It was a great privilege to be given the opportunity to organize the Ninth International Symposium on Auriculotherapy, held in Singapore, August 10–12, 2017. The timing was right to gather the world's teachers, researchers, clinicians, and students together in a 3-day meeting to consolidate knowledge, share research thinking, and, importantly, to meet old friends and make new ones. Singapore is where East meets West—a perfect location. There were many obstacles: funding support; which presenters would be prepared to travel to Singapore; and, of course, how many delegates would travel so far to attend the symposium. The two magic words were: Positive Energy. Positive energy is infectious. With the infusion of the organizing committee, the many amazing local and international sponsors and everyone else, the symposium took on a life of its own. Medicines Journal joined the energy stream and consolidated the presentations into an important book of abstracts for the delegates. It was an absolute whirlwind of great activity, both scientifically and socially. In 2018–2019, flowing on from Singapore, both Medical Acupuncture and Medicines are publishing special editions to capture the science.
Auriculotherapy is such an amazing clinical gem with strong neuroanatomical and neurophysiologic scientific evidence bases today. It should be part of medical and allied health curricula moving forward. It must be recognized that auriculotherapy is also called Ear Acupuncture. In France, Auricular Medicine is currently designated as the correct terminology when the neurophysiologic phenomenon, the vascular autonomic signal—or VAS—is applied in auricular treatments. The VAS needs to be represented more in auricular research. It is time to take on the challenge of research into Auricular Medicine. Given the overinflated cost of health delivery today in many countries, clinicians can not only utilize the VAS in diagnostics to reduce investigatory costs; they can also use the VAS to help predict or measure recovery status in therapeutics.
The Singapore symposium fielded projects helping neonates to the elderly. Pain management and addiction treatments were also discussed. In this time of opioid concerns, auriculotherapy offers good solutions.
The significant depth and breadth of the presentations revealed how auriculotherapy and auricular medicine need to play bigger roles in the management of health problems today. With high therapeutic indices or minimal adverse effects, ease of application. and relative low cost, it is time for auricular interventions to play an integral role in clinical care.
The outstanding auricular acupuncture for the treatment of dementia won the prize for best research project. The impressive Chinese delegation led by Rong Peijing, MD, PhD, showcased how far we have come in auricular research. Accolades go to the research teams led by Gerhard Litscher, MSc, PhD, MDsc, David Alimi, MD, Richard C. Niemtzow, MD, PhD, MPH, and many others for their dedication to this discipline.
Paul M.F. Nogier, MD, would have been proud that his legacy is reaping gains for medicine. Auriculotherapy has come of age and deserves to be part of medicine—auricular medicine as a specialty or subspecialty in medicine.