CHANGES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS STATE AND THE EFFECT OF ACPUNCTURE INTERVENTION IN ARMED ANTI-TERRORISM POLICEMEN

Objective:To observe psychological changes of the armed policemen under stress state and the effect of acupuncture intervention for exploring possible measures in raising the armed policemen's capability in dealing with the suddenly-occurred accidents. Methods: In the first part of the study for observing psychological changes, a total of 90 volunteer armed policemen participating in anti-terrorism maneuver were randomly and evenly divided into anti-chemical weapon group, flight reconnaissance group and hostage-rescuing group. 30 logistic personals were selected to form control group. Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) questionnaire was used to assess the psychological state of these anti-terrorism policemen. In the second part of the study for observing the effect of acupuncture, 60 policemen with anxiety and depression who were determined by Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) were randomly and evenly divided into non-acupuncture and acupuncture groups, and other 30 policemen with normal psychological state were selected to form control group. Two weeks before anti-terrorism maneuver, participants of acupuncture group were asked to receive continuous acupuncture treatment of bilateral Neiguan (内关 PC 6) and Zusanli (足三里 ST 36), once daily, 15 min every time. Results:Comparison among the first 4 groups displayed that the total scores, scores of body feeling reactions, interpersonal relation, depression, anxiety, terror, and psychological problems of flight reconnaissance and hostage-rescuing groups were significantly higher than those of control group (P<0.05-0.01), suggesting that the psychological stress pressure was strongest in flight reconnaissance policemen and secondary in hostage-rescuing policemen, followed by anti-chemical weapon policemen. Following administration of acupuncture intervention, scores of both SDS and SAS in acupuncture group were considerably lower than those of non-acupuncture group (P< 0.01), showing that acupuncture intervention could reduce psychological stress reactions in the armed policemen undergoing anti-terrorism exercise. Conclusion: Before anti-terrorism exercise,neerly all the armed policemen have different degrees of psychological problems, while acupuncture intervention can improve their psychological state.

Effects of acupuncture on the relationship between cerebral hemodynamics and arterial blood pressure in patients with hypertension

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of an auricular acupuncture intervention on the relationship between changes in oxyhemoglobin concentration(Δ[O2Hb])and arterial blood pressure(ABP).The cerebral oxygenation signals in the bilateral prefrontal cortex(PFC),sensorimotor cortex(SMC),and temporal lobe cortex(TLC)of 15 patients with hypertension were measured by a 24-channel functional near-infrared spectroscopy(fNIRS)device before(State_R)and after(State_AT)the auricular acupuncture intervention.Coupling strength was used to quantitatively evaluate the strength of the couplings between ABP andΔ[O2Hb]in low-frequency oscillations(LF,0.07–0.2 Hz)and very-low-frequency oscillations(VLF,0.02–0.07 Hz).Results showed that the changes in wavelet amplitudes in the LF and VLF intervals did not exhibit significant differences after auricular acupuncture.The coupling strength from ABP toΔ[O2Hb]was significantly lower in the LF range after auricular acupuncture in the bilateral PFC,SMC,and TLC(p<0.0083).Additionally,the coupling strength from ABP toΔ[O2Hb]in the VLF range was significantly lower in the bilateral PFC in State_AT than in State_R(p<0.0083).These results indicated that fNIRS together with ABP can effectively evaluate cerebral hemodynamic responses to interventions and is therefore capable of guiding more individualized acupuncture strategies.The auricular acupuncture intervention improved hemodynamic responses in patients suffering from hypertension.