While the ultimate effectiveness of COVID vaccines, both RNA- and DNA-based, against the original strain and its various mutations, including the omicron variant, has yet to be determined, researchers have discovered that the ancient art of cupping practiced by many TCM practitioners may play a role in antibody production following vaccination.
Researchers performing animal (rat) trials discovered that when a DNA-based COVID vaccine was administered in conjunction with 30 seconds of a suction technique at the injection site "similar to Chinese báguàn and Middle Eastern hijama cupping therapies," the immune response was 100 times that of the vaccine alone. In other words, 100 times more antibodies were produced than if the vaccine were administered without the cupping technique.
While the study was funded by a vaccine manufacturer and conducted by a joint research team featuring researchers from not only Rutgers University, but also the South Korean pharmaceutical company, that shouldn't minimize the potential significance of their findings, which appear in Science Advances. Two immediate takeaways come to mind:
Interested in reading the entire study as it appears in Science Advances [Lallow EO, et al.; Nov. 5, 2021;7(45)]? It's available free of charge by clicking here.
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The Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM) has announced it is closing after 41 years. Pending accreditor approval, OCOM will cease offering classes after September (fourth-year OCOM students graduate Aug. 26). All current / incoming OCOM students have the option of continuing their education at the National University of Natural Medicine or Five Branches University, or transferring to another school altogether.
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The end of cancer treatment does not necessarily signal a return to good health. Cancer survivors report poorer health and well-being than people who have not had cancer; many suffer chronic consequences of cancer and its treatments. Some may also develop new symptoms many years after treatment has ended.
