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Biomedical subjects

Richard Hammerschlag

Publications and source records attributed to Richard Hammerschlag.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Neurobiological correlates of acupuncture: November 17-18, 2005.

The "Neurobiological Correlates of Acupuncture" Conference was convened November 17-18, 2005 in Bethesda, Maryland. The conference was sponsored by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Its goals were to encourage exchange of ideas regarding the direction of neuroimaging in acupuncture research as well as to discuss some of the challenges in this field. The use of neuroimaging, a relatively recent advance in the study of acupuncture, holds the promise of localizing and characterizing brain activity associated with acupuncture interventions in real time and in a minimally invasive way. Among the main challenges to research into the biological mechanisms of acupuncture are the multiple treatment variables and the difficulties of selecting appropriate experimental controls. Despite these challenges, numerous findings from acupuncture neuroimaging experiments were presented and discussed at the conference on topics related to possible signaling networks, sham acupuncture controls, acupoint specificity, acupuncture analgesia, acupuncture-associated brain response, and the potential for using neuroimaging in conjunction with translational and clinical acupuncture research. Future directions in acupuncture neuroimaging research, as recommended by conference participants, should focus on (1) continuing exploration of acupuncture signaling networks; (2) establishing standards and recommendations for performing and reporting acupuncture neuroimaging results; (3) enabling data sharing in the acupuncture neuroimaging community; (4) gaining a better understanding of placebo and control groups in acupuncture neuroimaging experiments; and (5) developing biomarkers that relate to physiologically and/or clinically relevant acupuncture responses to neuroimaging results.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed2005

Electrical impedance along connective tissue planes associated with acupuncture meridians.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture points and meridians are commonly believed to possess unique electrical properties. The experimental support for this claim is limited given the technical and methodological shortcomings of prior studies. Recent studies indicate a correspondence between acupuncture meridians and connective tissue planes. We hypothesized that segments of acupuncture meridians that are associated with loose connective tissue planes (between muscles or between muscle and bone) visible by ultrasound have greater electrical conductance (less electrical impedance) than non-meridian, parallel control segments. METHODS: We used a four-electrode method to measure the electrical impedance along segments of the Pericardium and Spleen meridians and corresponding parallel control segments in 23 human subjects. Meridian segments were determined by palpation and proportional measurements. Connective tissue planes underlying those segments were imaged with an ultrasound scanner. Along each meridian segment, four gold-plated needles were inserted along a straight line and used as electrodes. A parallel series of four control needles were placed 0.8 cm medial to the meridian needles. For each set of four needles, a 3.3 kHz alternating (AC) constant amplitude current was introduced at three different amplitudes (20, 40, and 80 microAmps) to the outer two needles, while the voltage was measured between the inner two needles. Tissue impedance between the two inner needles was calculated based on Ohm's law (ratio of voltage to current intensity). RESULTS: At the Pericardium location, mean tissue impedance was significantly lower at meridian segments (70.4 +/- 5.7 Omega) compared with control segments (75.0 +/- 5.9 Omega) (p = 0.0003). At the Spleen location, mean impedance for meridian (67.8 +/- 6.8 Omega) and control segments (68.5 +/- 7.5 Omega) were not significantly different (p = 0.70). CONCLUSION: Tissue impedance was on average lower along the Pericardium meridian, but not along the Spleen meridian, compared with their respective controls. Ultrasound imaging of meridian and control segments suggested that contact of the needle with connective tissue may explain the decrease in electrical impedance noted at the Pericardium meridian. Further studies are needed to determine whether tissue impedance is lower in (1) connective tissue in general compared with muscle and (2) meridian-associated vs. non meridian-associated connective tissue.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Reliability of the Prognos electrodermal device for measurements of electrical skin resistance at acupuncture points.

