Effect of electroacupuncture at Tinghui (GB 2) and Benshen (GB 13) on abnormal auditory response in children with autism spectrum disorder / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To compare the effect of electroacupuncture at Tinghui (GB 2) and Benshen (GB 13) combined with routine rehabilitation training and simple routine rehabilitation training on abnormal auditory response in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).@*METHODS@#A total of 70 children with ASD were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 35 cases in each group. The control group was given routine rehabilitation training. On the basis of the treatment in the control group, the observation group was given electroacupuncture at Tinghui (GB 2) and Benshen (GB 13), disperse-dense wave, frequency in 2 Hz/10 Hz, 20 min each time, and 1 day off after 6 days of treatment. Both groups were treated for 12 weeks. The incidence of abnormal auditory response, the scores of childhood autism rating scale (CARS) and autism behavior checklist (ABC) were compared between the two groups before and after treatment.@*RESULTS@#After treatment, the total incidences of abnormal auditory response in the two groups and the incidences of dull and hypersensitive auditory response in the observation group were lower than those before treatment (P<0.05). The total incidence of abnormal auditory response and the incidence of hypersensitive auditory response in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, CARS and ABC scores of both groups were lower than those before treatment (P<0.05), and those in the observation group were lower than the control group (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Electroacupuncture at Tinghui (GB 2) and Benshen (GB 13) combined with routine rehabilitation training can reduce the incidence of abnormal auditory response and improve the core symptoms in children with ASD, and the clinical effect is better than the simple routine rehabilitation training.

Neural mechanism for modulation of auditory response of the striatum by locomotion / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To explore whether the characteristic responses to sound stimulations of the auditory neurons in the striatum is regulated in different behavioral states.@*METHODS@#The auditory neurons in the striatum of awake C57BL/6J mice were selected for this study. We recorded the auditory response of the striatum to noises over a long period of time by building a synchronous in vivo electrophysiological and locomotion recording system and using glass microelectrode attachment recording. By analyzing the running speed of the mice, the behavioral states of the mice were divided into the quiet state and the active state, and the spontaneous activity and evoked responses of the auditory neurons in the striatum were analyzed in these two states.@*RESULTS@#Compared with those recorded in the quiet state, the spontaneous activity of the auditory neurons in the striatum of the mice increased significantly (37.06±12.02 vs 18.51±10.91, P < 0.001) while the auditory response of the neurons decreased significantly (noise intensity=60 dB, 3.45±2.99 vs 3.04±2.76, P < 0.001) in the active state.@*CONCLUSION@#Locomotion has a significant inhibitory effect on the auditory response of the striatum, which may importantly contribute to the decline of sound information recognition ability in the active state.

Correlation of Human Fasting Blood Sugar with Grip Muscle Strength and Reflex Response Time.

In humans, one of the major complications of chronic Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is Peripheral Neuropathy. Apparently linked to ischemic Nerve damage, a ravaging puzzle on its pathophysiology, onset prediction, and prognosis is yet to be fully uncovered. Today, what seems to be a major “breakthrough” is the discovery that chronic DM damages signal transduction across Nerve and Muscle tissues, leading to a bad and/or poorly coordinated reflex. The goal of this study was to find in humans, the relationship that binds fasting blood sugar (FBS) with grip muscle strengths and reflex response time. To achieve this, 387 humans were ethically sourced from Ethiope East Local government area of Delta State, Nigeria. Based on their glucometer readings, subjects were then gender-sorted and classified into 3 groups; A (hypoglycaemic), B (normoglycaemic or control), and C (hyperglycaemic). Using the hand-grip dynamometer (HGD) and Meter rule, subjects’ Grip Muscle strengths (GMS) and Reflex Response times (RRT) were respectively obtained and mapped against their corresponding glucometer reading (FBS). Using the Pearson Product moment correlation coefficient, Statistical measure of association (correlation) was conducted on obtained variables, and ANOVA was used to analyse the differences between means of each groups. Though no actual difference(s) was/were found between GMS and RRT, apparently, there was a weak Auditory-FBS relationship in hypoglycaemic females, and a weak GMS-FBS, plus Tactile-FBS correlations in hypoglycaemic males and females respectively.

A Comparative Study of Performances on the Open -set Monosyllable Test of Typical Children and Hearing Impaired Children at Age 3 / 听力学及言语疾病杂志

Objective The present study analyzed the performances of hearing impaired children and normal hearing children at age 3 on the open set monosyllables test to provide reference for rehabilitation .Methods 30 typi-cal children and hearing impaired children at age 3 were randomly selected and tested using the open -set monosylla-ble test in evaluation of auditory response to speech (EARS) .Results ① There were significantly differences be-tween different test items in both groups ,the decreasing order of the score was tone> vowel>consonant>word(P<0 .01) ,and the scores on vowels ,consonants and words of hearing -impaired children were respectively signifi-cantly lower than that in normal hearing children(P<0 .001) .②There were similarities and differences between the mistakes of typical children and hearing impaired children .Blade-palatals and laterals in both groups achieved the lowest accuracy .While the accuracies on bilabials ,labiodentals ,nasals and plosives were highest in typical children , the accuracy on velar was highest in hearing impaired children .And the accuracies of consonants and nasal vowels on each place and manner of articulation in hearing -impaired children were significantly lower .Conclusion The study showed that the performances on vowels ,consomants and words of hearing -impaired children aged 3 in the open set monosyllables test were poorer than that in normal hearing children .The main errors were between the same places or methods of articulation ,especially for Blade -palatals and laterals .It is possible related to the deficiency of lan-guage input with the hearing impairment and the age with HA/CI .

Low cost calibrated mechanical noisemaker for hearing screening of neonates in resource constrained settings.

Background & objectives: There is a need to develop an affordable and reliable tool for hearing screening of neonates in resource constrained, medically underserved areas of developing nations. This study valuates a strategy of health worker based screening of neonates using a low cost mechanical calibrated noisemaker followed up with parental monitoring of age appropriate auditory milestones for detecting severe-profound hearing impairment in infants by 6 months of age. Methods: A trained health worker under the supervision of a qualified audiologist screened 425 neonates of whom 20 had confirmed severe-profound hearing impairment. Mechanical calibrated noisemakers of 50, 60, 70 and 80 dB (A) were used to elicit the behavioural responses. The parents of screened neonates were instructed to monitor the normal language and auditory milestones till 6 months of age. This strategy was validated against the reference standard consisting of a battery of tests - namely, auditory brain stem response (ABR), otoacoustic emissions (OAE) and behavioural assessment at 2 years of age. Bayesian prevalence weighted measures of screening were calculated. Results: The sensitivity and specificity was high with least false positive referrals for 70 and 80 dB (A) noisemakers. All the noisemakers had 100 per cent negative predictive value. 70 and 80 dB (A) noisemakers had high positive likelihood ratios of 19 and 34, respectively. The probability differences for pre- and post- test positive was 43 and 58 for 70 and 80 dB (A) noisemakers, respectively. Interpretation & conclusions: In a controlled setting, health workers with primary education can be trained to use a mechanical calibrated noisemaker made of locally available material to reliably screen for severe-profound hearing loss in neonates. The monitoring of auditory responses could be done by informed parents. Multi-centre field trials of this strategy need to be carried out to examine the feasibility of community health care workers using it in resource constrained settings of developing nations to implement an effective national neonatal hearing screening programme.