CLINICAL AND ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ON DIABETIC PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHYTREATED BY WARM NEEDLING AND MOXIBUSTION

Objective To observe clinical therapeutic effects of warm needling and moxibustion on diabetic peripheral neuropathy （DPN） and their influence on nerve conduction velocity. Methods Fifty two cases were randomly divided into a treatment group （n =26） and a control group （n =26）. In addition to basic treatment for lowering blood sugar in both groups, Pǐshū （BL 20）, Shènshū （BL 23）, Huántiào （GB 30）, Zùsānlǐ （ST 36）, Yánglíngquán （GB 34）, Sānyīnjiāo （SP 6）, Tàixī （KI 3）, Qǔchí （LI 11）, Wàiguān （TE 5） and Hégǔ （LI 4） were selected for warm needling and moxibustion in the treatment group. Methycobal was intramuscularly injected in the control group. Clinical symptoms and conduction velocities of the tibial nerve and common peroneal nerve were compared before and after treatment. Results Warm needling and moxibustion could alleviate such clinical symptoms as numbness of limbs, pain and hypoesthesia, and obviously improve the conduction velocities of both tibial and common peroneal nerves. Conclusion Warm needling and moxibustion exhibit good therapeutic effects on diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Clinical Observation on Combined Warming Needle and Patented Chinese Medicine for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Objective： To evaluate the clinical efficacy and quality of life of combined warming needle and patented Chinese medicine for patients with irritable bowel syndrome （IBS） due to liver-qi stagnation with spleen deficiency. Method： Sixty IBS cases were randomized into a treatment or control group by single-blind method. Warming needles on Tianshu （ST 25） and Dachangshu （BL 25） combined with patented Chinese medicine were adopted for cases in the treatment group, whereas the patented Chinese medicine alone was adopted in the control group. Results： The therapeutic efficacies in the two groups did not show substantial differences. The main symptoms were significantly improved after the treatment （P〈0.01）. After 2 weeks of treatment, the cases in the treatment group obtained a better improvement than the control group （P〈0.01, P〈0.05） in the severity or frequency of abdominal pain, abdominal distension, restlessness, insomnia, anxiety, suspiciousness, and loose stools with a sense of incomplete emptying. The patient＇s quality of life was improved in both groups （P〈0.01）. Conclusion： Both treatment methods could improve the clinical symptoms and increase the patient＇s quality of life. The total effective rate in the treatment group was slightly higher than the control group. Also, the combined warming needle and Chinese herbs could improve the main symptoms in a faster way.

Warm Needle Moxibustion Therapy for 41 Cases of Dysmenorrhea

Dysmenorrhea means that women feels periodical pain in the lower abdomen or lumbosacrum, before, during or after menstruation. The pain can be intolerable and affects the work and daily life. Dysmenorrhea is divided into two categories： primary and secondary, of which those without organic lesion in the genitalia are known as primary or functional ones. The author applied warm needle moxibustion in the treatment of 41 cases of primary dysmenorrhea and achieved remarkable curative results. The report is as follows.

Therapeutic efficacy observation of warm needling moxibustion plus spine subtle adjusting manipulation for cervical radiculopathy

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of warm needling moxibustion plus spine subtle adjusting manipulation for cervical radiculopathy.Methods A total of 70 patients with cervical radiculopathy were randomized into an observation group and a control group,with 35 cases in each group.The observation group was treated with warm needling moxibustion plus spine subtle adjusting manipulation,while the control group was treated with warm needling moxibustion alone.The treatments were performed three times a week,and for four weeks in total.The visual analog scale(VAS)was scored before and after treatment.And the clinical efficacy of the two groups was compared after treatment.Results The total effective rate was 97.1%in the observation group,versus 88.6%in the control group.The difference between the two groups was statistically significant(P<0.05).After treatment,the VAS scores in both groups significantly decreased(P<0.01),and the score in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion Warm needling moxibustion plus spine subtle adjusting manipulation has a better effect in the treatment of cervical radiculopathy than warm needling moxibustion alone.

Clinical Observation of Warm Needling Moxibustion for Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis

Objective： To observe the clinical therapeutic effects of warm needling moxibustion for seasonal allergic rhinitis. Methods： One hundred and eighty cases of the patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis were randomly divided into two groups, 90 cases in the warm needling group, treated by acupuncture plus warm needling moxibustion, and 90 cases in the acupuncture group, treated by acupuncture only, to observe the therapeutic effects after one course of the treatments. Results： The total effective rate was 95.6% in the warm needling group and 85.6% in the acupuncture group, with significant statistical difference in comparison between the two groups. Conclusion： The total effective rate of the warm needling moxibustion is better than that of the acupuncture treatment in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis.

Clinical Observation on Tuina plus Warm Needling Moxibustion for Lumbar Disc Herniation

Objective： To observe the therapeutic efficacy of tuina plus warm needling moxibustion for lumbar disc herniation （LDH）. Methods： A total of 90 LDH cases were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 45 in each group. Cases in the observation group received tuina and warm needling moxibustion, whereas cases in the control group received tuina manipulation alone. Results： The total effective rate in the observation group was 88.9%, versus 75.6% in the control group, showing a statistical significance （P〈0.01）. Conclusion： Tuina in combination with warm needling moxibustion works better than tuina manipulation alone for LDH.

