Pilot study of blood perfusion coherence along the meridian in forearm

Specificity for the correlation between the body surface and viscera in the pathological state of COPD: A prospective, controlled, and assessor-blinded trial

Background: The association between the body surface and viscera remains obscure, but a better understanding of the body surface-viscera correlation will maximize its diagnostic and therapeutic values in clinical practice. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the specificity of body surface-viscera correlation in the pathological state. Methods: The study subjects included 40 participants with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the COPD group and 40 age-matched healthy participants in the healthy control group. Laser Doppler flowmetry, infrared thermography, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy were respectively adopted to measure 1) the perfusion unit (PU), 2) temperature, and 3) regional oxygen saturation (rSO2) of four specific sites distributed in the heart and lung meridians. These three outcome measures reflected the microcirculatory, thermal, and metabolic characteristics, respectively. Results: Regarding the microcirculatory and thermal characteristics of the body surface, the PU and temperature of specific sites on the body surface [i.e., Taiyuan (LU9) and Chize (LU5) in the lung meridian] in the COPD group were significantly increased compared with healthy controls (p < 0.05), whereas PU and temperature of other sites in the heart meridian [i.e., Shenmen (HT7) and Shaohai (HT3)] did not change significantly (p > 0.05). Regarding the metabolic characteristics, rSO2 of specific sites in the lung meridian [i.e., Taiyuan (LU9) and Chize (LU5)] and Shaohai (HT3) of the heart meridian in the COPD group was significantly decreased compared with healthy controls (p < 0.01), whereas rSO2 of Shenmen (HT7) in the heart meridian did not change significantly (p > 0.05). Conclusion: In the disease state of COPD, the microcirculatory, thermal, and metabolic characteristics of specific sites on the body surface in the lung meridian generally manifest more significant changes than those in the heart meridian, thereby supporting relative specificity for the body surface-viscera correlation in the pathological state.

Pilot Study of Blood Perfusion Changes at PC4 and Its Surrounding Points Induced by Acupuncture and Moxibustion

Acupuncture and moxibustion are widely used in clinical practice; however, the differences between their mechanisms are unclear. In the present study, the response of blood perfusion resulting from acupuncture or moxibustion at Ximen (PC4) and its surrounding points was explored. Using the wavelet method, the differences in the frequency interval of blood flux were observed. Furthermore, the correlations between these points were analyzed. The results suggested that moxibustion could significantly improve blood flow perfusion at PC4 compared to acupuncture; however, there was no significant difference around PC4. The response of blood flux at PC4 to different stimulations was related to the frequency V (0.4–1.6 Hz) component. However, a difference in response at other points was not observed. Correlation analysis showed that both acupuncture and moxibustion could cause a decline in the correlation of blood flux signals at these recorded points, but there was no significant difference between these techniques. The results suggested that, at least in the forearm, the acupuncture or moxibustion only influenced the level of blood perfusion locally.

Intrarater and Interrater Reliability of Infrared Image Analysis of Forearm Acupoints before and after Moxibustion

The objective of this study was to determine the intrarater and interrater reliabilities of infrared image analysis of forearm acupoints before and after moxibustion. In this work, infrared images of acupoints in the forearm of 20 volunteers (M/F, 10/10) were collected prior to and after moxibustion by infrared thermography (IRT). Two trained raters performed the analysis of infrared images in two different periods at a one-week interval. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated to determine the intrarater and interrater reliabilities. With regard to the intrarater reliability, ICC values were between 0.758 and 0.994 (substantial to excellent). For the interrater reliability, ICC values ranged from 0.707 to 0.964 (moderate to excellent). Given that the intrarater and interrater reliability levels show excellent concordance, IRT could be a reliable tool to monitor the temperature change of forearm acupoints induced by moxibustion.

An updated review of clinical methods in the assessment of ageing skin - New perspectives and evaluation for claims support

With the advancement of skin research, today's consumer has increased access to an informed understanding of ageing skin and its appendages, together with a plethora of targeted products to meet such needs. In recent years, increased legislative demands for quality evidential claims support have led not only to the development and validation of clinical methods to measure and quantify ageing skin, but also a clearer understanding of the skin ageing process-especially the impact of both its internal and external environments-as well as a tougher stance on clearly unjustifiable claims. Traditional testing methods used to research and evaluate anti-ageing products claim to employ sophisticated instruments. Today, however, since the term anti-ageing can be considered a misnomer, intelligent use of combined more advanced clinical methods has enabled the development of technologically improved consumer products providing enhanced efficacy and targeted performance. Non-invasive methods for the assessment and quantification of the causes of ageing skin provide tools to the clinical researcher as defined by key clinically observed ageing parameters. Where evidence requires additional support, a number of clinical procedures evaluating ageing skin and hair products are combined with invasive procedures, thus enabling an added value to product claims. As discussed herein, given the enhanced understanding of ageing, we provide an update to our previous reviews of clinical methods used in the assessment of skin ageing, to include the wider aspects of environmental exposure; skin pigmentation; microbiome disturbance; surface topography; colour, radiance, and pH; and structural integrity-all requiring a disciplined approach to their use in dermatological investigations and product claims evidence.

Changes of Blood Flux at BL21 and Points along BL Meridian Resulted from Acupuncture or Moxibustion: Case Cross Design Study

Acupuncture (Acup) and moxibustion (Moxi) are commonly used interventions in clinical practice. However, the difference between Acup and moxibustion mechanisms is unclear. In current study, blood perfusion responses resulted from Acup or Moxi at Weishu acupoint (BL21) and control points were explored, respectively. The time series of blood flux signals at BL21 and control points were transformed with Morlet wavelet, and the differences in each frequency interval were observed. The results suggested that acupoint response to different stimulation is a comprehensive process which related to all components of blood perfusion signals. Whereas the different response at control points was not observed, there has been significant difference coherence value between Acup and Moxi stimulation. The results suggested the influence of Acup and Moxi not only on the level of blood perfusion at local area; the intrinsic relevance after stimulation which can be evaluated by coherence analysis is also an appropriate index to distinguish different stimulations.

Response of Blood Perfusion at ST 36 Acupoint after Drinking Cold Glucose or Saline Injection

Skin blood flux (SkBF) changes caused by drinking cold water are generally associated with vagal tone and osmotic factors in digestive system. According to acupuncture theory, change of SkBF at ST 36 might reflect the functional changes of digestive system. The aim of this study is to analyze the changes of SkBF after drinking 3°C 0.9% saline or 5% glucose injection by monitor blood flux at bilateral ST 36. The results indicated that, after drinking different cold water, the change ratio of SkBF at right side ST 36 has been different. Because all solutions have the same temperature (3°C) and both saline and glucose solution have the same osmolality, suggesting that the SkBF changes resulting from drinking cold water are not regulated just by the vagal tone and osmolality, there must have been other factors. These results have not been consistent with the frequency domain results of heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. Coherence analysis of blood flux signals at bilateral ST 36 indicated that there have been different coherence-frequency curves among different groups in special frequency bands, which suggested that coherence analysis might provide a potential tool to evaluate different status.