Margaret A.
Naeser, Ph.D., Lic.Ac. is Research Professor of Neurology, Boston
University School of
Medicine and Research Linguist/Speech-Language Pathologist, V.A. Boston
Healthcare System. She received her B.A. in 1966 from Smith College (German and Zoology, Junior year - University of Hamburg); and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1970 (Linguistics and Communication Disorders). She did Post-Doctoral work from 1970-1972 at UCLA (Linguistics and Neuroanatomy) and California State University in Long Beach, California (Speech-Language Pathology).
She graduated from the New England School of Acupuncture in 1983 and is a licensed acupuncturist in Massachusetts (Dipl.Ac., NCCAOM). In 1985, she was invited by the Shanghai Medical University to exchange research information in stroke and acupuncture. While in China, she studied the use of acupuncture and laser acupuncture in the treatment of paralysis in stroke patients.
In 1982, she was awarded a sabbatical from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Research Service, to complete the second year of acupuncture studies at the New England School of Acupuncture, Watertown, MA. This was approved with the understanding that she would conduct future research on acupuncture to treat paralysis in stroke patients at the V.A. Boston Healthcare System. In 1984, she received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to investigate acupuncture to treat paralysis in stroke patients. Four papers with stroke patients were published, including one on the use of painless, low-level laser light (not needles) to stimulate acupuncture points. In 1985, she lived in Shanghai, China, for two months, where she learned about laser acupuncture to treat paralysis in stroke, at the Shanghai Number One Medical College.
She has written two invited reports for the FDA, and the NIH regarding acupuncture research with neurological disorders: In 1994, the NIH sponsored a conference for the FDA regarding change in the labeling of acupuncture needles from Class III (Investigational) to Class II (Safe). Her topic was, "Acupuncture for the Treatment of Paralysis due to Central Nervous System Damage." In 1997, the NIH sponsored a Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture. Her topic was, "Neurological Rehabilitation: Acupuncture and Laser Acupuncture to Treat Paralysis in Stroke and Other Paralytic Conditions and Pain in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome."
From 1993 to 2001, she conducted laser acupuncture research to treat carpal tunnel syndrome at the V.A. Boston Healthcare System. This project was funded by the American Association for Oriental Medicine. She has published two papers on this research.
The acupuncture research studies included here have been completed. At this time, Dr. Naeser is not conducting any acupuncture or laser acupuncture research projects where patients could be enrolled for treatment.
