Background Post-operation pain is a very subjective phenomenon. The aim of this study was to find out the effects of acupuncture or electro-acupuncture on post-cesarean pain. Methods Sixty women, who ...had had spinal anesthesia during cesarean section at the Department of Obstetrics of China Medical University Hospital, were randomly assigned to the control group, the acupuncture group, and the electro-acupuncture group. After the operation, we applied subjects with acupuncture or electro-acupuncture on the bilateral acupuncture point, San Yin Jiao (Sp6), and the patient controlled analgesia (PCA). The first time of requesting morphine, the frequency of PCA demands in 24 hours, and the doses of PCA used were recorded double blindly. In addition, monitoring the subjects' vital signs, the opioid-related side effects, and the pain scores was done. Results The results showed that the acupuncture group and the electro-acupuncture group could delay the time of requesting morphine up to 10-11 minutes when compared with the control group. The total dose of PCA used within the first 24 hours was 30%-35% less in the acupuncture group and the electro-acupuncture group when compared with the control group, which was indicated in statistical significance. However, there was no significant difference between the acupuncture group and the electro-acupuncture group. The electro-acupuncture group's and the acupuncture group's pain scores were lower than the control group's within the first 2 hours. Both were statistically significant. However, two hours later, there were no significant differences of the visual analogue scale (VAS) scores between either of the treatment groups and the control group. Finally, the incidence of opioid-related side effects, such as dizziness, was less in the acupuncture group and electro-acupuncture group than in the control group. Conclusions This study shows that the application of acupuncture and electro-acupuncture could definitely delay the time of requesting pain relief medication after cesarean section and decrease the PCA doses used within the first 24 hours.
Gallstone ileus with spontaneous resolution Hsu, Kuo-Feng; Yu, Jyh-Cherng; Hsieh, Chung-Bao ...
Revista espanola de enfermedades digestivas : organo oficial de la Sociedad Espanola de Patologia Digestiva,
05/2011, Letnik:
103, Številka:
5
Report
AIM: To investigate the role of nuclear factor of activated T cell 2 (NFAT2), the major NFAT protein in peripheral T cells, in sustained T cell activation and intractable inflammation in human ...ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS: We used two-dimensional gel-electrophoresis, immunohistochemistry, double immunohistochemical staining, and confocal microscopy to inspect the expression of NFAT2 in 107, 15, 48 and 5 cases of UC, Crohn's disease (CD), non-specific colitis, and 5 healthy individuals, respectively. RESULTS: Up-regulation with profound nucleotranslocation/activation of NFAT2 of lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMC) of colonic mucosa was found specifically in the affected colonic mucosa from patients with UC, as compared to CD or NC (P〈0.001, Kruskal- Wallis test). Nucleo-translocation/activation of NFAT2 primarily occurred in CD8+T, but was less prominent in CD4+ T cells or CD20+B cells. It was strongly associated with the disease activity, including endoscopic stage (τ= 0.2145, P=0.0281) and histologic grade (τ= 0.4167, P 〈 0,001), CONCLUSION: We disclose for the first time the nucleo-translocation/activatin of NFAT2 in lamina propria mononuclear cells in ulcerative colitis. Activation of NFAT2 was specific for ulcerative colitis and highly associated with disease activity. Since activation of NFAT2 is implicated in an auto-regulatory positive feedback loop of sustained T-cell activation and NFAT proteins play key roles in the calcium/calcineurin signaling pathways, our results not only provide new insights into the mechanism for sustained intractable inflammation, but also suggest the calcium-calcineurin/NFAT pathway as a new therapeutic target for ulcerative colitis.