Ear acupuncture and fMRI: a pilot study for assessing the specificity of auricular points.

In recent years research explored different acupuncture stimulation techniques but interest has focused primarily on somatic acupuncture and on a limited number of acupoints. As regards ear Acupuncture (EA) there is still some criticism about the clinical specificity of auricular points/areas representing organs or structures of the body. The aim of this study was to verify through (Functional magnetic resonance imaging) fMRI the hypothesis of EA point specificity using two auricular points having different topographical locations and clinical significance. Six healthy volunteers underwent two experimental fMRI sessions: the first was dedicated to the stimulation of Thumb Auricular Acupoint (TAA) and the second to the stimulation of Brain Stem Auricular Acupoint (BSAA). The stimulation of the needle placed in the TAA of the left ear produced an increase in activation bilaterally in the parietal operculum, region of the secondary somatosensory area SII. Stimulation of the needle placed in the BSAA of the left ear showed a pattern that largely overlapped regions belonging to the pain matrix, as shown to be involved in previous somatic acupuncture studies but with local differences in the left amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, and cerebellum. The differences in activation patterns between TAA and BSAA stimulation support the specificity of the two acupoints. Moreover, the peculiarity of the regions involved in BSAA stimulation compared to those involved in the pain matrix, is in accordance with the therapeutic indications of this acupoint that include head pain, dizziness and vertigo. Our results provide preliminary evidence on the specificity of two auricular acupoints; further research is warranted by means of fMRI both in healthy volunteers and in patients carrying neurological/psychiatric syndromes.

Incidencia de fibrilación auricular en pacientes con dispositivos de estimulación cardiaca con cardiopatía chagásica y no chagásica

La posible asociación entre el desarrollo de fibrilación auricular (FA) con la presencia de cardiopatía chagásica en una población portadora de dispositivos cardiacos de estimulación no está descrita. Se presenta un estudio de tipo cohorte retrospectivo realizado en la FCI que recopila las principales características clínicas de una población de pacientes con cardiopatía de variada etiología y portadores de dispositivos cardiacos buscando evaluar la incidencia de FA en presencia de cardiomiopatía de origen chagásico y no chagásico. A la fecha no se cuenta con una base de datos institucional ni regional que contenga las variables analizadas. Durante los 5 meses que duró la construcción de la base de datos se incluyeron 99 sujetos de investigación. Se implantaron 42 marcapasos bicamerales, 39 cardiodesfibriladores bicamerales, 6 dispositivos correspondientes cardiodesfibrilador con función de resincronización cardiaca, 2 resincronizadores cardiacos sin función de cardiodesfibrilador y 7 cardiodesfibriladores unicamerales. De los 99 sujetos recolectados se presentaron 8 desenlaces (FA de novo) y de esos solamente 1 pertenece al grupo de pacientes con cardiomiopatía chagásica. Este número reducido de desenlaces no permitió desarrollar un modelo de regresión de Cox y ni otros tipos de análisis estadísticos planteados en el protocolo inicial debido al bajo número de casos y pobre poder estadístico. Esta dificultad es inherente a la naturaleza del problema a estudiar y al corto tiempo de seguimiento. Por lo anterior no se puede establecer si existe una relación entre la presencia de serología positiva para infección por T. Cruzi y la presencia de FA de novo.

Incidencia de fibrilación auricular en las primeras 72 horas del post operatorio de revascularización miocárdica

Determinar la incidencia de fibrilación auricular en las primeras 72 horas del post operatorio en pacientes llevados a revascularización miocárdica utilizando dos técnicas de anestésia una convencional (AC) con anestésicos inhalados y opioides y otra con dexmedetomidina (AD.). cohorte retrospectivo, en donde se seleccionarán dos grupos de estudio, un grupo de expuestos, pacientes llevados a revascularización miocárdica con utilización técnica anestésica convencional y un grupo de no expuestos pacientes llevados a revascularización miocárdica con uso de dexmedetomidina como técnica de anestesia; A estos grupos se les hizo seguimiento por 72 horas para determinar la presencia de fibrilación auricular y la terapéutica instaurada.

Implante de cartilagem auricular autóloga no reparo de desvio de pênis de bovinos

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Prosthesis Auricular With Osseointegrated Implants and Quality of Life

Implants in craniofacial reconstructions improve prostheses retention and stability, comfort, and safety for the patient. According to biomechanical principles, the treatment success regarding osseointegration maintenance depends on an adequate surgery technique associated to a retention system that provides favorable tension distribution to implants. Implants in the mastoid area are a very important aid for retention of auricular prostheses. Color stability of resin and silicone is an important factor for longevity of auricular prostheses, and the high degree of satisfaction of patients with head and neck defects receiving epithesial reconstruction in the maxillofacial region is demonstrated.