Clinical research on treating fracture of middle and lower 1/3 of tibiofibula by electroacupuncture

Objective To observe the differences in efficacy on treatment of fractures of the middle and lower 1/3 of the tibiofibula between cribriform splints plus electroacupuncture, warming needle and moxibustion only, and external fixation with traditional splints pius the administration of an herbal formula. Clinical efficacy and the effects on serum bone morphogenic protein -7 （BMP- 7） and endothelin-l（ET-1） were both measured. Method 600 patients with fractures of the middle and lower 1/3 of the tibiofibula were randomly divided into three groups according to andome number table： splint with electroacupuncture （group A}, warm needling moxibustion group （group B） and splint with traditional Chinese medicine herb （Group C）. Cribriform splints with electroacupuncture were used in group A, warming needling therapy were adopted in group B, and traditional splints with external fixation were used along with oral administration of musk bone capsules （麝香接骨胶囊） in group C. Clinical results for the three groups were compared, and ELISA method was used to detect the serum BMP-7 and ET-1 of patients in the three groups before and after treatment. Results Group A was better than group B and group C in terms of clinical healing days and delayed healing status （P〈0.05）. After treatment, group A was also better than the other two groups in the improvement of BMP-7 and ET-1 （P〈0.05）. Conclusion Electroacupuncture treatment with cribriform splints for fractures of the middle and lower 1/3 of the tibiofibula resulted in significantly shorter clinical healing time, and lower incidence of delayed healing compared to warm needling or splints with a traditional Chinese herbal formula. Its mechanism may be associated with greater regulation of serum BMP-7 and ET-1 through electroacupuncture.

Effectiveness and clinical benefit of a therapy of combined non-pharmaceutical Traditional Chinese Medicine for knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled study

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of honey mouthwash 12.5% and chlorhexidine solution 0.2% to reduce the rate of oropharyngeal bacterial colonization in mechanically-ventilated patients.METHODS: This study was a randomized, single blind, phase Ⅲ controlled clinical trial. Sixty patients newly admitted to internal and trauma Intensive Care Units of the two educational hospitals of Sanandaj city affiliated with Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences were selected by convenience sampling and allocated to two groups of 30 patients using random blocks design. In each group,the mouthwash was applied twice a day for four consecutive days. Swab samples were taken from the mouth and throat of all patients three times a day(pre-intervention, two days, and four days after the intervention) and then the samples were transferred onto the blood agar and eosin methylene blue(EMB) culture plates and investigated for bacterial growth and colonization after 24-48 h.RESULTS: The findings showed that oropharyngeal colonization was not significantly different between the two groups, pre-intervention, two days,and four days after the intervention(P > 0.05). Rinsing with honey mouthwash 12.5% led to the inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the fourth day of the intervention in all samples.CONCLUSION: None of the studied solutions contributed to the reduction of oropharyngeal bacterial colonization. It seems that the growth inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by the honey 12.5% mouthwash in mechanically-ventilated patients need further investigation.

Therapeutic Observation of Warm Needling plus Tuina for Senile Functional Constipation

Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy of warm needling plus tuina in treating senile functional constipation. Methods: Ninety elderly patients with functional constipation were randomized into two groups. Forty-six patients in the treatment group were intervened by warm needling plus tuina; the other forty-four patients in the control group were intervened by San Huang tablet. Results: In the treatment group, 19 patients were cured, 24 cases showed improvement, 3 cases failed, and the total effective rate was 93.5%; in the control group, 16 patients were cured, 18 cases showed improvement, 10 cases failed, and the total effective rate was 77.3%. There was a significant difference in comparing the therapeutic efficacy(P<0.05), and the therapeutic efficacy of the treatment group was higher than that of the control group. Conclusion: Warm needling plus tuina can produce a higher therapeutic efficacy than taking San Huang tablet in treating senile functional constipation.

Warm Needling Combined with Iontophoresis of Chinese Medicine for Temporomandibular Joint Disorder

Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy of warm needling combined with iontophoresis of Chinese medicine for temporomandibular joint disorder(TMD). Methods: A total of 100 TMD cases were randomly allocated into a treatment group and a control group, 50 in each group. Cases in the treatment group were treated with warm needling combined with iontophoresis of Chinese medicine, whereas cases in the control group were treated with Western medication. The therapeutic efficacies in two groups were assessed after three courses of treatment. Results: The recovery rate and total effective rate were 54.0% and 98.0% respectively in the treatment group, versus 30.0% and 82.0% in the control group, showing significant differences(both P<0.05). The recovery rates in the treatment group were higher than those in the control group respectively after 1, 2 and 3 courses of treatment, indicating that warm needling combined iontophoresis of Chinese medicine could substantially shorten the course of treatment. Conclusion: Warm needling combined with iontophoresis of Chinese medicine is remarkably effective for TMD and deserves further clinical application.

Different acupuncture modalities for 90 cases of adhesive capsulitis at different clinical stages

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of different acupuncture modalities in the treatment of adhesive capsulitis a tthrough different clinical stages.Methods:Ninety patients of adhesive capsulitis weregraded in three different stages based on clinical presentations.Patients in painful stage were treated with silver needles once every 5 to 7 days for two courses;patients in adhesive stage were given acupotomy treatment every 7 to 10 days for two courses;while patients in recovery stage were treated with acupuncture with warm needles by moxibustion on tendon knots,once a day 10 times in a course,for two courses of treatment.The disease scores were compared between all groups before and after the treatment,and clinical efficacy was evaluated after the treatment.Results:The disease scores in patients of all three stages were higher after treatment,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).Among 90 patients with adhesive capsulitis,32 cases were clinically under controlled,37 cases claimed remarkably effective,18 were effective,and 3 ineffective cases,thus the total effective rate for this stage-based treatment is 96.7%.Conclusion:For adhesive capsulitis,different acupuncture modalities targeting patients in different clinical stages were feasible and effective,the disease scores of patients were significantly improved.