scholarly journals Assessing the Effects of Acupuncture by Comparing Needling the Hegu Acupoint and Needling Nearby Nonacupoints by Spectral Analysis of Microcirculatory Laser Doppler Signals

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsin Hsiu ◽  
Wei-Chen Hsu ◽  
Chia-Liang Hsu ◽  
Shih-Min Huang

We aimed to assess the effects of acupuncture by analyzing the frequency content of skin blood-flow signals simultaneously recorded at the Hegu acupoint and two nearby nonacupoints following acupuncture stimulation (AS). Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) signals were measured in male healthy volunteers in two groups of experiments: needling the Hegu acupoint (n= 13) and needling a nearby nonacupoint (control experiment;n= 10). Each experiment involved recording a 20 min baseline-data sequence and two sets of effects data recorded 0–20 and 50–70 min after stopping AS. Wavelet transform with Morlet mother wavelet was applied to the measured LDF signals. Needling the Hegu acupoint significantly increased the blood flow, significantly decreased the relative energy contribution at 0.02–0.06 Hz and significantly increased the relative energy contribution at 0.4–1.6 Hz at Hegu, but induced no significant changes at the nonacupoints. Also, needling a nearby nonacupoint had no effect in any band at any site. This is the first time that spectral analysis has been used to investigate the microcirculatory blood-flow responses induced by AS, and has revealed possible differences in sympathetic nerve activities between needling the Hegu acupoint and its nearby nonacupoint. One possible weakness of the present design is that different De-Qi feelings following AS could lead to nonblind experimental setup, which may bias the comparison between needling Hegu and its nearby nonacupoint. Our results suggest that the described noninvasive method can be used to evaluate sympathetic control of peripheral vascular activity, which might be useful for studying the therapeutic effects of AS.

Author(s):  
Ju-Chi Liu ◽  
Yi-Ping Hsu ◽  
Jia-Cheng Zhu ◽  
Wen-Rui Hao ◽  
Tsung-Yeh Yang ◽  
...  

This study performed beat-to-beat and spectral analyses of 20-minute skin-surface laser-Doppler-flowmetry (LDF) and radial blood-pressure-waveform (BPW) signals in order to compare the blood-flow perfusion condition and regulatory mechanisms between essential-hypertension (EHT) patients and aged-matched control subjects. Beat-to-beat LDF analyses yielded the pulse width (PW), AC-to-DC ratio (AD), and their corresponding variability indices (coefficients of variation [CVs]). The relative energy contributions (RECs) of five characteristic frequency peaks (defined as FR1–FR5) were also calculated. Spectral BPW analysis obtained the amplitude proportion (C n ) and phase angle (P n ) of each harmonic component n. PW, AD, AD_CV, and REC of FR2 were significantly smaller in the EHT group than in the control group. Regarding BPW indices, C 1, C 2, C 4, and C 5 were significantly larger and P 2–P 8 were significantly smaller in EHT patients than in controls. The present results indicate that BPW and LDF indices can be used to evaluate the blood-flow perfusion efficiency and microcirculatory regulatory activities in EHT. Sex differences were found, with the effects being more prominent in female patients. These findings may be partly attributable to impairment of endothelial and neural regulatory functions. The present findings might aid the development of new noninvasive methods for reducing the risk of EHT-induced damage.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. N. Davydov ◽  
D. A. Domenyuk ◽  
S. V. Dmitrienko

