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Objective To compare the therapeutic effect of low-frequency electrical stimulation at the acupoints with that of conventional Western medication among patients with post-stroke insomnia,and explore the underlying mechanism.Methods Totally 120 stroke survivors with insomnia were randomly divided into an intervention group,a medication group and a placebo group,each of 40.The intervention group received low-frequency electrical stimulation at the Dazhui and Shenshu acupoints once a day for 30 consecutive days.The medication group received 1 mg estazolam capsules and the placebo group took 1 mg starch capsules.The average levels of plasma dopamine (DA) of the 3 groups were compared before and after the intervention and therapeutic efficacy was estimated.Results After the intervention,the total effective rate of the intervention group was 95％ (38/40).For the medication group it was 92.5％ (37/40) and for the placebo group it was 17.9％ (7/39).The former two treatments were significantly more effective than no treatment (the placebo).There was no significant change in the average level of plasma DA before and after the treatment in the placebo group,but significant improvement was observed in the other two groups.There was no significant difference in plasma DA between the two treatment groups after the treatment.Conclusion Low-frequency electrical stimulation at acupoints is safe and equally as effective as estazolam for treating post-stroke insomnia.Both may alleviate post-stroke insomnia by increasing plasma DA levels.
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Objective To study the effect of low frequency electric stimulation and urethral catheter balloon dilatation therapy on dysphagia in nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC)patients after radiation therapy. Methods Eighteen dysphagic NPC patients who had received radiation therapy were studied.They included 15 males and 3 females with a mean age of 49.5 years.Thirteen were being fed with a nasogastric tube and 5 with a gastmstomy tube.Low frequency electric stimulation was applied to the swallowing muscles and urethral catheter balloon dilatation therapy was used for the crieopharygeus muscle.Before and after treatment the effects were evaluated with a videofluoroscopic study of swallowing.Results Most swallowing function improved after treatment.After treatment the pharyngeal transit time of paste iodine and fluid iodine(diatriazoate)through the mouth and hypopharynx showed significant improvement.Displacement of the hyoid bone was significantly greater after treatment.Before treatment the incidence of pyriform sinus stasis and aspiration were 100%:after treatment these were 44.4%and 16.6% respectively.Videofluoroscopy showed that 7 cases had been cured(38.9%),9 cases had improved(50.0%)and 2 cases showed no effect(11.1%).In 15 cases the nasogastric or gastrostomy tube could be removed. Conclusion Low frequency electric stimulation and urethral catheter balloon dilatation can improve swallowing in NPC patients with dysphagia after radiation therapy.This treatment was easy to administer,safe and reliable.
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Objective To study the effects of low-frequency electrical stimulation(LFES)on motor function and the expression of glia fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)around cerebral infarction sites in rats.Methods Fifty-four male adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a LFES group,a placebo group and a sham operation group(18/group).All groups were randomly divided into 3 treatment groups.A rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO)was established using intraluminal filament occlusion.Treatment was carried out 3 d after the operation.Rats in the LFES treatment groups were stimulated with LFES for 3,7 or 14 days (10 min/d);the placebo groups were treated in the same way without electric stimulation;the sham operation subgroups didn't receive any therapy.Scores on a beam-walking test,a rotating pole test and a screen test were assessed at each time point mentioned above.Expression of GFAP was also assessed using immunohistochemcal techniques.Results The paralysed limbs recovered motor function better in the LFES groups than in the control groups.GFAP-positive cells were more numerous at the margins of the infarction area in the treated groups than in the control groups.Conclusions LFES might increase the expression of GFAP,which might be an important mechanism in improving brain plasticity after cerebral ischemia,aiding the recovery of the central nervous system and rebuilding its functioning.
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Objective To observe the effects of low frequency electrostimulation(LFES)on sleep disorder of patients after acute cerebral infarction(ACI)as evaluated by using polysomnography,and on the recovery of neurological deficits. Methods Seventy cases of acute cerebral infarction were randomly divided into two groups,a treatment group and a control group.Both groups were treated with routine drugs, and the treatment group was also treated with LFES in addition.The changes of neurological deficits(ND) scores and such parameters of polysomnography as sleep latency(SL),total sleep time (TST),sleep efficiency(SE%),sleep maintenance(SMT),rapid eye movement sleep(REM),REM latency(RL),REM time(RT),REM activity(RA),REM density(RD).stage 1 sleep(S1),stage 2 sleep(S2)and deep sleep (S3+4) were observed.Results It was shown that,after treatment,both groups got significant improvement in terms of the ND scores and all the polysomnography parameters except RA,S1 and S2,(P<0.01),and the treatment group improved to a significantly greater extend when compared with the control group (P<0.01).Conclusion It is concluded that LFES could promote recovery of neural function and sleep disorder of ACI patients.
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Objective To explore the effects of low frequency electric stimulation at bilateral mastoid processes on motor function and cerebral blood flow of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Methods Ninety children with CP were randomly divided into two groups: an electric stimulation group (group 1) and an conventional rehabilitation control group (group 2), thirty healthy children served as the normal control group. The children of group 1 were treated with FES in addition to the routine rehabilitation treatment. The children of group 2 were given of the routine rehabilitation treatment only. All the patients were treated successively with the above protocol for 3 months. The clinical effect and motor development were evaluated with the gross motor function measure (GMFM), and the blood flow velocities of anterior cerebral artery (ACA), middle cerebral artery (MCA), posterior cerebral artery (PCA) were measured by transcranial doppler (TCD) ultrasound before and after treatment. Results In group 1, significant or some improvement were achieved in 19 and 24 CP children, respectively, with an effective rate of 95.6% . In group 2, significant or some improvement were achieved in 10 and 27 CP children, respectively, with an effective rate of 82.2%. There was significant difference between the two groups with regard to the significant effective rate (P
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Objective To study the protective effects of low frequency electric stimulation at bilateral mastoid processes on the focal cerebral lesion induced by ischemia-reperfusion in rats. Methods Focal cerebral ischemia in rats was produced by 2 hours of the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and 24 hours reperfusion. The neurological deficits scale was used to evaluate and screen the rats for tests. The cerebral water content was determined by wet/dry weighing method. The infarct volume was measured by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining technique and image analysis instrument. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in ischemic tissue of brain were analyzed. Results Compared with the control group, the severity of cerebral edema in the treatment group, apart from the emergency group,was lessened(P
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Objective To explore the effects of low frequency electric stimulation on the clinical manifes- tation and its influence on the level of plasma Endothelin (ET),atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP),thromboxane B_2 (TXB_2),angiotensinⅡ(AngⅡ),Calcitonin Gene Related Peptide(CGRP) and Neuron-specific Enolase(NSE) and its clinical significance in the patients with vertebrobasilar insufficiency(VBI). Methods One hundred and tewenty cases of VBI patients were randomly divided into two groups:a treatment group and a control group.Both groups received routine drug treatment.The treatment group (n=60) was also treated with low frequency electric stimulation at bilateral mastoid processfes in addition.The improved rate of the clinical symptom,the plasma level of ET,ANP,TXB_2,AngⅡ,GRP and NSE were observed after treatment. Results The patients treated in the treatment group had significantly better outcome than the control group in terms of symptom relief.The effective rate was 87.93% and 67.80% in the treatment group and control group,respectively(P