OBJECTIVETo compare the differences of therapeutic effect in lower limb sensation disorder after lumbar disc herniation operation treated with plum-blossom needle along meridians and Methylcobalamin with oral administration, and explore the best time for plum-blossom needle intervention.

METHODSEighty cases of lower limb sensation disorder caused by nucleus pulposus discectomy of lumbar disc herniation were randomly divided into a plum-blossom needle group (40 cases) and a western medication group (40 cases). In plum-blossom needle group, tapping with plum-blossom needle along meridians was received, the meridians located at sensation areas which were dominated by relevant segmental nerve root in operation were selected: the lower limb section of the Spleen Meridian of Foot-Taiyin was selected for operation at L3/L4; the lower limb section of the Gall Bladder Meridian of Foot-Shaoyang was selected for operation at L4 /L5; the lower limb section of the Bladder Meridian of Foot-Taiyang was selected for operation at L5/S1; once treatment was applied every 3 days, and 20 times treatments were applied totally. In western medication group, Methylcobalamin was orally taken for 500 microg, 3 times a day. The recovery of lower limb sensation disorder was evaluated and compared by the comprehensive evaluation method of sensory function of body nerve after 2 months in both groups.

RESULTSThe total effective rate was 90.0% (36/40) in plum-blossom needle group, superior to that of 60.0% (24/40) in western medication group (P < 0.05). In plum-blossom needle group, the effect for the cases which received treatment within one month after operation was superior to that received treatment during 1-3 months after operation (P < 0.05); and there was no significant differences between the cases which received the treatment during 1-3 months after operation and more than 3 months after operation (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe therapeutic effect of lower limb sensation disorder after lumbar disc herniation operation treated with plum-blossom needle along meridians is superior to that of Methylcobalamin with oral administration; the plum-blossom needle intervention within one month after operation can receive the best effect.

Acupuncture Therapy ; instrumentation ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; complications ; surgery ; Lower Extremity ; physiopathology ; Male ; Meridians ; Middle Aged ; Sensation ; Sensation Disorders ; therapy

OBJECTIVE: To explore characteristics and causes of equilibrium function deficits after traumatic brain injury(TBI). METHODS: Ninety-five patients after TBI in traffic accidents were tested using computerized dynamic posturography (CDP). The CDP findings of patients were compared with normal value. The patients were grouped based on TBI and audition disorders degrees. The results were compared within the patients groups. RESULTS: The equilibrium scores of the TBI group were significantly lower than the normal value. The utilization rate decreased for vision and vestibular sensation information in the TBI group, especially for vestibular sensation. The primary TBI degree and audition decrease had no significant affect on posture stability. CONCLUSION The poor posture stability was observed in TBI patients without limbs disturbance. The response and adaptation abilities decrease in these patients. This could be explained by the damage to peripheral vestibular and central balance structures.
Accidents, Traffic ; Adult ; Auditory Threshold ; Brain Injuries/complications* ; Dizziness/etiology* ; Female ; Hearing Disorders/physiopathology* ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Postural Balance ; Posture ; Sensation Disorders/physiopathology* ; Severity of Illness Index ; Vestibular Diseases/physiopathology* ; Vestibular Function Tests ; Young Adult

Acute brachial neuropathy (ABN) is a rare disease, characterized by an acute or subacute onset of pain followed by weakness of shoulder or arm muscles without trauma or traction injury. So the diagnosis of this clinical entity is not easy. The purpose of this study was to analyze retrospectively the ABN in 14 cases focusing on the clinical profile and to evaluate the effectiveness of electrophysiologic study in diagnosis of ABN with a new result helpful in localizing a brachial plexus disorder. The most helpful electrophysiologic data of ABN in my patients seemed to be abnormalities of low amplitude, abnormal right to left difference of compound motor action potentials (CMAPs) and sensory nerve action potentials (SNAPs) in axillary nerve, ulnar or median nerves. Results of nerve conduction velocity, terminal and F-wave latency were not as useful. But the electromyogram was most helpful in localization of upper or lower plexus lesions and cervical radiculopathy. The most striking clinical feature of ABN was the rapid onset of pain followed by the development of muscle weakness of shoulder girdle after a variable period or within four days. In contrast to other reports, intrinsic hand muscle weakness was observed in 3 cases with sensory changes in ulnar nerve distribution. The cervical radiculopathies (C5-C7 roots) were simultaneously combined with ipsilateral axillary neuropathy in 3 cases. In this study, decreased amplitude, abnormal right to left difference of SNAPs and CMAPs, and neurogenic EMG findings with normal data of NCV, terminal and F-wave latencies suggest that the pathology of ABN might not be a demyelinating process, but axonopathy.
Adult ; Aged ; Brachial Plexus Neuritis/complications/diagnosis/*physiopathology ; Electromyography ; Electrophysiology ; Evoked Potentials ; Female ; Human ; Male ; Middle Age ; Muscle Weakness/etiology ; *Neural Conduction ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensation Disorders/etiology ; Skin Temperature ; Ulnar Nerve/physiopathology

