digest guide, “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual.” Simple but profound. Some excerpts may be found in Pollan’s article in The Huffington Post.
If you, the reader, have any recommendations of your own, let us know by posting a reply below…
An excellent article by Andrew Ellis at Spring Wind herbs in Berkeley on some truisms, as well as many misconceptions, about pesticides and sulfur in Chinese herbs. While this article was intended for practitioners, I think it has some valuable information for everyone interested in Chinese herbal medicine who may be concerned about their source.
Click here to read the article (a pdf/Adobe Acrobat file).
