Man Health

I recently found an interesting tool on the National Geographic website, which has a quick and helpful interactive introduction to the human brain. The  tutorial explains in simple terms the brain's anatomy, some common diseases, and which parts of the brain are stimulated by smells, light, sound, romance, and other stimuli.

The site offers insight into the intricate workings of the brain, many of us are not familiar with. The site defines the common elements of the brain and what primary functions they are responsible for. It also offers an interactive section where the reader can select an area of the brain to visually see where it is located and what tasks that area is responsible for.

You can access the site here.

A new treatment for stroke victims promises to suction out clogged arteries in hopes of stopping brain damage before permanent and lasting harm is caused. The drug, Penumbra, is newly approved and is the latest in a series of inside-the-artery attempts to boost recovery from a stroke.

More than 700,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year, and more than 150,000 of them die. Survivors often face serious disability and permanent brain injuries. While this new treatment drug sounds promising, it may not be ideal for every stroke patient.

Penumbra is ideal for patients who are not able to receive treatment in the very early stages after a stroke has been suffered. It can also be helpful for those patients who have tried other methods of treatment, like the clot-busting drug TPA, and was unsuccessful.

You can read more on Penumbra and its next stages of research here.

The information learned from fMRI scanning is certainly breathtaking.  I recently read another interesting article with regard to the use of fMRI with patients who sustained a traumatic brain injury. 

This article published in the archives of General Psychiatry/Volume 60 (No. 1) January 2008, entitled “Neural substrates of symptoms of depression following concussion in male athletes with persistent post-concussion symptoms” looked at whether the symptoms of depression reflect an ongoing pathopsysiological change following concussion. 

The authors Chen, Johnston, Petrides and Ptito from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Magill University, and the Concussion Clinic Neurorehabilitation Program, Toronto Rehabilitation Division of Neurosurgery, University of Toronto examined 56 male athletes with and without concussion who were divided into four separate groups.  The four groups were one, a no depression symptom, concussed group; a mild depressed symptom, concussed group; a moderate depression symptom, concussed group and a healthy control group.  All athletes filled out a post-concussive symptoms checklist and the bet depression inventory II and then underwent a MRI session which included T1, T2 and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequences as well as functional MRI during which they performed a working memory test. 

The results indicated that behaviorally there was no performance differences between the groups.  However, imaging, athletes with concussion with depressed symptoms showed reduced activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and striatum and attenuated deactivation in medial frontal and temporal lesions.  The severity of symptoms of depression correlated with neuroresponses in brain areas that are implicated in major depression. 

The authors concluded that the results suggested that depressed mood following a concussion might reflect an underlying pathophysiology consistent with a limbic-frontal model of depression.  Given that depression is associated with considerable functional disability, the authors believe that this finding will have important clinical implications in the management of individuals with a cerebral concussion.

There are many good books on the market for auricular acupuncture and I have several in my reference library, but there is one that is special to me – “Modern Chinese Ear Acupuncture” by Ping Chen. Dr. Chen (though she always insisted that we call her Ping) was one of my professors at the International Institute of Chinese Medicine in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is a dedicated teacher and compassionate doctor and I am very grateful to have had her as a mentor.

Ping’s book is thorough in point location and indications with detailed diagrams and case studies. She speaks of many ways to stimulate the auricular points including seed acupressure, needle implantation, plum blossom needling, ear moxibustion, ear massage, medicated plasters, electroacupuncture, magnet therapy, medicine injection and bloodletting.

Bloodletting is commonly done to the ear apex to treat a variety of conditions. The ear apex is located at the top of the ear. If you take the back of the ear and fold it towards the face, the ear apex located at the top of the ear where the crease is formed. First massage the auricle until the ear becomes red and warm. Bloodletting is done with a small three-edged needle after the area is carefully sterilized with alcohol. Prick the apex to draw three to five drops of blood and then stop the bleeding with pressure using a sterile cotton ball.

This procedure discharges heat from the body and is calming for the patient, relaxing tension and alleviating pain. This technique is very effective for reducing fever. Generally, fever will be reduced by 0.8-1.2 degrees centigrade a half hour after bloodletting and will return to normal within three daily treatments. Another common application is the treatment of early stage sty where the eyelid is marked by redness and swelling. Bleeding the ear apex is often the first step in a treatment protocol for treating migraine, acute sore throat, psoriasis, acne, insomnia and hypertension.

When I left Albuquerque, Dr. Chen was treating patients and hosting seminars for both acupuncturists and the general public at her beautiful Yi Ling Medical Center. If you get the opportunity to stop in and meet her, tell her that I remember her words of wisdom every day in my own clinic.

About the Author:

Joyce Marley is a licensed acupuncturist that provides acupuncture therapy in New Hartford, NY. She writes alternative health articles about acupuncture and Oriental medicine.

A local support group for heart and stroke patients asked me recently to give a talk about acupuncture and Chinese medicine at one of their monthly meetings. One gentleman approached me afterwards and said that he had not slept well since his heart bypass surgery, which had been about three years earlier. This did not surprise me, as the Heart in Chinese medicine is said to house the spirit and has a lot to do with the body’s ability to sleep peacefully. Since the problem was becoming really worrisome (he only slept two hours a night), and he did not want to add another medication to his long list of prescriptions, he decided he had nothing to lose by trying acupuncture treatments.

We started weekly treatments. I used points that are well known to calm the mind and nourish the heart to help sleep. For a couple of weeks, he would sleep better for a night or two only to return to the same pattern of two hours a night. After four treatments he was getting discouraged, and even though I did not expect to turn around a three year-old habit overnight, I was searching all of my materials for the best protocol for his constitution.

As so often happens when I return to my well-read reference books, I stumbled across a point that I thought would help my patient. A Master Tung point that is used for poor sleep due to heart disease – 77.17, Tian Huang or Heavenly Emperor. Though most of Master Tung’s acupuncture points are not on the regular meridians, this was one point that is located exactly at Spleen 9. Never in my TCM training was this point emphasized for heart disease. It is a point used for water metabolism – abdominal bloating and edema of the legs. And yet, in Miriam Lee’s book, “Master Tong’s Acupuncture”, she recalls cases where she observed Master Tung use this point for heart disease problems, including poor sleep.

Since purchasing this book, I have been told that there are typographical errors and incorrect point locations and diagrams. So, it may not be the best reference for Master Tung points, but I still find the case examples invaluable. And this is an excellent example.

The next treatment I gave included Du20, Yintang, Ear shenmen and point zero bilaterally to calm the mind, and Tian Huang. That was it. The gentleman slept 6-7 hours a night every night that week! We repeated the treatment another two times. It has now been several weeks since I have seen him, but he called the other day just to wish me a happy New Year and to tell me that he was still sleeping fine.

These are the times that I absolutely love what I do!

About the Author:

Joyce Marley is a licensed acupuncturist with a practice in New Hartford, NY. She writes alternative health articles about acupuncture and Oriental medicine.

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