Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; instrumentation ; methods ; Humans ; Needles ; Pelvic Bones ; anatomy & histology

Acupuncture Therapy ; Humans ; Meridians ; Muscles ; physiopathology ; Nervous System Diseases ; physiopathology ; therapy

In Western countries, more and more people select acupuncture and moxibustion as medical ways, and more and more acupuncture and moxibustion research organizations are set up. Britain TCM foundation is such one center for acupuncture research. This center is aimed at promoting acupuncture research. Since 1991, a series of clinical trials and several big research tasks have been completed. The clinical designs in the center are very careful and scientific, being worth to be learnt. In the paper, clinical studies in the center are introduced for increasing levels of acupuncture and moxibustion research at home.
Acupuncture ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Biomedical Research ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; United Kingdom

OBJECTIVETo evaluate preliminarily the efficacy on functional constipation treated with electroacupuncture of different acupoint prescriptions.

METHODSOne hundred and four patients were randomized into a front-mu and back-shu points group (19 cases), a he-sea points group (34 cases), a he-sea, front-mu and back-shu points group (26 cases) and a western medication control group (25 cases). In the front-mu and back-shu points group, electroacupuncture was applied at bilateral Tianshu (ST 25) and Dachangshu (BL 25). In the he-sea points group, electroacupuncture was applied at bilateral Quchi (LI 11) and Shangjuxu (ST 37). In the he-sea, front-mu and back-shu points group, electroacupuncture was applied at unilateral Tianshu (ST 25), Dachangshu (BL 25), Quchi (LI 11) and Shangjuxu (ST 37). In the three groups above, the treatment was given 5 times a week in the first two weeks and 3 times a week in the next two weeks. In the western medication control group, mosapride citrate tablets were prescribed for oral administration, 1 table (5 mg) each time, 3 times a day, continuously for 4 weeks. The period of research was 9 weeks, including 1 week for baseline evaluation, 4 weeks for treatment and 4 weeks for follow-up. The weekly defecation frequency was taken as primary index, while the defecation difficulty and life quality score were taken as the secondary indices for the efficacy evaluation after treatment and in follow-up.

RESULTSAccording to the intention-to-treat (ITT) analytic principle, 104 cases were all enrolled in the final analysis. (1) After treatment, the weekly frequency of defecation was all increased significantly in the four groups (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The efficacy of the three electroacupuncture groups was similar to that of western medication control group (P > 0.05). In follow-up, the increasing effect on the weekly frequency of defecation was maintained in the he-sea points group (P < 0.01), superior to the front-mu and back-shu points group and the western medication control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); the weekly frequency of defecation was not improved in the rest three groups (P > 0.05). (2) After treatment, defecation difficulty was relieved in the he-sea points group, the he-sea, front-mu and back-shu points group and the western medication control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). In follow-up, the improvements were still significant in the he-sea points group and the he-sea, front-mu and back-shu points group (both P < 0.01). (3) After treatment, the life quality score was significantly improved in the patients of the he-sea points group (P < 0.05). The difference was not significant in the rest three groups as compared with that before treatment (all P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe weekly frequency of defecation is increased effectively after treatment in the three electroacupuncture groups and the efficacy is similar to mosapride citrate tablets. The bilateral Quchi (LI 11) and Shangjuxu (ST 37) in he-sea acupoints increase significantly the weekly frequency of defecation, relieve defecation difficulty and improve life quality. Acupuncture efficacy is sustained for 4 weeks. This acupoints prescription is the best in the treatment of functional constipation.

Acupuncture Points ; Adult ; Aged ; Constipation ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Defecation ; Electroacupuncture ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Acupuncture and moxibustion for treatment of neurogenic bladder dysfunction after spinal cord injuries at home and abroad in recent years is introduced. The acupuncture and moxibustion methods for treatment of this kind of disease are classified and analyzed from body acupuncture, electroacupuncture, acupoint pressure and massage, acupoint-injection, acupoint sticking and so on. Acupuncture and moxibustion are widely applied to treatment of neurogenic bladder dysfunction after spinal cord injuries, with definite therapeutic effect and good safety. The effectiveness of other evaluation indexes of acupuncture and moxibustion for treatment of neurogenic bladder dysfunction after spinal cord injuries needs to be proved by more randomized and controlled trials of high quality with strict design and scientific methods.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; methods ; Humans ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; complications ; therapy ; Urinary Bladder, Neurogenic ; therapy

