Tag Archive for: depression

Acupuncture helps depression: cytokines

How acupuncture helps with depression

depression-acupuncture-cytokines
Did you know that depression is not only a psychological/psychiatric condition? Recent studies have shown that it has a physiological manifestation in the brain. Scientists found that depressed patients have higher levels proteins called cytokines. These proteins have an ability to trigger inflammation in your body and make you feeling down, lethargic, and sleepy.

Acupuncture effective treatment for depression

Acupuncture has been found to be an effective treatment for depression, especially for patients who have treatment resistant depression. According to a recent study(systematic review and meta-analysis) acupuncture combined with antidepressant medication can lead to has an early results, are safe and well-tolerated over the first 6-week treatment period. Moreover, this combination of treatments has been shown to be more effective than just using antidepressant medication alone.

So how does acupuncture for depression work?

Well, previous experimental studies found that acupuncture can actually reduce cytokine levels in chronic headache patients. And research on rodents has shown that it can reduce cytokine levels in the brain.

Vagus nerve connects the organs to the brain. And acupuncture can directly reduce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines via this nerve. And long term treatments can reduce inflammation by increasing levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines. To achieve this you need 3 or more months of acupuncture done correctly at correct frequency. This doesn’t only benefit depression. In fact, inflammation has been linked to heart disease, increased the risk of cancer. Inflammation affects your sleep,  makes it harder to lose weight, increases bone loss, damages your gums. By reducing inflammation, you can improve your overall health and well-being.

There are a few different theories about how acupuncture benefits depression, but the cytokine theory seems to be one of the most promising. So if you’re struggling with depression or just want to take proactive steps to improve your health, consider trying acupuncture.

Transcranial current stimulation

Transcranial current stimulation

Transcranial direct current stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS Therapy) are a trending subject of current studies.

The newly discovered benefits of these therapies include pain relief, treatment for sleep disorders, depression, cognitive enhancement (including speeding up learning, creativity enhancement, and improving mathematical abilities, etc.).

Are these transcranial therapies really novel? These treatments are strikingly similar to a well-established treatment – scalp electroacupuncture.

Scalp electroacupuncture has been used safely and effectively for decades, with numerous studies supporting its benefits for conditions such as

But here’s the best part: scalp acupuncture is much more cost-effective than transcranial therapies.

Brain mapping techniques are becoming cheaper and more accessible. This leads to more studies and a better understanding of the human brain. This will open up opportunities for new treatments using transcranial current stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and even electro-acupuncture. So if you’re looking for an effective and affordable alternative treatment, give electroacupuncture a try!

The image: fibers of the White Matter

Acupuncture for stress

Acupuncture interferes with the mechanism of stress

Acupuncture is great at reducing stress. Even our patients who seek acupuncture for fertility report reduced anxiety. One of the first things they often notice is that sleep improves and they experience reduced irritability. They feel more relaxed both at work and at home.

Until recently, we didn’t fully understand how acupuncture helps with stress, we knew very little about what exactly happens on the cellular level. Researchers at the Georgetown University Medical Center made a breakthrough discovery. It turns out that acupuncture interferes with the very mechanism of stress by blocking the chronic, stress-induced elevations of the HPA axis hormones and the sympathetic NPY pathway.

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