Nitrogen monoxide vector of ultrasonic atomizing inhalation improves vertebro-basilar artery insufficiency Hemodynamic changes are detected by transcranial Doppler test

BACKGROUND： Latest researches at home and abroad indicate that glycerol trinitrate plays its function because it can metabolize into nitrogen monoxide （NO） in vivo. OBJECTIVE： To study the therapeutic effects of NO vector of ultrasonic atomizing inhalation on vertebro-basilar artery insufficiency （VBI） through transcranial Doppler （TCD） detection and serum NO content and indirect effect of TCD on cerebral blood flow changes. DESIGN： Randomized grouping and controlled clinical study. SETTING： Department of Neurology, the Fourth People＇s Hospital of Jinan. PARTICIPANTS： A total of 130 patients who were diagnosed as VBI were selected from Department of Neurology, the Fourth People＇s Hospital of Jinan from December 2001 to December 2005. The involved inpatients were checked by CT and MRI, and met the VBI diagnostic standard enacted by the Fourth National Academic Meeting of Cerebrovascular Disease in 1995. All patients and their relatives provided the confumed consent. They were randomly divided into low-dose treatment group （n =60）, high-lose treatment group （n =30） and control group （n =40）. METHODS： Patients in the low-dose and high-dose treatment groups were given ultrasonic atomizing inhalation of 3 mg and 5 mg glycerol trinitrate, respectively, for 20 minutes, once a day. In addition, ligustrazine and energy mixture were used once a day for three days in a course. Cases in the control group were only given ligustrazine and energy mixture. All selected cases accepted TCD, blood NO content was checked at the time of beginning, after the first time and after a period of treatment. According to the TCD test, VBI patients were divided into two groups （high-low flow velocity）. The vertebral artery （VA） and basal artery （BA） of left or right sides were detected by 2 Hz detector via occipital window. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： ①Blood flow velocity of systolic phase, blood flow velocity of diastole phase and vascular resistance in left and right VA and BA detected by using TCD before treatment, after treatment for one course; ②content of serum NO indirectly measured by using nitric acid disoxidation technique. RESULTS： All 130 VBI patients were involved in the final analysis. ①Changes of hemodynamic indexes： Systolic phase of VA and diastole phase of BA were higher in low-dose treatment group than that in the control group after first treatment, and there was significant difference （P 〈 0.05）; meanwhile, systolic phase and diastole phase of VA and systolic phase of BA were also higher in treatment group than that in the control group after one course （P 〈 0.05）. However, both systolic phase and diastole phase of VA and BA were lower in high-dose treatment group than that in the control group after first treatment and one course, and there was significant difference （P 〈 0.05）. ②Content of serum NO： After first treatment, there was no significant difference between low-dose treatment group and high-dose treatment group （P 〉 0.05）; but both groups were higher than control group, and there was significant difference （P 〈 0.05, 0.01）. CONCLUSION： NO vector of ultrasonic atomizing inhalation can improve VBI so as to improve cerebral blood-supply state.

Monitoring of antegrade selective cerebral perfusion for aortic arch surgery with transcranial Doppler ultrasonography and near-infrared spectroscopy

Objective To evaluate the safety and efficacy of antegrade selective cerebral perfusion (ASCP) during aortic arch surgery as a means of extending the safe period of systemic circulatory arrest using multimodality neuromonitoring to objectively quantify the physiologic responses Methods In twenty two patients (all less than age 60) scheduled for repair of an aortic arch aneurysm, preoperative verification of effective collateral perfusion through both the carotid and vertebrobasilar arterial systems was documented with transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) During cardiopulmonary bypass, the sole arterial inflow from the pump was via the right subclavian artery The magnitude of ASCP was quantified by TCD using peak middle cerebral artery velocity, while flow adequacy was measured by continuous regional cerebrovenous oxygen saturation (rSO 2) using dual wavelength spatially resolved near infrared spectroscopy Results All patients experienced an uneventful recovery Flow in the middle cerebral artery became undetectable at ASCP < 5?ml·kg 1 ·min 1 , so adjustments from a 15-20?ml·kg 1 ·min 1 baseline were used to maintain rSO 2 above 50% Furthermore, ASCP flow was highly correlated ( P <0 01) with both peak middle cerebral artery velocity and rSO 2 ( r =0 86 and 0 96, respectively) Conclusion Neuromonitoring guided ASCP may be expected to extend the safe period and is at least partly responsible for the absence of neurologic complications in this patient cohort

