Austrian Acupuncture Study and HRV study Part 4: Chronic Fatigue

In the final section of the Austrian study, 24 hour Heart Rate Variability (HRV) monitoring was performed on 9 patients with chronic fatigue. The really fascinating result in this study, both from a clinical and scientific standpoint is that not only did the patients HRV improve, but their sleep wake cycle was restored to normal. In one illustrative patient, there was no discernible autonomic difference in the patients readings during a 24 hour cycle when the patient started. By the fourth session there was a discernible difference between day and night, and by the end of the 10 sessions there was significant clinical improvement. This could be of some importance since there often is marked sleep disturbance in patients with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. Some of the clinical benefit seen with acupuncture for chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia could be from improving patients’ sleep quality, in addition to decreasing the stress response. (See pictures at end of post.)

The study was performed as follows.
There were a total of ten acupuncture sessions for each patient. The patients had 2 or 3 24 hour HRV measurements done. One was before treatment began, then after the 4th treatment and then after the 10th treatment.
The point selection was Xinshu BL15,Geshu BL17, ShenshuBL23, Dachangshu BL25. In the one illustrative patient mentioned above, a diagnosis of Kidney Qi deficiency was ascribed. In addition to the points described above ear acupuncture was applied at Shenmen , liver (97)and an antidepression point (psychotropic point 3), and laser acupuncture (dichromatic red 685 nm and infrared 785 nm; 30-40 mW, diameter 500 mm, duration 10 minutes) were performed at the acupoints Hegu (LI4) and Zusanli (ST36).
Before treatment

After 10 treatments.


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Insurers need to spend more on health care. What a concept.

Title ripped straight from the Onion

November 22, 2010
New Rules Tell Insurers: Spend More on Care
By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration issued new federal rules on Monday that will require many health insurance companies to spend more on medical care and allocate less to profits, executive compensation, marketing and overhead expenses.

The rules, intended to benefit consumers, vastly expand federal authority to direct the use of premiums collected by companies like Aetna, Humana, UnitedHealth and WellPoint. While some states have had such requirements, Monday’s announcement is the first such mandate by the federal government and grows out of the new national health care law.

“Millions of Americans will get better value for their health insurance premium dollar,” Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said in issuing the rules...


Starting next year, she said, insurers in the individual and small-group markets must spend at least 80 percent of their premium revenues on medical care and activities to improve the quality of care. Insurers in the large-group market must spend at least 85 percent of premium dollars for those purposes...

He said most insurers should be able to meet the standards because “their profitability and reserves are at an all-time high.”

Italics and emphasis are mine. This underscores the problem with for profit healthcare companies which are run without any sort of protections for the consumer/patient. The more they deny care, the more profitable they are. They make money by denying care. And it's the consumers who bear the brunt if they are unlucky enough to get sick and can easily go bankrupt in the process. A majority of bankruptcies in the U.S. are caused by the costs of a medical illness. So, of course, the Republicans in Congress are doing everything they can for the big insurers, and making the claim that it will "destabilize insurance markets" and that there will be less competition. Competition has not decreased medical costs in this country. We spend more per capita on healthcare than any of the other industrialized countries and have worse results.


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Austrian Acupuncture and HRV study Part 3: moxibustion and Moxsafe

The third part of the Austrian Study looks at moxibustion on CV4 (a point on the lower abdomen corresponding to Dan Tien) and heart rate variability (HRV.) There appears to be an effect on HRV with moxa on Dan Tien. This is interesting, but how it is of interest clinically is uncertain since the effect is fairly small. I am quite interested in trying the new Moxsafe system from Seirin, however.
Twenty healthy Chinese volunteers were evaluated at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. Two different kinds of moxibustion were performed at the acupoint Guanyuan (CV4). Ten volunteers received a new form of needle moxibustion called Moxsafe, basically a metal holder for moxa applied directly to a needle. Ten volunteers received traditional stick moxibustion to CV4. Both showed a significant decrease in heart rate. The effect was slightly more pronounced using the new needle-moxa-system.. Total HRV was significantly increased only when Moxsafe was used. LF/HF ratio was insignificantly altered using both methods.

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Austrian Acupuncture and HRV study Part 2

I seem to have taken quite a hiatus from blogging due to travel. It was an unintended break, but I regret the lapse all same.
The second part of the Austrian study
(Transcontinental and Translational High-tech Acupuncture Research Using Computer-based Heart Rate and “Fire of Life” Heart Rate Variability Analysis by Gerard Litscher published in Journal of Acupuncture Meridian Studies )looks at blue laser and the effect of blue laser on Neiguan, a very commonly used acupuncture point for heart issues and angina pectoris, and nausea from all causes. They compared subjects (healthy volunteers) using real laser and then an inactive laser wand so the subjects could not tell the difference. The heart rate decreased in subjects when the real laser was used, but not inactive laser. Heart rate variability, HRV, was not affected with either type of stimulation.
It would be a fortuitous advance for acupuncture research if we could find a laser that had the same potency as needles themselves because of this ability to "blind" the patients to actual versus sham laser. It appears that the blue laser has some qualities of needles, but is not identical since needling Neiguan does affect HRV.1
1.Chin J Physiol. 2008 Jun 30;51(3):167-77.Links
Effects of acupuncture at Neiguan (PC 6) of the pericardial meridian on blood pressure and heart rate variability.
Chang S, Chao WL, Chiang MJ, Li SJ, Lu YT, Ma CM, Cheng HY, Hsieh SH.

Department of Electrical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC. shyang@ee.nthu.edu.tw


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Austrian Acupuncture and HRV study Part 1

I will be discussing this study from a center at the University of Graz that looks at HRV and acupuncture, laser acupuncture, and moxibustion. The author kindly sent me a full copy of his study.
Transcontinental and Translational High-tech Acupuncture Research Using Computer-based Heart Rate and “Fire of Life” Heart Rate Variability Analysis by Gerard Litscher published in Journal of Acupuncture Meridian Studies
The first of four parts shows that acupuncture and acupressure on Yin Tang (the point between the eyebrows) calms the nervous system, showing a decrease in heart rate and a decrease in the LFR/HFR ratio of HRV.
The study explores acupuncture, acupressure and placebo acupuncture on Yin Tang (the point between the eyebrows prescribed to calm the spirit) and the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) response. HRV has been shown to be a fair correlate with the physiological stress response. Within certain parameters, the more variability in the heart rate the healthier the subject. Low Frequency/High Frequency ratio is shown to decrease with a decrease in the stress response or increase in restorative function.
What they found was that heart rate decreased significantly during acupuncture and acupressure on Yintang. The sham acupuncture point also decreased heart rate but less so. The Low Frequency/High Frequency ratio (LFR/HFR) ratio decreased with acupressure but decreased more in females.
The results reinforce the use of this particular point to "calm the spirit."

(To read more about acupuncture and my practice, please click here.)