OBJECTIVETo explore a better therapy for knee osteoarthritis.

METHODSOne hundred cases were randomly divided into a comprehensive group and an acupuncture group, 50 cases in each one. The comprehensive treatment of fire needles at bones combined with cupping and Tuina on local area of affected knee was applied in the comprehensive group. The Ashi points were mainly selected in the fire needles at bones therapy, once every other day. The cupping and Tuina therapy was adopted once a day. The conventional acupuncture was applied in the acupuncture group, in which Dubi (ST 35), Neixiyan (EX-LE 4), Xuehai (SP 10), Liangqiu (ST 34) and so on were selected, once a day. Ten days of treatment were taken as a treatment course in both two groups, and totally 1 to 2 courses was required. The pain score of joint before and after the treatment was observed and efficacy was assessed in two groups.

RESULTSCompared before the treatment, the pain score of joint after the treatment was obviously improved in two groups (both P<0.05), and the score in the comprehensive group was lower than that in the acupuncture group (P<0.05). The clinical cured rate was 38.0% (19/50), which was superior to 20.0% (10/50) in the acupuncture group.

CONCLUSIONThe comprehensive treatment of fire needles at bones combined with cupping and Tuina, considered as a better therapy for knee osteoarthritis, could improve joint pain, swelling and action function, which is superior to the conventional acupuncture.

Acupuncture Therapy ; instrumentation ; Aged ; Amobarbital ; therapeutic use ; Arthralgia ; therapy ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drug Combinations ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; therapy ; Secobarbital ; therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo explore the mechanism on senile osteoporosis of kidney deficiency pattern in the prevention and treatment with acupuncture and Tuina therapy.

METHODSSixty-four cases were randomized into an acupuncture and Tuina therapy group (group A, 34 cases) and a calcium carbonate group (group B, 30 cases). In group A, the patients were treated with acupuncture at the distal acupoints and Tuina therapy in the local area. Acupuncture was applied to bilateral Weizhong (BL 40) and Taixi (KI 3). Tuina therapy was given in the lumbar region. Totally 30 treatments were required. In group B, the Calcium Carbonate D3 were prescribed for oral administration, continuously for 12 weeks. The changes in lumbar curvature, lumbar lordosis index, sacral inclination angle, lumbosacral angle, L5 vertebral index and L3 vertebral index of lumbar biomechanical indices were observed and compared before and after treatment in two groups.

RESULTSIn group A, the lumbar lordosis index and sacral inclination angle were increased after treatment, indicating the statistical significant differences before and after treatment (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The improvement of lumbar lordosis index in group A was superior to that in group B [(19.59 +/- 19.16)mm vs (14.47 +/- 13.28)mm, P < 0.05]. After treatment, in group B, L5 vertebral index was improved as compared with that before treatment (P < 0.05). It was required to have a study on the reasons of its lumbar morphological change.

CONCLUSIONThe acupuncture and Tuina therapy regulate the lumbar biomechanical structure through the positive stress stimulation and reconstruct the mechanical equilibrium of the lumbar vertebra. It plays the active significance in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Aged ; Amobarbital ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drug Combinations ; Female ; Humans ; Kidney ; physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoporosis ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Secobarbital

OBJECTIVETo explore the efficacy of Tuina for postpartum lactation and work out a optimal protocol involved.

METHODSWith a randomized, controlled and clinical method, 84 primiparas were divided into a Tuina group and a control group. While patients in the control group received rooming-in conventional managements, those in the Tuina group were additionally treated with Tuina, including local manipulations on breasts combined with acupoint manipulations. The colostrum-time, lactation quantity and prolactin were observed to make the comparisons between two groups.

