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Objective To elucidate the mechanism underlying eletroacupuncture's (EA's) amply-documented analgesic effect.To observe its effect on the pain threshold and on the expression of P2X4 receptor and microglia activation in the spinal cords of rats with neuropathic pain.To demonstrate whether or not interfering with A1 receptors and P2X4 receptors at the same time could enhance the analgesic effect.Methods A total of 40 SpragueDawley rats weighing 150 to 180 g were randomly divided into a sham group,a CCI group,an EA group,a 2-chloroN(6)-cyclopentyladenosine (CCPA) group and a CCPA+EA group,each of 8.Chronic constriction injury (CCI)was induced successfully in the rats of all groups except the sham group.Five days later,EA and 20 μL injections of 0.1 mm/L CCPA were applied to the rat analogues of the Zusanli (ST36) and Yanglingquan (GB34) acupoints once a day for 15 days for the rats in the appropriate groups.The mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) and the thermal withdrawal latency (TWL) were measured before the CCI operation and 20 days afterward.L4-L6 spinal cord tissue was then resected and the fluorescence intensity of P2X4 and OX42 receptors was detected using double label immunohistochemical staining.The correlation between the mean fluorescence intensity and the pain threshold gap was analyzed.Results The average MWT and TWL of the CCI group were significantly lower than in the other four groups.The expression of P2X4 receptor and OX42 in the spinal cord increased significantly in the CCI group compared to the other four groups.There was significant correlation between the mean fluorescence intensity of P2X4 and OX42 receptors and the gap in pain threshold,with correlation coefficients of 0.907 and 0.717 respectively.Conclusion P2X4 receptor and microglia activation might be involved in the development of neuropathic pain.CCPA and EA can inhibit the activation of microglia and reduce the activity of P2X4 receptors.The interaction between A1 receptors and P2X4 receptors can strengthen the analgesic effect of EA.
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Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a technology combined with function, anatomy and images to evaluate the brain function in real-time, dynamic, non-invasive ways. fMRI has been applied in the rehabilitation after stroke for the assessment and prog-nosis of motor, speech, cognition and sense function, etc.
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Objective To investigate the therapeutic effects of acupuncture on pelvic floor muscles and urinary function in patients with spinal cord injury. Methods From March, 2012 to March, 2015, 23 patients with spinal cord injury were divided into control group (n=8), early intervention group (n=8) and later intervention group (n=7). The control group received routine rehabilitation, the intervention groups received acupuncture at Baliao (BL-31, BL-32, BL-33 BL-34), Yanglingquan (GB-34), Sanyinjiao (SP-6) and Taichong (LR-3) acupoints in addition. The early intervention group was acupunctured one week before removal of catheter, and the later intervention group adopted inter-mittent catheterization after removal of catheter, and then received acupuncture. The pelvic floor muscles strength, the urine function and quality of life were recorded before and six weeks after intervention. Results There was no significant difference in all the indices before in-tervention (P>0.05). After intervention, the pelvic floor muscles strength improved in the intervention groups compared with the control group (P0.05). The quality of life improved in all the groups after inter-vention (F>0.864, P<0.05), however, no significant difference was found among three groups (F=1.558, P<0.05). Conclusion Acupuncture, especially early acupuncture, could improve the pelvic floor muscle strength and bladder function in spinal cord injury patients.
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Objective To observe the effect of cognition training on the motor and executive functioning of patients after a basal ganglia stroke.Methods Thirty patients with basal ganglia stroke were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group.The control group received standard stroke rehabilitation training,while the treatment group received in addition 2 months of cognitive function training.The executive and motor functions of all of the subjects and their facility in the activities of daily living (ADL) were tested using the Tower of Hanoi,the Wisconsin card sorting test,a Stroop-3 test and the Fugl-Meyer assessment,the Berg balance scale and the modified Barthel index before and at the end of treatment.Results After two months of training,both within-group and between group comparisons showed that the treatment group had improved significantly more in executive function,cognition and motor function.Conclusion Cognition training can improve executive function,motor function and ADL performance after a basal ganglia stroke.
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@#ObjectiveTo explore the effect of early rehabilitation therapy in the treatment of patients with trihemiparalysis sign following acute stroke.Methods86 patients following acute stroke were divided into two groups, trihemiparalysis sign group(n=37) and non-trihemiparalysis sign group(with hemiplegia only, n=49). Standard rehabilitation therapy was used in both groups early. At admission and 3 months after treatment，both groups were assessed by using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale(NHISS), Fugl-Meyer Assessment of motor (FMA) and Balance (FMB), Modified Barthel Index(MBI), and World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF).ResultsAfter 3 months, patients in both groups scored significantly better in NHISS, FMA, FMB, MBI and PHYS, PSYCH, ENVIR of WHOQOL-BREF compared with that at admission. But the trihemiparalysis sign group improved less significantly in NHISS, FMA, FMB, MBI and PHYS, PSYCH of WHOQOL-BREF compared with non-trihemiparalysis sign group after treatment.ConclusionEarly rehabilitation therapy improved functional status and quality of life of acute stroke patients with trihemiparalysis sign, but showed not better than the patients with non-trihemiparalysis sign.
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@#ObjectiveTo explore the effect of bladder curer in the treatment of patients with neurogenic bladder after spinal cord injury.Methods60 spinal cord injury patients with neurogenic bladder were randomly divided into intervention group (n=30) and control group (n=30). Comprehensive rehabilitation therapy was used in the two groups, but bladder curer was used only in intervention group. Residual urine in the bladder, incidence of urinary tract infection and course of achieving bladder balance were observed in the two groups.ResultsAfter 8 weeks, residual urine in the bladder decreased significantly in intervention group compared with control group, and the course of achieving bladder balance shortened significantly in intervention group compared with control group, but incidence of urinary tract infection had no difference between intervention group and control group. ConclusionBladder curer could decrease residual urine in the bladder early, and shorten the course of achieving bladder balance in the treatment of patients with neurogenic bladder after spinal cord injury.
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@#ObjectiveTo study the effect of enriched rehabilitative training on the functional recovery and neuronal dentritic growth following cerebral ischemia/reperfusion.Methods32 male Wistar rats,weighting 180～200 g,were randomly divided into a ischemic group(n=16) and a sham-operation group(n=16) after beforehand trainings.Rats were subjected to 2 h of right middle cerebral artery occlusion before reperfusion.After surgery,the ischemic group were randomly divided into a ischemia + enrichment(IE) group and a ischemia + standard housing(IS) group;the sham-operation group were randomly divided into a sham + enrichment(SE) group and a sham + standard housing(SS) group.After 24 h reperfusion,IE and SE groups were housed in enriched cages,and given enriched rehabilitative training according to the scheme.At the same time,IS and SS groups were housed in standard cages without any training.The functions of 4 groups were evaluated at 24 h,1 week,2 weeks,3 weeks and 4 week after operation.Dentritic growth of layer V pyramidal cells of the undamaged forelimb motor cortex was examined using Golgi-Cox procedure.ResultsIE group showed better function than IS group in all behavioral test.There was no significant difference in limb-placement test at 3 weeks(P>0.05) and in footfault test at 4 weeks(P>0.05) after operation between IE and SE group.The mean of basilar dentrite branching points in IE group was significantly greater than that of other groups(P<0.01).ConclusionEnriched rehabilitative training can promote functional recovery and enhance neural plasticity after cerebral ischemia/ reperfusion in rats.