SELECTION OF ACUPOINTS BY DOPPLER SOUND SPECTROGRAM FOR TREATMENT OF INSUFFICIENT BLOOD SUPPLY OF CEREBRAL BASILAR ARTERY

Acupuncture moxibustion has been recognized to be effective for treatment of cerebral ischemia, but there are still some problems such as undefined criteria for evaluating the effectiveness and unchecked selection of acupoints. In the late 1980s, cerebrovascular examination was revolutionized in China

Ankle-brachial index and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity are risk factors for ischemic stroke in patients with type 2 diabetes

The incidence of ischemic stroke in patients with diabetes is increasing. While brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity （BaPWV） and ankle-bra- chial index （ABI） are known to be associated with ischemic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, whether these measures predict the risk of ischemic cerebrovascular disease in diabetic patients remains unclear. 117 patients with type 2 diabetes were enrolled in this study. According to the results of head magnetic resonance imaging, the patients were divided into a diabetes-only group （n = 55） and a diabetes and ischemic stroke group （n = 62）. We then performed ABI and BaPWV examinations for all patients. Compared with the diabe- tes-only group, we found decreased ABI and increased BaPWV in the diabetes and ischemic stroke group. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that BaPWV and ABI were risk factors for ischemic stroke in patients with type 2 diabetes. Our findings indicate that decreased ABI and increased BaPWV are objective indicators of increased risk of ischemic stroke in patients with type 2 diabetes.

INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT NEEDLE-RETAINING DURATION ON CEREBRAL HEMODYNAMICS OF CEREBRAL PARALYSIS CHILDREN

Objective: To investigate the effects of different needle-retaining duration on cerebral hemodynamics in cerebral paralysis (CP) children. Methods: A total of 20 cases of CP children were subjected into this study. Changes of systolic peak value (Vs), blood flow velocity at the end-diastolic phase (Ved), mean velocity (Vm), pulsation index (PI) and resistance index (RI) of the cerebral hemodynamics before and after performing JIN’s Three-Needling Therapy with the needles retained for 30 min (group A) and 5 min (group B) were observed by using transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD). Results: After acupuncture, the blood flow in the middle cerebral artery (MCA), anterior cerebral artery (ACA) and posterior cerebral artery (PCA) was accelerated, and the resistance of blood vessels decreased. The effect of needle-retaining-30 min was better than that of needle-retaining-5 min. Conclusion: In treating cerebral paralysis by using JIN’s Three-Needling Therapy, sufficient stimulation provided by needle remaining is an important factor for achieving satisfactory therapeutic effects.

Effect of cilostazol on cerebral arteries in secondary prevention of ischemic stroke

