Research.
Every peer-reviewed study on fascia in one place — graded for strength of evidence, summarised in plain language for clinicians, researchers, and curious patients.
We grade studies from A to 1A+++ using the Fascia Research Database rubric — 1A+++ is the strongest.
What is the Intelligent Tissue !eory and How Does it Relate to Acupuncture?
This article introduces the "intelligent tissue theory," which proposes that organ information is transmitted via electromagnetic waves and interpreted by bodily tissues at specific meridians. The author suggests that t…
Fascial neuromodulation: an emerging concept linking acupuncture, fasciology, osteopathy and neuroscience
This conceptual paper presents a model called "fascial neuromodulation" to explain how therapies like acupuncture might work. The author suggests that mechanical signals through the fascial network can influence the ner…
The Stomach’s Communication with Its Related Acupoints, and the “Intelligent Tissue” Hypothesis
This study explores the "intelligent tissue" hypothesis, which suggests that an organ's functional state is reflected in real-time at specific acupuncture points. By monitoring electrical impedance at six stomach-relate…
What Is the Point? The Problem with Acupuncture Research That No One Wants to Talk About
In this 2018 commentary, the authors address a persistent criticism of acupuncture research: the unclear scientific basis for "acupuncture points." They argue that the acupuncture research community has not paid enough…
The Impedance Profile of Acupuncture Points
This study investigated real-time electrical impedance (resistance) at acupuncture points in a single subject. The researcher observed that when impedance decreased at the center of a point, it often increased at a loca…
A New Definition of an Acupuncture Meridian
This perspective article proposes a new definition of acupuncture meridians, moving away from the idea of dedicated anatomical vessels. The author suggests that meridians are actually tracts of tissue that become affect…
A Curious Oversight in Acupuncture Research
In this perspective article, the author argues that current acupuncture hypotheses overlook a crucial factor: the speed at which the treatment takes effect. Observations suggest that communication between acupoints and…
Reconnecting the Body in Eastern and Western Medicine
Details for this 2017 publication, titled 'Reconnecting the Body in Eastern and Western Medicine' by Helene M. Langevin and Rosa N. Schnyer, have not yet been summarized. The title suggests a discussion comparing and in…
New Developments in the Primo Vascular System: Imaging and Functions with regard to Acupuncture
This research entry, for which only the title is available, appears to discuss recent advancements in understanding the primo vascular system. The title suggests a focus on new imaging techniques and the system's functi…
Essential Experimental Methods for Identifying Bonghan Systems as a Basis for Korean Medicine: Focusing on Visual Materials from Original Papers and Modern Outcomes
This narrative review examines methods for identifying the so-called Bonghan system, also known as the primo vascular system (PVS). This system was originally proposed in the 1960s as the anatomical basis for acupunctur…
Purine receptor mediated actin cytoskeleton remodeling of human fibroblasts
This laboratory study investigated how certain molecules, called purines, affect human fibroblast cells. Previous research has shown that acupuncture can trigger the release of purines like ATP. The researchers exposed…
Fluid Flow along Venous Adventitia in Rabbits: Is It a Potential Drainage System Complementary to Vascular Circulations?
In this animal study on rabbits, researchers investigated a potential fluid drainage system within the body's connective tissue. By injecting tracers, they visualized pathways along the loose connective tissue surroundi…
Fascia and the mechanism of acupuncture
This theoretical paper re-evaluates the mechanisms of acupuncture. The authors propose that fascia, the body's connective tissue network, is the structure that explains how acupuncture works. They argue for this model b…
Review of Evidence Suggesting That the Fascia Network Could Be the Anatomical Basis for Acupoints and Meridians in the Human Body
This narrative review explores the idea that the body's fascia network could be the physical structure behind traditional Chinese medicine's (TCM) meridians and acupoints. The authors examine anatomical, physiological,…
Fluorescent Nanoparticles for Observing Primo Vascular System Along Sciatic Nerve
In this animal study, researchers injected fluorescent nanoparticles into rats at an acupuncture point to trace their path. The particles traveled along the sciatic nerve, revealing a previously hard-to-detect structure…
Connective Tissue Fibroblast Response to Acupuncture: Dose- Dependent Effect of Bidirectional Needle Rotation
This study on mouse tissue explored how connective tissue cells respond to back-and-forth rotation of an acupuncture needle. Researchers observed that fibroblasts, a type of connective tissue cell, changed shape by spre…
Subcutaneous Tissue Fibroblast Cytoskeletal Remodeling Induced by Acupuncture: Evidence for a Mechanotransduction-Based Mechanism
In this mouse tissue study, researchers investigated how rotating an acupuncture needle affects fibroblasts in the connective tissue under the skin. They found that rotation caused the fibroblasts to actively change sha…
An Introduction to Human Biophoton Emission
This narrative review explores biophoton emission, the ultraweak light naturally produced by all living systems, including the human body. The authors compiled and analyzed existing research, which has investigated how…
Dynamic fibroblast cytoskeletal response to subcutaneous tissue stretch ex vivo and in vivo
In this animal study, researchers investigated how fibroblasts, the primary cells in connective tissue, respond to mechanical stretch. By stretching subcutaneous tissue from mice, both in tissue samples (ex vivo) and in…