BACKGROUND: Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) testing is a strong tool that enables objective determination of balance functions in humans. However, it remains unknown whether cVEMP correctly expresses vestibular disorder in mice. OBJECTIVE: In this study, correlations of cVEMP with scores for balance-related behavior tests including rotarod, beam, and air-righting reflex tests were determined in ICR mice with vestibular disorder induced by 3,3'-iminodipropiontrile (IDPN) as a mouse model of vestibular disorder. METHODS: Male ICR mice at 4 weeks of age were orally administered IDPN in saline (28 mmol/kg body weight) once. Rotarod, beam crossing, and air-righting reflex tests were performed before and 3-4 days after oral exposure one time to IDPN to determine balance functions. The saccule and utricles were labeled with fluorescein phalloidin. cVEMP measurements were performed for mice in the control and IDPN groups. Finally, the correlations between the scores of behavior tests and the amplitude or latency of cVEMP were determined with Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Two-tailed Student's t test and Welch's t test were used to determine a significant difference between the two groups. A difference with p < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. RESULTS: After oral administration of IDPN at 28 mmol/kg, scores of the rotarod, beam, and air-righting reflex tests in the IDPN group were significantly lower than those in the control group. The numbers of hair cells in the saccule, utricle, and cupula were decreased in the IDPN group. cVEMP in the IDPN group was significantly decreased in amplitude and increased in latency compared to those in the control group. cVEMP amplitude had significant correlations with the numbers of hair cells as well as scores for all of the behavior tests in mice. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated impaired cVEMP and correlations of cVEMP with imbalance determined by behavior tests in a mouse model of vestibular disorder.
Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; drug effects ; physiology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Hair Cells, Vestibular ; pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Nitriles ; adverse effects ; Postural Balance ; drug effects ; physiology ; Saccule and Utricle ; pathology ; Sensation Disorders ; chemically induced ; physiopathology ; Vestibular Diseases ; chemically induced ; diagnosis ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials ; drug effects ; physiology ; Vestibular Function Tests

BACKGROUND: More than 140 million people drink arsenic-contaminated groundwater. It is unknown how much arsenic exposure is necessary to cause neurological impairment. Here, we evaluate the relationship between neurological impairments and the arsenic concentration in drinking water (ACDW). PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was employed. We performed medical examinations of 1867 residents in seven villages in the Thabaung township in Myanmar. Medical examinations consisted of interviews regarding subjective neurological symptoms and objective neurological examinations of sensory disturbances. For subjective neurological symptoms, we ascertained the presence or absence of defects in smell, vision, taste, and hearing; the feeling of weakness; and chronic numbness or pain. For objective sensory disturbances, we examined defects in pain sensation, vibration sensation, and two-point discrimination. We analyzed the relationship between the subjective symptoms, objective sensory disturbances, and ACDW. RESULTS: Residents with ACDW ≥ 10 parts per billion (ppb) had experienced a "feeling of weakness" and "chronic numbness or pain" significantly more often than those with ACDW < 10 ppb. Residents with ACDW ≥ 50 ppb had three types of sensory disturbances significantly more often than those with ACDW < 50 ppb. In children, there was no significant association between symptoms or signs and ACDW. CONCLUSION Subjective symptoms, probably due to peripheral neuropathy, occurred at very low ACDW (around 10 ppb). Objective peripheral nerve disturbances of both small and large fibers occurred at low ACDW (> 50 ppb). These data suggest a threshold for the occurrence of peripheral neuropathy due to arsenic exposure, and indicate that the arsenic concentration in drinking water should be less than 10 ppb to ensure human health.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Arsenic ; analysis ; toxicity ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dietary Exposure ; adverse effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drinking Water ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Female ; Groundwater ; chemistry ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myanmar ; epidemiology ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; chemically induced ; epidemiology ; physiopathology ; Sensation Disorders ; chemically induced ; epidemiology ; physiopathology ; Water Pollutants, Chemical ; analysis ; toxicity ; Young Adult