[Occupational deafness in workers of locomotive crew and its association with risk factors].

The authors studied relationship between occupational neurosensory deafness and risk factors in locomotive crew workers. Examination covered 173 locomotive crew workers divided into 2 groups: group 1--with occupational neurosensory deafness (n = 85) and group 2--without occupational neurosensory deafness (n = 88). Study covered occupational factors and calculated effective dose connected to length of service for exposure assessment. Complex clinical and laboratory study was performed. For signs structure analysis, principal components method and chances ratio were used. Occupational neurosensory deafness appeared to be reliably connected with length of service, arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia--with OR equals 5.7 (95% CI: 2.98-11.00), 1.88 (95% CI: 1.03-3.43) and 2.79 (95% CI: 1.5-5.18) respectively. That necessitates correction of hypertension and dyslipidemia.

[The influence of acupuncture on the quality of life and the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone in patients presenting with subclinical hypothyroidism].

This study included 27 female patients who applied for medical treatment of arthralgias and myalgias. They were found to have elevated levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone in conjunction with the normal concentrations of thyroid hormones. The therapeutic procedures included corporal and auricular acupuncture, introduction of needles into the reflexogenic scalp and wrist zones (depending on clinical symptoms) and into the thyroid gland projection zones on the skin, massage of paravertebral regions of the cervical and thoracic spine using a bone scraper (the Gua Sha healing technique). Twenty of the 27 patients completed two therapeutic courses with a 3-4 month interval between them. The treatment resulted in a significant decrease of the number and severity of the initial clinical symptoms; the levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone fell down to the physiological values, characteristics of the quality of life became comparable with those of healthy subjects. It is concluded that acupuncture may be regarded as an alternative to substitution therapy of subclinical hypothyroidism.