Besides treating many patients and also conducting research here at The Pacific Wellness Institute, our director, Dr. Tanaka has been actively participating in various research projects in other institutes and universities. Recently, a couple of those studies have appeared in peer-reviewed medical journals. A study1, conducted at Tsukuba University of Technology, investigated the efficacy of a specific superficial needling method which is regularly utilized by acupuncturists at Pacific Wellness. The study clearly demonstrated the influence of acupuncture on the autonomic nervous system. Another study2 conducted at the University of Toronto is not related to acupuncture. Rather, it investigated the effects of various cardiac drugs and rehabilitation methods on heart rate variability through systematic review. A voluminous amount of evidence suggests that decreased “heart rate variability” (not “heart rate”) is linked with compromised cardiac function and many other diseases. Thus, it is important to investigate effective treatment strategies that will increase heart rate variability. A comprehensive heart rate variability analysis has been utilized in our facility as one of the objective indexes to evaluate our patient’s response during treatment for over the last several years.

1. Mori H, Ueda S, Kuge H, Taniwaki E, Tanaka T, Adachi K, et al. Pupillary response induced by acupuncture stimulation. Acupunct Med 2008 Jun;26(2):79-86.2. Nolan RP, Jong P, Barry-Bianchi SM, Tanaka TH, Floras JS. Effects of drug, biobehavioral and exercise therapies on heart rate variability in coronary artery disease: a systematic review. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil 2008 Aug;15(4):386-96.

Posted in Pacific Wellness, Research |

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