Correspondence of the auricular acupoint with the upper trapezius muscle: A electromyographic study

Presently, acupuncture is a technique considered to be capable of stimulating the regulatory systems of the organism, such as the central nervous system, the endocrine system and the immunological system. The median frequency of the upper trapezium muscle with 40% and 60% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of 15 healthy volunteers, was analyzed after the individuals were submitted to the AA treatment. The non-parametric Friedman test was used to compare median frequency values. In this exploratory study, the level of significance of each comparison was set to p < 0.05. The intraclass analyses indicate a significant increase of the median frequency muscle at 60% of the MVC (Wicoxon test). Based on the results found, the AA peripheral stimulus can act as a modulator mechanism of muscle activity and was possible to verify correspondence of the auricular acupoint with the trapezius muscle. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The use of surface electromyography for the study of auricular acupuncture

The advancement of knowledge in neurophysiology has demonstrated that acupuncture is a method of peripheral neural stimulation that promotes local and systemic reflexive responses. The purpose of this study was to determine if surface electromyography can be used as a tool to study the action of auricular acupuncture on striated skeletal muscle. The electromyographic amplitudes of the anterior, middle and posterior deltoid muscle and the upper trapezium muscle with 20%, 40% and 60% of maximal voluntary contraction of 15 healthy volunteers, were analyzed after the individuals were submitted to the auricular acupuncture treatment. The non-parametric Friedman test was used to compare Root Mean Square values estimated by using a 200 ms moving window. Significant results were further analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. In this exploratory study, the level of significance of each comparison was set to p < 0.05. It was concluded in this study that a surface electromyography can be used as a tool to investigate possible alterations of electrical activity in muscles after auricular acupuncture. However there is still a lack of adequate methodology for its use in this type of study, being that the method used to record the electromyographic signal can also influence the results. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reconhecimento da perda de eficácia de protetor intra-auricular

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Restauração da parede torácica em cães com cartilagem auricular suína tratada pela glicerina

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Acetabuloplastia extracapsular em cães com cartilagem auricular de bovino conservada com glicerina

Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária - FCAV

Reconhecimento da perda de eficácia de protetor intra-auricular

Among the harmful health agents, it is given to the noise, one of the most present in urban and social environments. There are efficient measures to control the noise and the auricular Individual Protection Equipment (IPEa) is the most used. It has been observed the shortage in the comfortable and functional individual auditory protection products, related to durability, face to the efficiency right of the equipment. The main objective of this study was to recognize if there is effectiveness loss toward the used time on the Auditory Equipment, intra-auricular Individual Protection, of foam (3M), model 1110. It has been verified that the equipments suffer efficiency alteration according to the time of use, and the material consuming initiates reliable loss, mainly in audible frequencies going up to 100Hz, and from 16 days for sonorous pressure suffered started in 101dB 20Hz. For sonorous pressure suffered from 107dB to 20Hz, the reliable loss for the usage was of 8 days. The IPEas do not lose effectiveness on important attenuation by the daily use in frequencies from 1KHz until 20KHz. It has been concluded that there is effectiveness loss, according to the daily and frequent use of the IPEa studied.

Enxerto composto auricular na reconstrução da asa nasal

O nariz ocupa o centro da face, o que torna pequenas assimetrias e imperfeições evidentes. Uma de suas subunidades é a asa nasal, região que exige não apenas resultados estéticos, mas também funcionais, em sua reconstrução, tornando-se um desafio ao cirurgião plástico. Neste artigo são descritos 3 casos em que foi utilizado enxerto composto auricular para reconstrução da asa nasal. Os enxertos apresentaram integração total, com resultados estéticos e funcionais adequados. Segundo revisão da literatura, não há diferença nos índices de complicação comparando-se os enxertos com os retalhos locais e, a longo prazo, a cartilagem auricular tende a manter-se no formato moldado, sofrendo raras distorções e mínima ou nenhuma absorção, diferentemente das cartilagens costais e dos enxertos ósseos. O enxerto composto auricular é uma técnica versátil e segura, com excelentes resultados na reconstrução da asa nasal e com baixa morbidade das áreas doadoras, cumprindo com eficiência seu objetivo reparador.

Electrospinning Auricular Shaped Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

Poly(ɛ)caprolactone scaffolds have been electrospun directly into an auricular shaped conductive mould. Bovine chondrocytes were harvested from articular cartilage and seeded onto 16 of the produced scaffolds, which received either an ethanol (group A) or a plasma treatment (group B) for sterilisation before seeding. The seeded scaffolds were cultured for 3 weeks in vitro and analysed with regard to total DNA and GAG content as well as the expression of AGG, COL1, COL2, MMP3 and MMP13. Rapid cell proliferation and GAG accumulation was observed until week 2. However, total DNA and GAG content decreased again in week 3. qPCR data shows a slight increase in the expression of anabolic genes and a slight decrease for the catabolic genes, with a significant difference between the groups A and B only for COL2 and MMP13.