Determination of symptoms associated with hiesho among young females using hie rating surveys / 中西医结合学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Hie (cold sensation) is one of the most well-known health complaints in Japan and elsewhere in East Asia. Those who suffer from severe hie are considered to have hiesho (cold disorder). This study was conducted to determine symptoms associated with hie in young females using a survey consisting of the hie scale and hie diary.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Two hundred and seventy-one participants were included for the analysis. Survey forms were distributed to the participants. Diagnosis of hiesho was determined by using the hie scale. A discriminant score of over -0.38 was considered hiesho. The Short Form-8 Health Survey Standard Version (SF-8) was used to measure health-related quality of life (QOL). The participants were also asked to respond to the questionnaire evaluating 14 physical and emotional symptoms, utilizing a six-level Likert scale item.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The 1st factor (hie factor) was correlated with hie (r = 0.546), dry mouth (r = 0.332), lower-extremity edema (r = 0.450), headrushes (r = 0.470), shoulder stiffness (r = 0.311), headrushes with chills (r = 0.726), and fatigue (r = 0.359). Cronbach's α of the 1st factor was 0.748, which indicated reliability between the items. When hie factor was the dependent variable, standardized partial regression coefficient was β = -0.387 for physical component score (P < 0.001) and β = -0.243 for mental component score (P < 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This study indicated that hiesho symptoms among young female adults were associated with bodily pain and general health perceptions of the SF-8 QOL survey.</p>

Extraction of items identifying hiesho (cold disorder) and their utility in young males and females / 中西医结合学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Hie (cold sensation) is one of the most common health complaints in Japan. Those who suffer from severe hie are considered as having hiesho (cold disorder). However, exact hiesho symptoms have not been defined clearly and the decision as to whether a person suffers from hiesho is subjective and based on self-awareness. The study was conducted in attempt to develop a standardized hiesho diagnostic scale.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Subjects comprised 1 146 students. From the self-awareness of hiesho symptoms, males and females were divided into hiesho and non-hiesho groups. Physical, behavioral and adaptive characteristics were compared using the 24-item questionnaire (four-grade survey) and indicators for hiesho symptoms were extracted. Based on the scores, a receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn for the total ordinal scale score of the extracted items in relation to the presence and absence of hiesho symptoms, and an optimal cutoff value was determined.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The self-awareness of having hiesho was found in 23.2% males and in 55.6% females. The sensitivity was 84.5% for males and 83.3% for females in the hiesho groups, and the specificity was 86.0% for males and 85.2% for females in the non-hiesho groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>A questionnaire consisting of the extracted items may be useful to identify hiesho in young males and females with a high level of accuracy.</p>

Tongue diagnosis: relationship between sublingual tongue morphology in three tongue protrusion angles and menstrual clinical symptoms / 中西医结合学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The morphological and color characteristics of the tongue sublingual veins (SLVs) can manifest differently within the subjects, depending on the way their tongue is curled upward. This study was conducted in order to investigate the clinical relevancy of tongue SLV diagnosis in relation to menstrual clinical symptoms (pain, clots, heavy, and scanty), using three different inspection procedures (IP1, IP2, and IP3).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Three-hundred and seventy-seven female patients were asked to stick out their tongues in three specific ways which were intended to create different tongue protrusion angles. The SLV parameters for thickness (TK), length (LE), color (CL), shape (SP), and nodules (ND) were then evaluated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>According to the results of the Wald χ2 test, IP1 provides the best model for pain (R2=0.155), IP3 for clots (R2=0.437), IP2 for heavy (R2=0.268), and scanty (R2=0.192). Abnormal SLV diagnostic parameters were most strongly associated with the clinical symptom of clots (R2=0.492).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>While the study showed the relations between tongue SLV features and menstrual clinical symptoms, as well it showed that IP2 was the best overall predictor for the symptomatic indexes used in this study, and using one particular SLV inspection procedure may not be sufficient. The application of a particular inspection method alone may cause under- or over-estimation of SLV abnormalities.</p>

Effects of acupuncture treatment on natural killer cell activity, pulse rate, and pain reduction for older adults: an uncontrolled, observational study / 中西医结合学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The aim of this study was to examine the changes in natural killer (NK) cell activity, pulse rate, and pain intensity among older adults before and after acupuncture treatment.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fifty-six individuals (16 males and 40 females), age 60 to 82 years (mean age 72.4 ± 5.0), who were experiencing pain in the shoulder, low back, or knee, participated in the study. NK cell activity, leukocyte differentiation (granulocytes and lymphocytes), pulse rate, and blood pressure values obtained. Pain intensity was used to analyze NK cell activity, leukocytes (granulocyte counts and granulocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio), and the VAS score in accordance with the location of pain complaints before and after acupuncture treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>NK cell activity decreased after acupuncture treatment for pain in the shoulder-pain and knee-pain groups. Further, the lymphocyte and granulocyte counts increased after acupuncture treatment for the shoulder-pain group. Pulse rate decreased for the shoulder-pain, low-back-pain, and knee-pain groups after acupuncture treatment. The VAS score decreased after acupuncture treatment for the shoulder-pain, low-back-pain, and knee-pain groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This study showed that in older adults, acupuncture treatment decreases pulse rate, relieves pain in the shoulder, low back, and knee, and reduces NK-cell activity.</p>

