Frozen shoulder due to cold damp treated with acupuncture and moxibustion on tender points / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To search for a better method for frozen shoulder due to cold damp.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty cases of frozen shoulder were randomly divided into an acupuncture-moxibustion group (32 cases) and an acupuncture group (28 cases). Acupuncture was applied mainly at Jianyu (LI 15), Jianliao (TE 14) and Jianzhen (SI 9) in either group. In acupuncture-moxibustion group, moxibustion on tender points was supplemented.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In acupuncture-moxibustion group, 7 cases were cured, 15 cases markedly effective, 9 cases improved and 1 case failed. The cured and markedly effective rate was 68.8% and the effective rate was 96.9%. In acupuncture group, 2 cases were cured, 9 cases markedly effective, 13 cases improved and 4 cases failed. The cured and markedly effective rate was 39.3% and the effective rate was 85.7%. The cured and markedly effective rate in acupuncture-moxibustion group was superior to that in acupuncture group (P < 0.05) and there was no significant difference in the effective rate statistically between two groups (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The clinical efficacy of acupuncture combined with moxibustion on tender points is superior to that of simple acupuncture on frozen shoulder due to cold damp.</p>

Effects of transforming growth factor-beta 1 on the peripheral nerve regeneration of rats / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the effects of exogenous transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGFbeta1) on peripheral nerve regeneration after the peripheral nerve injury and if TGFbeta1 regulates the expression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in the anterior horn motoneurons of spinal cord during regeneration.@*METHODS@#Forty-eight rats were crushed on the right sciatic nerve and then randomly divided into 2 groups: TGFbeta1 group and NS group. In TGFbeta1 group, TGFbeta1 50 microL (0.1 microg/mL) was injected into the proximal nerve near to the crushed nerve and after the operation the injured leg was injected with equal TGFbeta1 whereas the NS was replaced in the NS group. The rats of each group survived for 3, 7, 14 and 21 days after the lesion. The bFGF expression in the anterior horn motoneurons of spinal cord was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Semi-thin section and Fast Blue retrograde tracing were also performed with the rats surviving for 21 days to observe the regeneration of distal end in the injured right sciatic nerve.@*RESULTS@#The number of bFGF immunoreactive positive motoneurons in TGFbeta1 group was obviously higher than that of the NS group (P < 0.05). In the distal sciatic nerve of the rats treated with TGFbeta1, the number and diameter of regenerating myelinated axons and the thickness of myelinated sheath were more than those of the NS group (P < 0.05). The number of motoneurons in spinal cord and neurons in dorsol root ganglia (DRG) labelled with Fast Blue in the NS group was obviously lower than in the TGFbeta1 group (P < 0.01).@*CONCLUSION@#Exogenous TGFbeta1 plays an important role in promoting the peripheral nerve regeneration; TGFbeta1 up-regulates the bFGF expression in the anterior horn motoneurons of spinal cord during the peripheral nerve regeneration.