OBJECTIVETo compare the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) and mild-warm moxibustion (Mox) therapies for constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (C-IBS) patients.

METHODSSixty C-IBS patients were assigned to 2 groups by simple randomized method, i.e. EA group (30 cases) and Mox group (30 cases). Both EA and Mox treatments were performed on bilateral Tianshu (ST 25) and Shangjuxu (ST 37) for 30 min each time, 6 times per week, for 4 consecutive weeks. The gastrointestinal symptoms and psychological symptoms of the two groups were scored before and after treatment. The effects on the corresponding functional brain areas, namely the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), insular cortex (IC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) were observed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after treatment.

RESULTSCompared with the Mox group, greater improvements in abdominal distension, defecation frequency, diffificulty in defecation and stool features were observed in the EA group (all P<0.01), both Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores were signifificantly decreased in the EA group (all P<0.01). Finally, decreased activated voxel values were observed in the ACC, right IC and PFC brain regions of EA group with 150 mL colorectal distension stimulation (P<0.05 or P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSBoth EA and Mox could signifificantly improve some of the most intrusive symptoms of C-IBS patients, and EA was more effective than Mox. The therapeutic effect of these two therapies might through modulating of the brain-gut axis function. (Registration No. ChiCTRTRC-11001349).

Adult ; Brain ; physiopathology ; Constipation ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Electroacupuncture ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Moxibustion ; adverse effects ; Pain Measurement ; Rectum ; physiopathology ; Sensory Thresholds ; physiology

Penile hypersensitivity plays an important role in premature ejaculation (PE), but differences in penile sensitivity among subtypes of PE are unknown. Therefore, we compared penile sensory thresholds in PE subtypes of lifelong and acquired PE, PE with and without erectile dysfunction (ED), PE with an intravaginal ejaculation latency time ≤1 min and >1 min, and PE with and without orgasmic pleasure perceptual dysfunction. During August 2014 to January 2016, 136 patients with PE were included. Penile warm, cold, and vibratory thresholds were measured. Data of clinical characteristics, sexual life, Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT) score, and the 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) score were collected. Vibratory thresholds of the PE with ED group were higher in the right coronal sulcus (median amplitude: 4.92 vs 3.65 μ m, P = 0.02) and the right penile shaft (median amplitude: 3.87 vs 3.30 μ m, P = 0.03), while differences in penile sensory thresholds between other subtypes were not significant. The median PEDT score was lower in the PE without ED group (12 vs 14, P < 0.001). The IIEF-5 and PEDT scores were negatively correlated (r = -0.29, P < 0.001). Patients with orgasmic pleasure perceptual dysfunction had a lower median IIEF-5 score (20 vs 21, P = 0.02). Patients with PE and ED had lower penile sensitivity, and ED was associated with more severe symptoms and weaker orgasmic pleasure perception. In men with PE, management of comorbid ED is necessary. In case of side effects in erectile function, topical anesthetics should be cautiously used in men with PE and ED.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Ejaculation ; Erectile Dysfunction/physiopathology* ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Orgasm ; Penis/physiology* ; Physical Stimulation ; Pleasure ; Premature Ejaculation/physiopathology* ; Prospective Studies ; Sensory Thresholds ; Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological ; Sexuality ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Temperature ; Vibration ; Young Adult