Difference between the effects of one-site and three-site abdominal hot-stone stimulation on the skin-temperature changes of the lower limbs / 中西医结合学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine whether any difference exists in the skin-temperature responses of the lower limbs to hot-stone application relative to one-site and three-site abdominal application.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-five female students participated in experimental sessions after a random allocation: 14 participants received a hot-stone application on the umbilicus, superior-umbilicus, and inferior-umbilicus regions (hereafter referred to as the three-site stimulation group); and 11 participants received the hot-stone application on the umbilicus region only (hereafter referred to as the one-site stimulation group). Heated stones were applied for 9 min to participants in both groups. Four arbitrary frames (the lower leg, ankle, proximal foot, and distal foot regions) were created in order to observe and analyze the skin temperature of a lower limb using a thermograph. Observation periods were as follows: before hot-stone stimulation, immediately after stimulation, and 5, 10, 15, and 20 min after stimulation.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There was a significant offset interaction of distal foot skin temperature between the groups. The left-side distal foot skin temperature increased at 15 and 20 min following the three-site abdominal hot-stone stimulation. The right-side distal foot skin temperature increased immediately and at 5, 10, 15, and 20 min following the three-site abdominal hot-stone stimulation. No significant change in distal foot skin temperature was observed following the one-site stimulation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Lower-limb skin temperature was altered following hot-stone stimulation applied to the abdomen, and the one-site stimulation and three-site stimulation yielded different distal foot skin-temperature reactions.</p>

Status of Acupuncture and Moxibustion: Interchange Between Basic and Clinical Studies: Effects of Acupuncture and Moxibustion on Muscle Diseases and Muscular Functions/Metabolism and the Status of These Techniques / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

In this seminar, the effects of acupuncture and moxibustion on muscle diseases and muscular functions/metabolism were reported, and the status of these techniques were summarized.<BR>In the clinical study section, it was reported that the effects of treatment on muscle diseases and muscular functions were evaluated using objective criteria, such as electromyograms. In the review of the methods for the evaluation of muscular functions using surface electromyograms, the static electromyograms, dynamic electromyograms, and power-spectrum analysis were presented, and the effects of acupuncture and manual treatment on diseases mainly in locomotor organs and their problems were discussed. For example, 72.9% of the 48 patients with cervical dystonia were found to show improvement by 10 courses of acupuncture treatment, and effects were observed in all patients by electromyography. Similar effects were obtained with patients with drug-induced dystonia. In many of the patients with writer's cramp who underwent 10 courses of acupuncture treatment, improvement in writing tests, subjective evaluation, and the strength of pen stokes were observed.<BR>In the review of the basic studies, the effects of acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on muscular tension, muscular metabolism (energy metabolism, intracellular pH, lactate metabolism), muscular circulation, and noxious and non-noxious motor reflex were surveyed, and their mechanisms and problems were discussed.

The Influence of Acupuncture Stimulation on Dynamic Electromyographic Activity / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

The study investigated the influence of acupuncture on synergistic coordination by observing dynamic lumbar electromyographic activity. Left and right lumbar paraspinal (LP) EMG activities were recorded for 30 healthy subjects during a 45-degree trunk flexion-return movement, and the maximum RMS EMG activities (MREA) during this movement were compared between the two sides. Twenty subjects showed less than 20% LP MREA difference (symmetrical subjects-SS) between the left and right side, and 10 subjects showed more than a 20 % difference (asymmetrical subjects-AS). SS were reevaluated after lying on a treatment table in a prone position for 2 minutes and little change was observed in the degree of LP MREA asymmetry (P=0.164). AS were administered acupuncture stimulation on LP muscles. After the stimulation, a significant reduction in LP MREA asymmetry was observed (P=0.049), with a clear increase in symmetry of dynamic EMG activity for 9 of the 10 asymmetrical subjects. No specific pattern of response in LP MREA values was observed in the stimulated side following stimulation. On the non-stimulated side, there was a significant trend toward LP MREA decrease when the baseline value for that side was high (P=0.037), and an increase when it was low (0.0185). The study did not attempt to explore the exact mechanism of LP MIEA asymmetry reduction following acupuncture, however, it suggested that the response occurred as a result of interaction between the central and peripheral nerves which simultaneously caused systemic and local responses. This study indicated that acupuncture stimulation significantly decreased the asymmetrical dynamic EMG activity, suggesting that acupuncture treatment may be a useful method for decreasing functional muscular distortion and improving synergistic coordination.