Dear Subscriber,
This is another series in the short articles written by acupuncturist Dan Kenner, LAc, PhD. I studied acupuncture many years ago and it was my first foray into the world of “alternative medicine”. I was simply fascinated by acupuncture theory, ear acupuncture, and especially the results, even at my own hands with the limited training I had. I would still be at it, but was waylaid by other alternative avenues and it was at a time when acupuncture was coming into the mainstream, with lots of acupuncturists. So, I went into ozone, chelation and nutritional medicine.
Please enjoy Dr. Kenner’s short below.
To Your Excellent Health,
Robert Jay Rowen, MD
Ear Acupuncture and the Brain
Ear acupuncture was discovered by Dr. Paul Nogier, a French physician in Lyons, France in the 1950s. He encountered patients who claimed that they had experienced long-term relief of sciatic pain after having a point on the ear cauterized by a “Gypsy” woman from Marseilles. Nogier used a needle instead of burning the relevant point and, through experimentation, mapped out points that, allegedly, influence structures all over the body. Points on the ear are also treated with electrical and laser stimulation. Today, there are hundreds of doctors in Europe, doctors and acupuncturists in the U.S., Japan, and China, who use ear acupuncture on a daily basis.
Two recent reports from clinicians using mild electrical stimulation to the ears could potentially validate the use of ear stimulation, in mainstream thought, for treating medical conditions. In a small proof-of-concept pilot study, 25 women with postpartum depression received six weeks of daily “noninvasive auricular vagus nerve stimulation (aVNS).” Auricular VNS uses surface skin electrodes to stimulate nerve endings of a branch of the vagus nerve, located on the surface of the outer ear. The treatment was well-tolerated and associated with a significant reduction in postpartum depressive and anxiety symptoms. Results showed that 74% achieved response and 61% achieved remission, as shown in reduced scores on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D17).
Another study showed beneficial results for Parkinsonism patients. The study included 30 participants (100% White) aged 40-79 years with mild to moderate Parkinson’s Disease. All were randomly assigned to ten active or sham stimulations (one hour each) over the course of two weeks. For the active stimulation group, electrodes were attached to the outer ear. There was an improvement of three points or more on the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating System III scale in eight active group members compared with four sham group members. The most improved symptom in responders was bradykinesia (slowness of movement and speed, or progressive hesitations/halts),followed by tremor. Ethan Brown, M.D., assistant professor of neurology, Weill Institute of Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, said this study is small but intriguing. “It demonstrates the potential efficacy of a completely novel approach to improving symptoms in people with PD,” said Brown, who was not involved with the research.
Brain imaging has shown that stimulating points on the ear map can activate the corresponding areas in the brain. It is also important to note that there is only one single synapse between the ear points and the brain. The strongest feature of ear acupuncture, known as auricular medicine in its advanced form, however, is its ability to locate and treat buried trauma that can be the cause of lingering pathology that is resistant to other forms of treatment. One can treat the point on the ear associated with low back pain for months and years with only temporary results until a deeper related area, perhaps located in the limbic part of the brain, is treated in the limbic section of the ear map, to clear the original trauma and its persistent effects. Recognizing this important relationship between acute and chronic is often the key factor in resolving years-long unresponsive pathologies.
Dan Kenner
This is so interesting. Thank you.