Electric and electronic products are required to pass through the certification on electrical safety performance before entering into the market in order to reduce electrical shock and electrical fire so as to protect the safety of people and property. The leakage current is the most important factor in testing the electrical safety performance and the test theory is based on the perception current effect and threshold. The traditional method testing the current threshold for perception only depends on the sensing of the human body and is affected by psychological factors. Some authors filter the effect of subjective sensation by using physiological and psychological statistical algorithm in recent years and the reliability and consistency of the experiment data are improved. We established an experiment system of testing the human hody's current threshold for perception based on EEG feature analysis, and obtained 967 groups of data. We used wavelet packet analysis to detect a wave from EEG, and used FFT to do spectral analysis on alpha wave before and after the current flew through the human body. The study has shown that about 97.72% alpha wave energy changes significantly when electrical stimulation occurs. It is well proved that when the EEG feature identification is applied to test the human body current threshold for perception, and meanwhile alpha wave energy change and human body sensing are used together to confirm if the current flowing through the human body reaches the perception threshold, the measurement of the human body current threshold for perception could be carried out objectively and accurately.
Algorithms ; Electric Stimulation ; Electroencephalography ; Humans ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensory Thresholds ; physiology ; Wavelet Analysis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic value of vibration perception threshold (VPT) in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) by the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and to establish its cut-off threshold. METHODS: All patients had the VPT examination and nerve conduction velocity (NCV) examination. NCV examination showed that 283 patients with Type 2 diabetes were divided into a DPN group (n=151) and an NDPN group (n=132). The VPT diagnosis was evaluated by Youden index, sensitivity, specificity and the area under ROC curve. The best cut-off threshold was defined by the Youden index. RESULTS: 1) The NCV was significantly slower, while the VPT was higher in the DPN group than those in the NDPN group (both P values <0.05). 2) The VPT and NCV of both sides of the limb had no difference in all patients. 3) With NCV as the golden diagnosis criterion, the area under ROC of VPT was 0.707, the best cut-off threshold was 10.54 V, the sensitivity was 0.596, the specificity was 0.848, and the Youden index was 0.445. 4) The diagnosis ratio of NCV combined with VPT was 60.4%, significantly higher than that of NCV alone (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Compared with NCV examination, VPT has good diagnostic value for DPN. The best cut-off value is 10.54 V.
Adult ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; complications ; Diabetic Neuropathies ; diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neural Conduction ; physiology ; Perception ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; diagnosis ; ROC Curve ; Sensory Thresholds ; physiology ; Vibration

Recently, with application of evoked potentials technology in the test of somatic and autonomic nerves, quantitative sensory testing in the detection of small nerve fiber function, and functional magnetic resonance imaging in the detection of senior central function, the detection of neural function has become more accurate. This article reviews the progress and application of diagnostic methods about neurogenic erectile dysfunction in order to provide a reference for forensic diagnosis and research in the future.
Autonomic Nervous System/physiopathology* ; Autonomic Pathways/physiopathology* ; Erectile Dysfunction/physiopathology* ; Evoked Potentials/physiology* ; Humans ; Male ; Nervous System Diseases/complications* ; Neural Conduction ; Neurologic Examination/methods* ; Penile Erection/physiology* ; Penis/innervation* ; Sensory Thresholds

OBJECTIVE: To explore the application of quantitative temperature testing (QTT) in forensic identification and clinical diagnosis of neurogenic erectile dysfunction (NED). METHODS: TSA-II-NeuroSensory Analyzer was used to measure the thresholds of four kinds of sensory, including cold, cold pain, heat, heat pain, in 22 normal and 35 NED patients at dorsal glans (DG), left thigh interior (LTI) and left thenar (LT). To calculate the relative thresholds of the sensory mentioned above between DG and LTI (DG/LTI), and between DG and LT (DG/LT). Then to analyze those thresholds and the relative thresholds. RESULTS: NED group showed significant higher threshold than the normal group in DG-heat, DG-heat pain, LTI-heat, LTI-heat pain, DG/LTI-heat, DG/LT-heat, DG/LT-heat pain (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION The threshold of QTT at dorsal glans could be used as an accessory indicator in forensic medicine and clinical diagnosis of NED.
Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Erectile Dysfunction/physiopathology* ; Hand/physiology* ; Humans ; Male ; Nervous System Diseases/physiopathology* ; Neurologic Examination/methods* ; Pain Threshold ; Penis/physiopathology* ; Sensory Thresholds ; Temperature ; Thermosensing