Relevance. Morpho-functional changes in peripheral circulation established in type 1 diabetes mellitus correlate with changes in central hemodynamics, allowing the use of microcirculation indicators as diagnostic and prognostic criteria for assessing the degree of functional vascular disorders. Identifcation of microcirculation features of the blood by the method of laser Doppler flowmetry in children with different experience of type 1 diabetes in key age categories.Materials and methods. The study included 67 children with type 1 diabetes mellitus aged 12-15 years with an experience of the disease from six months to ten years. The comparison group consisted of 38 healthy children. The state of the microvasculature was assessed by laser Doppler flowmetry using a laser analyzer for capillary blood flow LAKK-OP.Results. In children with an experience of type 1 diabetes of less than two years, microcirculation disorders in periodontal tissues correspond to the hyperemic form, accompanied by increased perfusion, a decrease in the amplitude of low-frequency oscillations, increased heart rate, high blood flling, and blood flow bypass. For children with an endocrinopathy experience of more than three years, microcirculation disorders correspond to a stagnant form, combined with a decrease in perfusion due to stagnation of blood in the venular link, endothelial domination with suppression of neurogenic and cardiac fluctuations, low efciency and redistribution of blood flow in favor of the nutritive link.Conclusions. With the increase in experience, the degree of compensation of type 1 diabetes, the progression of diabetic microangiopathy, it is advisable to designate two stages of development of microcirculatory disorders. Early – compensatory with active adaptation, including neurogenic and endothelial regulation mechanisms. Late – decompensation with passive adaptation, supporting the effectiveness of microcirculation due to myogenic control of regulation, shunting and increasing the rate of blood outflow.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeo Ishii ◽  
Shizuka Takabe ◽  
Yuki Yanagawa ◽  
Yuko Ohshima ◽  
Yasuhiro Kagawa ◽  
...  

Abstract Background A simpler method for detecting atherosclerosis obliterans is required in the clinical setting. Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) is easy to perform and can accurately detect deterioration in skin perfusion. We performed LDF for hemodialysis patients to determine the correlations between blood flow in the lower limbs and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Methods This retrospective study included 128 hemodialysis patients. Patients were categorized into the non-PAD group (n = 106) and PAD group (n = 22), 14 early stage PAD patients were included in the PAD group. We conducted LDF for the plantar area and dorsal area of the foot and examined skin perfusion pressure (SPP) during dialysis. Results SPP-Dorsal Area values were 82.1 ± 22.0 mmHg in the non-PAD, and 59.1 ± 20.3 mmHg in PAD group, respectively (p < 0.05). The LDF-Plantar blood flow (Qb) values were 32.7 ± 15.5 mL/min in non-PAD group and 21.5 ± 11.3 mL/min in PAD group (p < 0.001). A total of 21 non-PAD patients underwent LDF before and during dialysis. The LDF-Plantar-Qb values were 36.5 ± 17.6 mL/min before dialysis and 29.6 ± 17.7 mL/min after dialysis (p < 0.05). We adjusted SPP and LDF for PAD using logistic regression, SPP-Dorsal-Area and LDF-P were significantly correlated with PAD (p < 0.05). The receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis indicated cut-off values of 20.0 mL/min for LDF-Plantar-Qb during dialysis. Conclusion LDF is a simple technique for sensitive detection of early-stage PAD. This assessment will help physicians identify early-stage PAD, including Fontaine stage II in clinical practice, thereby allowing prompt treatment.


Author(s):  
Naoki Yamamoto ◽  
◽  
Ryohei Takada ◽  
Takuma Maeda ◽  
Toshitaka Yoshii ◽  
...  

Introduction: Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) exposure for 10−15 min has been shown to reduce peripheral blood flow due to vasoconstriction. However, the relationship between decreased peripheral blood flow and the therapeutic effects of HBO treatment on peripheral circulatory disorders remain unknown. Longer exposures have been reported to have vasodilatory effects and increase peripheral blood flow. This study investigated the effect of HBO treatment on blood flow and transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO2). Methods: Twenty healthy volunteers aged 20-65 years (nine males) participated in this study. All participants breathed oxygen for 60 min at 253.3 kPa. Peripheral blood flow using laser Doppler flowmetry and TcPO2 on the ear, hand, and foot were continuously measured from pre-HBO exposure to 10 min post-exposure. Results: Peripheral blood flow in each body part decreased by 7-23% at the beginning of the HBO exposure, followed by a slow increase. Post-exposure, peripheral blood flow increased 4-76% in each body part. TcPO2 increased by 840-1,513% during the exposure period, and remained elevated for at least 10 min after the exposure. Conclusions: The findings of the current study suggest vasoconstriction during HBO treatment is transient, and even when present does not inhibit the development of increased tissue oxygen partial pressure. These findings are relevant to studies investigating changes in peripheral blood flow during HBO treatment in patients with circulatory disorders.


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