This initial trial demonstrates that sequential therapy of manual lymphatic drainage and compression garments can significantly reduce early postoperative edema after curative surgery for orofacial tumors. The outcome can be quantified by comparing the course of distances between the defined anatomic marks and by sonographic evaluation of soft-tissue width. This pilot study encourages that more controlled, randomized studies, with larger numbers of patients, be conducted to verify these results.

In the treatment of chronic epicondylopathia lateralis humeri, acupuncture in which real acupuncture points were selected and stimulated was superior to non-specific acupuncture with respect to reduction in pain and improvement in the functioning of the arm. These changes are particularly marked at early follow-up.

No abstract

Objective: The clinical long-term effectiveness of real and sham acupuncture treatment on differentiated pain measurement was evaluated in chronic lateral epicondylitis, an example of a tendomyotic disorder. Methods: Randomised, examiner- and patient-blinded controlled clinical study. Outcome measurement: pain at rest, pain on movement, pain on exertion, frequency and duration of pain. Real acupuncture (n = 23) was tested versus invasive sham acupuncture (n = 22). Ten treatments were given (2 treatments/week). Patients were examined at baseline (E1) as well as 2 weeks (E2), 2 months (E3) and 1 year (E4) after the end of treatment. In the treatment with real acupuncture, acupuncture points were selected and mechanically stimulated while in the sham group non-acupuncture points were selected. Results: There was no significant difference between the groups at baseline for any outcome parameter. Two weeks, 2 months and 1 year after the end of treatment there were significant reductions in all pain variables compared to baseline. At the first follow-up, significant group differences were registered for pain on motion and pain on exertion in favour to the real acupuncture group. These differences in pain intensity between the groups were no longer significant at the 2 months and 12 months follow-ups. Conclusion: The results suggest that, in the treatment of chronic epicondylitis, the selection of so-called real acupuncture points gives better results than invasive sham acupuncture at early follow-up. This additional effect can be interpreted as a specific effect of real acupuncture.

To investigate changes of free and sulfoconjugated catecholamines in response to alterations in sympatho-adrenal activity, free and conjugated noradrenaline, adrenaline and dopamine were determined radioenzymatically in plasma of 49 subjects. During brief vigorous bicycle exercise (8 min, maximal heart rate: 177 beats/min) mean free noradrenaline and adrenaline values of 2.0 and 0.51 nmol/l at rest, increased to 6.7 and 2 nmol/l (P less than 0.001) respectively, at the maximal workload of 200 watt, whereas conjugated noradrenaline and adrenaline decreased from 3.4 and 0.8 nmol/l to 2.1 and 0.4 nmol/l (P less than 0.001) respectively. In the tenth min of the recovery period basal free and conjugated noradrenaline and adrenaline levels were measured. The moderate stress of a steam bath (20 min, maximal heart rate: 131 beats/min) doubled free noradrenaline and adrenaline levels. However, conjugated noradrenaline and adrenaline concentrations remained unchanged. The increase in free catecholamine values during an exhausting cross-country march over 20 km was associated with an accumulation of sulfated catecholamines. After a rest of 30 min free noradrenaline and adrenaline reached basal values, whereas conjugated noradrenaline and adrenaline remained elevated by 64 and 70% respectively, compared to pre-exercise concentrations. It was concluded that conjugated noradrenaline and adrenaline may be used as pools for free noradrenaline and adrenaline during brief vigorous exercise. In addition, they may also be indicators of chronic activation of the sympatho-adrenal system.