Acupuncture: Is there any evidence?

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Acupuncture: Is there any evidence?

I write to help clarify my thoughts and feedback like this gives me the opportunity to see the issue from another point of view. I respect my peers so, but I find most conversations about acupuncture start off with knee jerk skepticism based on a number of misconceptions. One of these misconceptions is that there is no room for acupuncture in "mainstream medicine", but that just isn't true, take this recent review published in the Current Pain and Headache Reports.... 

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What is restless leg syndrome?

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What is restless leg syndrome?

"Restless leg syndrome is a common affliction characterised by uncomfortable feelings in the legs accompanied by an irresistible urge to move the legs to relieve the sensations. People with restless leg syndrome often keep their legs moving by pacing or constantly moving their legs while sitting. The sensations commonly occur at night and have been described by patients as itching, throbbing, pulling, pins and needles or a creepy crawly feeling. Onset of the sensations usually occur, or get worse, while the person is relaxed, sitting or lying down. Restless leg syndrome is known to affect both males and females of any age but is more common in women and older individuals. Misdiagnosis is not unusual since the symptoms tend to come and go and may be quite mild."

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X-ray, how it changed our view of the world

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X-ray, how it changed our view of the world

"Sunday, November 8 marks the 120th anniversary of one of the greatest moments in the history of science: an obscure German physics professor’s discovery of the X-ray. His name was Wilhelm Roentgen, and in the six weeks that followed, he devoted nearly every waking hour to exploring the properties of the new rays before announcing his discovery to the world. Within just months, scientists worldwide were experimenting with the newly discovered rays. Roentgen’s discovery and its subsequent revolutionary impact represent one of science’s greatest stories."

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Oliver Sacks & The Brain

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Oliver Sacks & The Brain

"Sacks could write sensitively about religion, including a recent article on the role of the Sabbath in his own life, but in writing about mystical experiences, he typically repaired to his professional lexicon, referring to them as hallucinations – seemingly authentic visual and auditory experiences traceable not to any external reality, but only to the brain itself. Sacks had witnessed in many of his patients the depths of human longing, including a deep hunger for God, but to him they revealed truths only about our own psyches."

 

Photo Credit -© Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons

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Reconsidering Body Worlds?

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Reconsidering Body Worlds?

"When Dr. Gunther von Hagens started using “plastination“ in the 1970s to preserve human bodies, he likely did not anticipate the wild success of the Body Worlds exhibitions that stem from his creation. Body Worlds has since hosted millions of visitors to its exhibits, including six spin-offs. The offshoots include a version on vital organs and another featuring plastinated animal remains. The process replaces natural bodily fluids with polymers that harden to create odorless and dry "specimens.”"

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