OBJECTIVES: (1) To characterize and calibrate an electrodermal screening device, Prognos. (2) To replicate a previous test-retest reliability study of this device with measurements of electrical skin resistance (ESR) at 24 Jing-well acupuncture points (APs). (3) To determine measurement precision in three successively more exacting trial protocols on the same set of subjects. SETTINGS: Oregon College of Oriental Medicine and Portland State University, Portland, OR. INSTRUMENTS: The Prognos device was electrically characterized by a team of research engineers at the Biomedical Signal Processing Laboratory of Portland State University. They determined that Prognos measures the average direct-current (DC) resistance between a metallic wrist strap and an electrode probe tip. The probe tip is connected to a linear spring set to trigger with an optically generated signal at a deflection of 2.62 mm, which corresponds to an average applied force of 2.68 +/- 0.04 N (mean +/- standard deviation [SD], n = 6). They also determined that the device quantifies resistance by applying a 1.1 microA current for an average of 223 +/- 3 ms (n = 7). When calibrated against a series of known resistors, Prognos measures accurately in the range of 150 kOmega to 14.3 MOmega with an error of less than 0.4%. SUBJECTS: Thirty-one (31) healthy volunteers, 17 females and 14 males, 23-63 years of age. RESULTS OF RELIABILITY TEST-RETEST: The mean reliability of a single measurement was; 0.758 for a standard measurement protocol of four sequential sweeps of 24 Jing-well (Ting) APs; 0.851 for four sequential sweeps after ink-marking the APs; and 0.961 for four rapid repeat measurements at each inked AP. Mean absolute values of ESR decreased between the standard and marked protocols, but not between the marked and rapid repeat protocols. CONCLUSIONS: Prognos performs accurately, against known resistors over the reported range of ESR. The reliability in the standard protocol (r = 0.758) is comparable to the reliability of 0.721 demonstrated under similar conditions by other investigators. Marking APs, and performing measurements in a rapid sequence, increases reliability of ESR measurements. Increased reliability in the second and third protocols is associated with decreased mean ESR values which may be related to increased accuracy of Prognos probe placement and/or inking the APs.

Acupuncture Points↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Developing a traditional chinese medicine diagnostic structure for post-traumatic stress disorder.

BACKGROUND: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common, disabling condition with many diverse symptoms including anxiety, depression, insomnia, and body pain. These symptoms are likely to be helped by treatment with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM); however, PTSD is not yet a recognized disorder (bing ming) in Chinese medicine. In preparation for a phase II clinical trial comparing TCM and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) treatment of PTSD symptoms, a TCM diagnostic pattern framework for persons who meet the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) definition of PTSD was sought. METHODS: Three approaches were used to identify the most likely TCM pattern differentiations for PTSD: an English-language TCM textbook review on the conditions "depression," "anxiety," and "insomnia"; a survey of 20 experienced practitioners of TCM; and TCM assessments of 21 individuals affected by PTSD. Two TCM practitioners synthesized the information into a list of pattern differentiations. RESULTS: The most likely pattern differentiations for PTSD were Heart Shen disturbance caused by Heat, Fire, or a constitutional deficiency; Liver Qi stagnation; and Kidney deficiency. Secondary patterns identified were outcomes of long-term Liver Qi stagnation-Liver overacting on Spleen/Stomach, Liver Fire, Phlegm Fire, Phlegm-Damp, and Heart Fire-and constitutional deficiencies in the Heart, Kidney, and Spleen organ systems. CONCLUSIONS: The use of extant literature, expert knowledge, and clinical TCM diagnoses contributed to the development of a TCM diagnostic structure for PTSD. The results can inform the clinical practice of TCM. The method can be used to guide research design involving different diagnostic systems.

Anxiety↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Bioenergy definitions and research guidelines.

A model for the functional and observable interrelation among the various components in a physical bioenergy system is presented. The analogy is made between electric circuits and electromagnetic interactions, and contact and noncontact bioenergy transfer. It is postulated that there exists some form of bioenergy that has the capacity to do work and that this energy behaves in a manner similar to electricity in that the physical concepts of electromotive force, current, and impedance have their equivalents in bioenergy. It is further postulated that these analogous components are related by an equivalent to Ohm's and other physical laws of electricity. This is extended to a conjecture that bioenergy healing is the transfer of information from a practitioner to a healee. Research guidelines for bioenergy measurements are presented, including basic measurement practices for electrical and electromagnetic systems through direct measurements and the use of indirect measurement experiments for detecting these or other forms of bioenergy transfer. The research guidelines are divided into 2 sections: those involving direct measurement of the physical electrical properties of a practitioner, in particular the difficulties associated with electrical measurements of extremely low-level signals outside of a Faraday shield or electromagnetic measurements outside of a radio frequency anechoic chamber; and those for conducting experiments in which the effects of bioenergy are being investigated on the healee or other target system without direct measurements of the means for bioenergy transfer.

Energy Metabolism↗