Objective To compare the effects of cilostazol on cerebral arteries and cerebrovascular blood flow in secondary prevention of ischemic stroke, with those of aspirin. Methods Sixty-eight patients who had ischemic stroke during the recent 1-6 months were recruited and randomized into cilostazol or aspirin group. Cerebrovascular condition was assessed by magnetic resonance angiography （MRA） and transcranial doppler ultrasonography （TCD） at the beginning of the study and after 12-month medication. Results During the clinical follow-up, ischemic stroke recurred in 2 patients in cilostazol group, while in aspirin group, one case of ischemic stroke recurrence and one case of acute myocardial infarction were found. MRA revealed that in aspirin group, the percentages of patients experiencing aggravation and attenuation of cerebrovascular condition were 3.3% and 6.7%, respectively, while in aspirin group, they were 3.3% and 10%, respectively. Moreover, TCD revealed that 26.9% of the patients in aspirin group and 14.3% of the patients in cilostazol group experienced aggravation of cerebrovascular condition. However, the systolic peak flow velocity of the previously abnormal arteries increased by 42.9% after 12-month medication of cilostazol, which was significantly higher than that after aspirin medication （27.5%） （P = 0.04）. Furthermore, as a major side effect of antiplatelet therapy, the frequrency of bleeding was much less in cilostazol group （0 case in cilostazol group vs 5 in aspirin, P 〈 0.05）. Conclusion Cilostazol is as effective as aspirin in preventing the aggravation of cerebral arteries in secondary prevention of ischemic stroke. Besides, it is more safe. Cilostazol can increase the systolic peak flow velocity of cerebral arteries, which may improve the blood supply of focal ischemia.

Clinical Observation on Needling Tendon for Cervical Spondylosis Causing Vertebral Artery Insufficiency

Objective： To observe the clinical effect of needling tendon for cervical spondylosis causing vertebral artery insufficiency. Methods： Thirty-eight cases with cervical spondylosis causing vertebral artery insufficiency were treated by needling the cervical tendon for one-course treatment. After treatment, the vertebrobasilar blood flow was observed. Results： The vertebrobasilar blood flow of the patients was substantially improved. The total effective rate and marked effect rate were 100.0% and 68.4% respectively. Conclusion： Needling the cervical tendon can obtain an exact effect for cervical spondylosis causing vertebral artery insufficiency.

Clinical Observations on the Treatment of Pseudobulbar Paralysis by Combined Scalp and Body Acupuncture

Objective： To investigate the efficacy of scalp acupuncture in combination with body acupuncture for treating pseudobulbar paralysis. Methods： Eighty patients were randomly divided into treatment and control groups, 40 cases each. The control group was treated by the routine method of Western medicine and the treatment group by combined scalp and body acupuncture on the basis of the former. The curative effect was evaluated after treatment in both groups. The influence of the treatment on mean blood velocity（MBV） in anterior, middle and posterior cerebral arteries was observed by transcranial Doppler（TCD） in both groups. Results： The total efficacy rate was 97.5% in the treatment group and 12.5% in the control group. The recovery rate was 75% in the treatment group and 0% in the control group. There was a significant difference between the two groups（P〈 0.01）. TCD showed that blood velocity in cerebral arteries was significantly increased and the unbalanced stasis of the right and left cerebral blood flow changed in the treatment group. A comparison of MBV between pretreatment and posttreatment showed P 〈 0.01. Conclusion： Scalp acupuncture in combination with body acupuncture has a good effect on pseudobulbar paralysis.

Acupuncture Effects on Endocranial Hemodynamics of Patients with Takayasus Arteritis （Brachiocephalic Artery Type）

Objective： To discuss the action mechanisms of Takayasus arteritis （brachiocephalic artery type） of acupuncture. Methods： We applied acupuncture therapy with the principle of “warming Yang and supplementing Qi, removing obstruction in the meridians and recovering pulse”, to treat patients with takayasus arteritis （brachiocephalic artery type）. Before and after treatment, we detected the TCD （Transcranial Doppler） changes of the average velocity of blood flow （AVBF） and arterial pulsatility index （PI） of related arteris. Results： After treatment, acupuncture and moxibustion can regulate the abnormal blood flow rate in endocranial correlated arteries by two sides, in the AVBF while, elevate the elasticity of endocranial vessels. Conclusion： Acupuncture and moxibustion can regulate cerebrovascular function of patients with takayasus arteritis （brachiocephalic artery type）, increase the perfusion of cerebral blood flow, and adjust abnormal state of endocranial hemodynamics. This is possibly the important action mechanisms acupuncture in treating this disorder.