RESULTSThe scores of lactation quantity after 1th, 2nd, 3rd of the treatment were 1.660 +/- 0.785, 2.530 +/- 1.030, 2.880 +/- 1.171 in Tuina group and 1.270 +/- 0.533, 1.460 +/- 0.811, 1.500 +/- 0.583 in control group respectively, where there were significant differences in each time stage between two groups (all P < 0.001). The time of colostrum was (21.6 6 +/- 10.508) h in the Tuina group and (22.5 +/- 9.762) h in the control group, in which the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The levels of prolactin (314.35 +/- 110.37) ng/mL and (321.56 +/- 109.61) ng/mL in Tuina group, (385.78 +/- 85.19) ng/mL and (340.12 +/- 103.10) ng/mL in control group before and after treatment, there were no significant differences (both P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONPostpartum Tuina on breasts could increase the quantity of lactation and delay the decreasing of the levels of prolactin, which contributes primiparas to lactate more and sooner.

Adult ; Amobarbital ; Breast ; secretion ; Breast Feeding ; Colostrum ; secretion ; Drug Combinations ; Female ; Humans ; Lactation ; Milk, Human ; secretion ; Postpartum Period ; physiology ; Prolactin ; metabolism ; Secobarbital ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo evaluate clinical therapeutic effect of post-stroke shoulder pain treated by acupuncture combined with Tuina.

METHODSThree hundred cases of post-stroke shoulder pain were randomly divided into an acupuncture and Tuina group and a rehabilitation group by double-center randomized controlled clinical trial method. In acupuncture and Tuina group, normalized electroacupuncture and Tuina therapy were applied, that was electroacupuncture at main points, such as Chize (LU 5), Quze (PC 3), Shaohai (HT 3), Jianyu (LI 15), Jianliao (TE 14) and Jianjing (GB 21),etc., combined with traditional Tuina manipulations; in rehabilitation group, the rehabilitation methods such as the electrostimulation through nervus cutaneus and the squeezing and stabilizing manipulations of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF), etc. were applied. The treatment courses of both groups were 6 weeks. The main therapeutic effect indices were the Assessment Face Scale (AFS) for pain when shoulder was in passive motion and the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment for upper limbs active function; the secondary indices were the moditied Rankin Scale (mRS) and the clinical incidences of shoulder-hand syndrome of hemiplegia and shoulder joint subluxation of hemiplegia.

RESULTSAfter 6 weeks treatment and 12 weeks follow-up, AFS score, Fugl-Meyer motor assessment of upper limbs active function and mRS evaluation in acupuncture and Tuina group were more obviously improved than those in rehabilitation group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Although the clinical incidences of shoulder-hand syndrome of hemiplegia and shoulder joint subluxation of hemiplegia in acupuncture and Tuina group was equal to those in rehabilitation group [3.55% (5/141) vs 8.45% (12/142), 1.42% (2/141) vs 5.63% (8/142), both P > 0.05], the data indicated that there was a superiority tendency in acupuncture and Tuina group.

CONCLUSIONThe combined therapy of electroacupuncture and Tuina is a normative manipulation, and the therapeutic effect is satisfying for post-stroke shoulder pain, superior to that of comprehensive rehabilitation treatment.

Aged ; Amobarbital ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drug Combinations ; Electroacupuncture ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Secobarbital ; Shoulder Pain ; etiology ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Stroke ; complications

OBJECTIVETo observe the influence of bone metabolism biochemical indices of senile osteoporosis treated with distant acupuncture and nearby tuina, and to probe the better therapy for senile osteoporosis.

METHODSSixty-four cases were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group. In control group (30 cases), Calcium Carbonate D, Tablet was orally taken for 12 weeks continuously. In observation group (34 cases), "distant acupuncture and nearby tuina" therapy were applied, that was puncture at Weizhong (BL 40) and Taixi (KI 3), and tuina therapy on lumber region, 30 times treatment was applied totally. The changes of blood calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), ALP, BGP and urine DPD in bone metabolism biochemical indices were observed and compared before and after treatment in two groups.

RESULTSThere were significant differences in P, BGP, DPD in bone metabolism biochemical indices in both groups before and after treatment (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), the contents of blood P decreased, blood BGP increased and urine DPD decreased. But, there were no significant differences in above indices between two groups.