Factors influencing the temperature-sensing accuracy of an ablation catheter are analyzed, in this paper, from the two aspects of the thermocouple temperature sensor, which are the TC length and the TC hole's diameter of the ablation electrode. Meanwhile, differences between products from different companies are given too.
Catheter Ablation ; methods ; Electrodes ; Temperature

Objective Aortic arch obstruction is a commonly associated malformation in the patients with Taussig-Bing anoma- ly.Herein,we reported our outcomes of single stage corrections in patients with the Taussig-Bing anomaly associated with aortic arch obstruction.Methods Between May,2000 and Dec,2006,12 patients with Taussig-Bing anomaly associated with aortic arch obstr- uction (5 patients associated with interrupted aortic arch) underwent arterial switch operation with baffling of the left ventricle to neo- aorta.The corrections of aortic arch obstruction included extended resection combined with end to end anastomosis to aortic arch or end to side anastomosis to ascending aorta.Results The hospital mortality rate was 25% (3/12).The ventilating time and ICU stay were (7.4?2.1) days and (11.7?4.6) days,respectively.No reoperation because of residual anomalies was required.Conclusion Tanssig-Bing anomaly,especially associated with aortic arch obstruction,is different from transposition of great artery.The opti- mized operative indications,techniques and the managements of aortic arch obstruction are discussed in the article.

Child ; Epiphyses ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; Humans ; Lower Extremity

OBJECTIVETo summarize the main electroacupuncture stimulation indexes used in clinical treatment and experimental study on sciatica, and to investigate the optimal stimulation index for sciatica treatment with electroacupuncture.

METHODSThe data was obtained on line from the computerized general and specialized databases such as CBM, VIP, CNKI, and MEDLINE. Data analysis was focused on the different effects of electroacupuncture with different stimulation indexes.

RESULTS(Clinical research suggested that the commonly used electroacupuncture stimulation indexes included frequency of 1-20 Hz, electric current of 0.2-0.8 mA, continuous and dilatational waveform. The intensity of stimulation was endurable for patients. (2) The frequency of electroacupuncture used for animal experimental research was mainly concentrated among 2-20 Hz, which 2 Hz and 5 Hz had better effects for sciatica treatment with electroacupuncture. The scale of electric current was 0. 4-10 mA with intermittent waveform. The intensity of stimulation was decided by a visible muscle contraction occurred during the acupuncture.

CONCLUSIONDifferent kinds of electroacupuncture stimulation indexes have different effects on the treatment of sciatica. Therefore, it is still needed the more evidence from higher quality clinical trials to investigate the optimal electroacupuncture stimulation indexes on the treatment of sciatica.

Animals ; Electroacupuncture ; instrumentation ; methods ; Humans ; Muscle Contraction ; Sciatica ; physiopathology ; therapy

Based on the complete genome sequence of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) ZJI strain,seven pairs of primers were designed to amplify a cDNA fragment for constructing the plasmid pNDV/ZJI,which contained the full-length cDNA of the NDV ZJI strain.The pNDV/ZJI,with three helper plasmids,pCIneoNP,pCIneoP and pCIneoL,were then cotransfected into BSR-T7/5 cells expressing T7 RNA polymerase.After inoculation of the transfected cell culture supernatant into embryonated chicken eggs from specific-pathogen-free (SPF) flock,an infectious NDV ZJI strain was successfully rescued.Green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene was amplified and inserted into the NDV full-length cDNA to generate a GFP-tagged recombinant plasmid pNDV/ZJIGFP.After cotransfection of the resultant plasmid and the three support plasmids into BSR-T7/5 cells,the recombinant NDV,NDV/ZJIGFP,was rescued.Specific green fluorescence was observed in BSR-T7/5 and chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cells 48h post-infection,indicating that the GFP gene was expressed at a relatively high level.NDV/ZJIGFP was inoculated into 10-day-old SPF chickens by oculonasal route.Four days post-infection,strong green fluorescence could be detected in the kidneys and tracheae,indicating that the recombinant GFP-tagged NDV could be a very useful tool for analysis of NDV dissemination and pathogenesis.