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Objective To observe any short-term analgesic effect of using heat stimulation at acupoints for treating migraine headaches without aura.Methods Totally 120 migraine patients were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group,each of 60.Both groups was given 5mg of Sibelium orally each night for 4 weeks.The observation group additionally received heat and pain stimulation at the Feng Chi,Shuai Gu,Yang Ling Quan,Wai Guan,Tai Yang and Yin Tang acupoints.The heat was in 0.3 s pulses at 54.5° with an inter-pulse interval of 10 s.Each acupuncture point was stimulated 5 times in rotation for a total of 20 min daily for 4 weeks.The frequency of headache attacks,their duration,their intensity rated using a visual analogue scale (VAS),accompanying symptoms and responses to a migraine-specific quality of life questionnaire (MSQ) were recorded before and after the treatment.Results After the treatment there was significantly greater improvement in the observation group compared to the control group in terms of headache frequency,headache duration,VAS ratings,and accompanying symptoms.The observation group also improved significantly more in terms of the average limitation dysfunction score,dysfunction score and emotion score on the MSQ.Moreover,the total effectiveness rate of the observation group (95.0％) was significantly higher than that of the control group (80.0％).During the treatment,no adverse reactions were found in terms of heart rate or blood pressure,and no abnormal manifestations such as infection,redness or swelling were observed at the stimulation sites.Conclusion Heat and pain stimulation at acupoints has a significant short-term analgesic effect on migraine without aura.Such treatment is safe and reliable,with few side effects.It provides a new treatment method for migraine patients and is worthy of clinical promotion and application.
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Polyacrylic acid was firstly grafted by N-amino-4-N-methylpiperazine-1,8-naphthlimide (AMN) to prepare a amphiphilic polymer, which was self-assembled in water producing nanoparticles called as PAAMN.Then the morphology, structure and fluorescence properties of PAAMN were investigated by various methods including transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (HNMR) and fluorescence spectroscopy.MTT assay was carried out to assess the cell compatibility of PAAMN.Finally, the fluorescence from PAAMN self and HeLa cells incubated with PAAMN was observed by fluorescence microscope.The results revealed that PAAMN had spherical structure, in which naphthlimide fluorphores were immobilized in the polyacrylic acid matrix with the degree of substitution of 4.1%.Under the physiological pH condition, PAAMN excited at 390 nm could emit strong and stable fluorescence at 534 nm.In the range of pH 4.0-10.0, its excitation and emission wavelengths had no obvious change.The fluorescence intensity of PAAMN increased with the decrease of pH values, but the pH sensitivity of PAAMN was much lower than that of AMN.PAAMN had good cell compatibility.From the pictures of fluorescence imaging, it was found that both PAAMN self and cells-engulfed PAAMN could emit green fluorescence upon excited at 390 nm, indicating the potential of the developed nanoparticle for cell imaging.
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Objective To study any functional changes in the trigeminal nociceptive system in cases of migraine with aura (MWA) using painful heat-evoked potentials (CHEPs),and to explore the value of CHEP in evaluating the trigeminal small nerve fibers of patients with MWA.Methods Sixty patients with MWA were recruited as the MWA group,and 60 healthy persons were selected as a normal control group.Thermal stimulation at 51 ℃ was applied to the skin above the patients' right and left eyebrows.The N wave latencies and N-P amplitudes of the CHEPs were recorded at the vertex (Cz) of the head.The intensity of the stimulus was graded using a visual analogue scale (VAS).Results In the control group the simulation produced no significant differences in the N550 or P750 latencies or in the N-P amplitudes.In the MWA group no significant differences were observed when the headache side was stimulated,but the N550 and P750 latencies were both significantly shorter than those of the control group and the N-P amplitude was significantly greater than that of the control group.The average VAS score on both sides in the patients with migraine was significantly higher than those of the control group.However,there was no significant difference in average VAS scores between the headache and non-headache sides of the patients with migraine.Conclusions CHEP is a reliable method for detecting any pathological changes in the trigeminal small nerve sensory pathway.Increased cutaneous allodynia in acute migraine attacks is detectable using CHEPs.