Cross-modal stochastic resonance is a ubiquitous phenomenon, that is, a weak signal from one sensory pathway can be enhanced by the noise from a different sensory pathway. It is a special multisensory integration (MI) that can not be explained by the inverse-effectiveness rule. According to cross-modal stochastic resonance, the detection of signal is an inverted U-like function of the intensity of noise at different levels. In this paper, we reviewed the research of cross-modal stochastic resonance and put forward some possible explanations for it. These efforts raise a new idea for neural encoding and information processing of the brain.
Acoustic Stimulation ; Auditory Perception ; physiology ; Brain ; physiology ; Humans ; Mental Processes ; physiology ; Sensory Thresholds ; physiology ; Stochastic Processes ; Visual Perception ; physiology

BACKGROUNDSubjective olfactory tests are easy to perform and popularly applied in the clinic, but using only these, it is difficult to diagnose all disorders of the olfactory system. The olfactory event related potentials technique offers further insight into the olfactory system and is an ideal objective test. This analysis was of subjective and objective data on the olfactory function of twelve patients with loss of smell associated with an upper respiratory infection (URI).

METHODSWe tested the twelve patients with URI induced olfactory loss by medical history, physical examination of the head and neck, olfactory tests and medical imaging. Olfactory function was assessed by Toyota and Takagi olfactometry including olfactory detection and recognition thresholds and olfactory event-related potentials (OERPs) recorded with OEP-98C Olfactometer.

RESULTSAn unusual phenomenon was observed in five patients in whom the subjective detection and recognition thresholds were normal, while the expected OERPs were not detectable.

CONCLUSIONSWe suggest that the discordance between olfactory psychophysical measurements and OERPs might be the results of abnormal electrophysiology related with olfactory neuropathy caused by viral URI. In addition, the measurement of OERPs might play a significant role in evaluating olfactory dysfunction.

Adult ; Evoked Potentials ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Olfaction Disorders ; diagnosis ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; complications ; Sensory Thresholds ; Smell ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of circumcision on the glans penis sensitivity by comparing the changes of the glans penis vibrotactile threshold between normal men and patients with simple redundant prepuce and among the patients before and after the operation.

METHODSThe vibrotactile thresholds were measured at the forefinger and glans penis in 73 normal volunteer controls and 96 patients with simple redundant prepuce before and after circumcision by biological vibration measurement instrument, and the changes in the perception sensitivity of the body surface were analyzed.

RESULTSThe G/F (glans/finger) indexes in the control and the test group were respectively 2.39 +/- 1.72 and 1.97 +/- 0.71, with no significant difference in between (P > 0.05). And those of the test group were 1.97 +/- 0.71, 2.64 +/- 1.38, 3.09 +/-1.46 and 2.97 +/- 1.20 respectively before and 1, 2 and 3 months after circumcision, with significant difference between pre- and post-operation (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThere is a statistic difference in the glans penis vibration perception threshold between normal men and patients with simple redundant prepuce. The glans penis perception sensitivity decreases after circumcision.

Adult ; Circumcision, Male ; Humans ; Male ; Penile Erection ; physiology ; Sensory Thresholds

OBJECTIVETo explicate the spinal nerve source of the rabbit penis cutaneous sensation.

METHODSTwelve adult male rabbits were randomly divided into two groups of equal number. While mechanical stimuli were given to the penis by different von Frey hairs, single fiber activities were recorded in vivo in the left (Group A) and right (Group B) S1-S4 spinal nerves, respectively. The mechanical threshold, adaptability and conduction velocity of the fibers were analyzed.

RESULTSWhen the ipsilateral penis was mechanically stimulated, discharges were detected in S2 and S3 spinal nerve fibers, but not in S1 and S4. The discharge fibers were 39.67 +/- 3.14 (S2) and 21.00 +/- 2.19 (S3) in the left spinal nerve and 40.00 +/- 3.16 (S2) and 19.67 +/- 2.58 (S3) in the right. There was no obvious difference between the numbers of the left spinal nerves and the right ones (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe rabbit penis cutaneous sensation originates from S2 and S3 spinal nerves.

Animals ; Electrophysiology ; Male ; Neurons, Afferent ; physiology ; Penis ; Rabbits ; Random Allocation ; Sensory Thresholds ; Skin ; innervation ; Spinal Nerves ; physiology