CONCLUSIONThe calcium with oral administration and "distant acupuncture and nearby tuina" therapy can effectively improve the bone metabolism biochemical indices of senile osteoporosis, and they have positive significance in prevention of osteoporosis, however, it hasn't proved that which method is better for calcium protecting.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Aged ; Alkaline Phosphatase ; blood ; Amobarbital ; Bone and Bones ; metabolism ; Calcium ; blood ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drug Combinations ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteocalcin ; blood ; Osteoporosis ; blood ; metabolism ; therapy ; Phosphorus ; blood ; Secobarbital

Drug-assisted interviews are useful for psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. However, amobarbital, a typical medication used for this purpose, is associated with elevated risk of respiratory depression. Benzodiazepines are good substitutes for amobarbital, with similar therapeutic effects and fewer complications. Although drug-assisted interviews are not widely used, they may be beneficial for selected patients who do not respond to conventional treatments such as supportive psychotherapy or psychopharmacotherapy. We report two cases of dissociative amnesia that were treated using lorazepam-assisted interviews. The use of lorazepam in drug-assisted interviews is effective and safe for resolving dissociative amnesia.
Amnesia ; Amobarbital ; Benzodiazepines ; Humans ; Lorazepam ; Mental Disorders ; Psychotherapy ; Respiratory Insufficiency

BACKGROUND: Several studies have revealed the increased incidence of atypical language dominance in patients with left hemisphere epileptic foci. We retrospectively investigated the incidence and related factors for language dominance shift determined by intracarotid amobarbital procedure (IAP) in patients with left hemispheric epilepsies. METHODS: We included 222 epileptic patients with epileptic foci in left hemisphere whose language dominance was determined by IAP at Asan Medical Center from 1994 to 2004. The items on the language test in IAP included spontaneous speech (6 items), understanding (2 items), and repetition (2 items). Language lateralization index (LI) was computed according to the formula L=(Score IAP right-Score IAP left)/(Score IAP right+Score IAP left). Clinical information was obtained from medical records including age, gender, age at onset of epilepsy, duration of epilepsy, frequency of seizures, risk factors, onset age of risk factors, and lateralization of MRI or EEG. RESULTS: Of the 222 patients (male 110 patients, 49.5%), complete left language dominance was 142 patients (64.0%), and complete right hemispheric language dominance was 29 patients (13.1%). Seizure onset age, onset age of risk factors, handedness and MRI lesions (hippocampal atrophy or left extensive lesion) had statistically significant association with atypical language dominance. On a linear regression analysis, the significant predictors of the atypical language dominancy were handedness and left extensive lesion (R2=.64). CONCLUSIONS: Atypical language dominancy in patients with left epileptic foci was highly correlated with non-right handedness and extensive lesion on the left hemisphere.
Age of Onset ; Amobarbital ; Atrophy ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy ; Functional Laterality ; Humans ; Incidence ; Language Tests ; Linear Models ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Seizures