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Objective To explore the value of ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential in treating brainstem infarctions through comparing the characteristics ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) and brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) in patients with brainstem infarctions.Methods A total of 60 patients with brainstem infarctions were enrolled in a brainstem infarction (BI) group, while another sixty healthy volunteers were selected as the control group.All patients underwent oVEMP and BAEP tests via air-conducted stimuli.Results The oVEMPs were elicited reliably and stably in 58 of the control group, and 42 of the BI group, with the bilateral N1 and P1 latencies of oVEMP significantly prolonged [N1 (left) : 11.85 ± 0.82 ms, N1 (right) : 11.91 ± 0.86 ms, P1 (left) : 15.52 ± 1.61 ms, P1 (right) : 15.63 ± 1.64 ms respectively] and the bilateral N1-P1 amplitudes of oVEMP significantly reduced [1.23 ±0.42 μV (left) and 1.58 ± 0.70 μV (right) respectively].Moreover, no recordable oVEMPs was elicited in the other 18 patients, among which found 13 prolonged N1 latencies, 10 prolonged P1 latencies, 6 prolonged N1 and P1 latencies and 8 reduced N1-P1 amplitudes of oVEMP.Altogether, 45 abnormal oVEMPs were found, with an abnormal rate of 75％.The average peak latencies of Ⅴ waves [(5.98 ± 0.37) ms] and interpeak latencies of Ⅲ-Ⅴ and Ⅰ-Ⅴ waves [2.93 ± 0.34 ms and 4.96 ± 0.39 ms respectively] in the BI group were significantly prolonged compared to the controls (P＜ 0.01).The amplitude ratio of Ⅴ/Ⅰ (0.48 ± 0.10) in the BI group was significantly reduced compared to the controls (P ＜ 0.05).Forty-two abnormal BAEPs were found, with an abnormal rate of 75％ , including 17 prolonged latency of Ⅴ waves, 6 prolonged latency of Ⅲ waves, 15 prolonged interpeak latencies of Ⅲ-Ⅴ waves, 9 prolonged interpeak latencies of Ⅰ-Ⅴ waves, 11 cases of Ⅲ-Ⅴ interpeak latency larger than Ⅰ-Ⅲ interpeak latencies, 13 cases of the amplitude ratio of Ⅴ / Ⅰ smaller than 0.5 and 3 case of unclear waves.There were no significant differences in abnormal rate when using the oVEMP (42/60 and 75％) and BAEP (45/60 and 70％) testing However, the abnormal rate was 91.7％ when combining oVEMP with BAEP testing, significantly higher than that when only conducting BAEP testing.Conclusion Patients with brainstem infarctions have abnormalities in oVEMP.Combined with MRI and other electrophysiological testing, oVEMP may contribute to the diagnosis of brainstem infarctions.
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Objective To study the characteristics of the central part of the nociceptive system in acute myelitis (AM) with contact heat evoked potentials (CHEPs) and to document the potentials in patients with AM.Methods Twenty patients with AM were recruited in this study as an experimental group,and twenty healthy subjects were chosen as a control group.A heat foil was used to elicit pain and CHEPs.Thermal stimuli were applied at 54.5 ℃ at five sites:the dorsum of the hand,the proximal volar surface of the forearm,the skin of the leg 5 cm proximal to the medial malleolus,and at the C7 and T12 acupuncture locations.The latency and waveform of the evoked potentials were recorded.The conduction velocity of the A8 fibers of the peripheral nerves and of the spinal part of the spinothalamic tract were analyzed.The somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) and sensory conduction velocity (SCV) of the limbs were also examined,and the results were compared with the CHEP results.The results were compared between the two groups.Results The N 550 latencies of the CHEP on the dorsum of the hand,the inside of the leg,and at C7 and T12 were prolonged significantly in the patients with AM compared to the healthy controls.There were no significant differences in the nerve conduction velocity of the Aδ fibers and the velocity or amplitude of sensory nerve conduction in the limbs between the groups.The conduction velocities of the spinothalamic tract were significantly reduced in the patients with AM compared to the control group,while the peak latencies of N13 and the interpeak latencies of N9-N13 and N13-N20 in the AM patients were significantly prolonged compared to the healthy persons.In the patients with AM,CHEP abnormality in the lower limbs (17/20,85％) was significantly higher than in the upper limbs,total CHEP abnormality and CHEP abnormality in the lower limbs were significantly greater than SEP abnormality.Conclusion Persons with AM have abnormalities in the central part of the nociceptive system.When used with MRI and other electrophysiological examinations,CHEP may contribute to diagnosing AM.It could be helpful in the differential diagnosis of AM from motor neuron diseases and peripheral nerve lesions.It is of great potential value in clinical practice.
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Objective To observe the effects of low frequency electrical nerve stimulation on sensory and motor functioning in patients with hemiplegia and hemianesthesia caused by acute cerebral infarction.Methods Sixty-one acute cerebral infarction patients with both hemiplegia and hemianesthesia were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group.Thirty patients in the control group received conventional treatment.Thirty-one patients in the treatment group were treated with low frequency electrical stimulation of the peripheral nerves of the affected extremities in addition to the conventional treatment.Sensory function,motor function and performance in the activities of daily living(ADL)were evaluated before and 14 days after treatment.Results Sensory function,motor function and ADL performance in both groups improved significantly over the 14 days.Furthermore,the difference between the two groups after treatment was significant.Conclusion Low frequency electrical nerve stimulation can improve sensory function,motor function and ADL performance in acute cerebral infarction patients with both hemiplegia and hemianesthesia.