Bénédicte Masson Acupuncture

18/11/2025

A groundbreaking study from Wuhan University is turning everything we thought we knew about Parkinson’s disease upside down. Researchers now believe the disease may not start in the brain at all, but in the kidneys.
The study found abnormal clusters of alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) proteins, the same ones heavily linked to Parkinson’s, inside the kidneys of affected patients. These proteins are known to trigger neurological damage when they build up in the brain. However, in animal experiments, healthy kidneys successfully cleared these proteins. When kidney function was impaired, the α-Syn proteins began to travel to the brain, setting the stage for Parkinson’s.
Shockingly, even people with chronic kidney disease but no neurological symptoms were found to have α-Syn buildup. This discovery suggests the kidneys might act as an early “reservoir” for toxic proteins, which could later spread through the bloodstream or nerves and affect the brain.
Though early and based on limited data, this research could completely change how we understand and treat Parkinson’s. It raises the possibility that monitoring and protecting kidney health might one day help prevent or delay the onset of this devastating condition.

18/11/2025

A hospital in Sydney has started using a new medical technology that treats tumors and reduces pain without surgery. Liverpool Hospital now uses an MRI-guided machine that performs cryoablation. In this method, doctors insert a gas-powered needle into the tumor, freezing it into an iceball and destroying the tissue. MRI images help them see everything in real time.

Cryoablation is helpful for patients with hard-to-reach or painful tumors. It is minimally invasive, has a quick recovery time, and many patients can go home the same day.

04/11/2025

A major hospital in south-west Sydney has introduced a groundbreaking MRI machine that can freeze tumours, offering patients a non-invasive alternative to surgery. The technology, known as cryoablation, uses a gas-powered needle to freeze tumours into an “iceball,” killing the target tissue while leaving surrounding areas largely unharmed. Patients can return home the same day, avoiding the lengthy recovery that usually follows major surgery.

Liverpool Hospital is the first in Australia to use this MRI-guided cryoablation system. Doctors say it provides a precise way to treat tumours that cause severe pain, especially in the spine, liver, and kidneys. For 64-year-old grandmother Josephine Cordina, who suffered from a nine-millimetre tumour pressing on her spine, the machine was life-changing. “The next day I had no pain, it was all gone and I’m back to normal,” she said after the procedure.

Dr. Glenn Schlaphoff, who leads the program, explained that the frozen tumour essentially “neatly dies off,” sparing patients from invasive operations involving screws or bone support. The machine is part of Liverpool Hospital’s nearly $1 billion redevelopment, which will also include a new cancer centre opening in 2027.

This innovation could mark a shift in how Australian hospitals manage tumour-related pain, bringing faster relief and shorter hospital stays to more patients.

30/07/2025

Ventouses

Bien avant que le monde ne parle de stress post-traumatique, il existait déjà des peuples qui comprenaient le poids invisible laissé par la guerre.

Dans certaines cultures africaines, lorsqu’un guerrier revenait du champ de bataille, il n’était pas accueilli immédiatement par sa communauté. Il devait d’abord passer un temps — souvent trois lunes — sous la garde d’un chamane. Ce n’était ni un châtiment, ni une mise à l’écart. C’était un soin.

On croyait que l’âme revenait blessée, déséquilibrée par le chaos. Et pour qu’elle puisse se réintégrer en harmonie avec la terre et les siens, il fallait la purifier.

L’un des rituels les plus anciens consistait à poser des cornes sur la peau afin d’extraire le « sang stagnant » — une forme ancestrale de ventouses que les colonisateurs appelleraient plus t**d « la ventouse africaine ». Ce n’était pas qu’un acte médical. C’était un symbole. Une manière de libérer non seulement les toxines, mais aussi la douleur muette laissée par la violence.

Aujourd’hui, nous appelons cela un traumatisme.
Eux l’appelaient un déséquilibre spirituel.

Et peut-être que, dans ce monde emporté par la modernité, il nous ferait du bien de nous souvenir de cette sagesse ancienne.