PURPOSE: To reveal the pattern of surgical outcome according to the location of ictal onset zone in the patients who had a history of early onset (less than two years old) hemiparesis and delayed epilepsy. Many children with acute infantile hemiplegia (AIH) develop delayed epilepsy. This can lead to HHE (Hemiplegia, hemiconvulsion, and epilepsy) syndrome. Epilepsy patients associated with AIH or HHE syndrome generally have been thought to be medically intractable and difficult to treat surgically. METHODS: Patients with a history of early onset hemiparesis with epilepsy who had undergone surgical treatment from November 1995 to May 2002 at Seoul National University Comprehensive Epilepsy Center were recruited. Diagnostic criteria include convulsions, followed by a flaccid hemiplegia, and later epilepsy with partial seizures. Multidisciplinary presurgical evaluations were performed which include a complete neurological examination, brain MRI, long-term video-EEG monitoring, FDG-PET, intracarotid amobarbital test, and ictal and interictal SPECT if possible. Patients with epileptogenic zone outside the hippocampus underwent implantation of intracranial electrodes. The surgical side was localized by the clinical, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological results includeing results of invasive studies. Anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL), cortical resection, functional hemispherectomy, and callosotomy were performed according to the results of presurgical evaluation. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients were included. Mean age was 29.8 ranging from 19 to 60 years old. Fifteen were male and 10 were female. All had a previous history of febrile convulsions. The onset age of febrile convulsion and hemiplegia was one to 48 months (mean=18.0+/-13.2) and the onset age of epileptic seizures were 0.5 to 40 years (mean=9.9+/-8.2). Seventeen of them were right-handed, eight were left-handed and one was bilateral-handed. Follow-up periods after surgery were one to eleven years (mean=5.6+/-2.2). Twelve patients were diagnosed as medial TLE and underwent ATL. The other thirteen patients were diagnosed as neocortical or multifocal epilepsy. Eleven of medial TLE patients were seizure free after ATL and only one had aura. However, only four patients with neocortical epilepsy were seizure free and nine were not. Surgical outcome was significantly different between ATL only and other surgical procedures (p=0.004). CONCLUSION: In patients of early onset hemiparesis with epilepsy, various ictal onset zones can be possible. The medial TLE patients diagnosed by comprehensive presurgical evaluation, in spite of hemiatrophy on brain MRI, showed a good surgical outcome. Surgical treatment should be considered for the selected patients.
Age of Onset ; Amobarbital ; Anterior Temporal Lobectomy ; Brain ; Child ; Electrodes ; Epilepsy* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemiplegia ; Hemispherectomy ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neuroimaging ; Neurologic Examination ; Paresis* ; Seizures ; Seizures, Febrile ; Seoul ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

OBJECTIVE: The authors investigate appropriate evaluation and surgical methods in treatment of the cerebral paragonimiasis accompanying epilepsy. METHODS: Thirteen patients with the cerebral paragonimiasis accompanying epilepsy were included for this study. Preoperative evaluation methods included history taking, skin and serologic tests for Paragonimus westermani, neurologic examinations, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, amytal test, PET or SPECT, and video-EEG monitoring with depth and subdural grid electrodes. Seizure outcome was evaluated according to Engel's classification. RESULTS: Surgical methods were temporal lobectomy including lesions in six, lesionectomy in five, and temporal lobectomy plus lesionectomy in two. Postoperative neurological complications were not noticed, and seizure outcomes were class I in 12 patients (92%), class II in one (8%). CONCLUSION: In patients with a cerebral paragonimiasis accompanying epilepsy, further evaluation methods must be done to define the epileptogenic zone, and complete resection of the epileptogenic zone with different surgical methods should be performed for seizure control.
Amobarbital ; Classification ; Electrodes ; Epilepsy* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neurologic Examination ; Paragonimiasis* ; Paragonimus westermani ; Seizures ; Serologic Tests ; Skin ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

BACKGROUND: In order to identify the prognostic factors of anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), we performed multivariate analyses in patients with mesial TLE. METHODS: One hundred eighty six patients with mesial TLE (112 men and 74 women; mean age 28.9+/-8.7 years) were included. The primary outcome variable was a the patient's status in the third postoperative year: seizure free (except aura), or not. Clinical, electroencephalographic, radiological, intracarotid amobarbital test, and pathologic data were considered. Clinical data included age at surgery, age at nonfebrile seizure onset, duration of epilepsy, sex, seizure frequency, secondary generalization, history of febrile seizure, and existence of aura. RESULTS: One hundred fifty eight patients (84.9%) had remission of seizure. Univariate analysis found age at surgery (p=0.006) and MRI abnormality including hippocampal sclerosis ipsilateral to surgery (p=0.01) to be significant. Multivariate analyses using logistic regressions, the younger age at surgery (p=0.002) and MRI lateralization (p=0.02) were found to be the significant predictors for good surgical outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Age at surgery and hippocampal findings on MRI are independent prognostic factors for ATL in mesial TLE. These findings suggest that mesial TLE is a progressive disorder and surgical outcome is better when early ATL is performed, at least in medically intractable cases.
Amobarbital ; Anterior Temporal Lobectomy* ; Epilepsy ; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe* ; Female ; Generalization (Psychology) ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Sclerosis ; Seizures ; Seizures, Febrile ; Temporal Lobe*