The risk of symptomatic emboli associated with IE was reduced in patients who received continuous daily antiplatelet therapy before onset of IE.

Twenty-eight male albino rats were given a single 4-sec 1-rnA electric-grid-shock unconditioned stimulus (US). In the same session they received two 12-sec conditioned stimuli (CSs). One CS (explicitly unpaired) terminated 180 sec before the US began; the other (backward paired) began immediately after the US terminated. The CSS used were a 1000-Hz 85-dB tone and an 84-dB click; their roles were counterbalanced. Over the next 2 days, each CS was presented for 2 min while the rats drank from a water bottle. The backward-paired CS was found to suppress licking more than the explicitly unpaired CS. This suppression was accompanied by an increase in defensive behavior (freezing and freeze/nod) and by a decrease in other activity. The suppression did not seem to be due to a maintained or enhanced CS-orienting response reflex, nor could it be attributed to an adventitiously reinforced interfering operant. The results support the presumption made in previous reports that the lick suppression evoked by a backward CS reflected onetrial backward excitatory fear conditioning.The topic of backward conditioning has been controversial since the time of Pavlov. The history of that controversy is so well known that it needs no recitation. In recent times, the controversy has continued unabated. For example, in concluding a recent review article on backward conditioning, Spetch, Wilkie, and Pinel (1981) stated that "the empirical evidence for its existence can no longer be ignored. Thus the time for disputing whether backward conditioning is possible is past; it is time instead for systematic exploration of the variables that affect the magnitude and duration of the effect" (p. 174). By way of contrast, an even more recent review (Hall, 1984) concluded that "when only traditional Pavlovian conditioning studies are examined, the experimental fmdings suggest that UCS-CS trials [the backward conditioning procedure] will result in inhibition" (p. 163).The fact that these two reviews reached different conclusions is due in part to a disagreement about what kinds of studies should be reviewed. Spetch et al. leaned heavily on studies that used the conditioned suppression procedure. In that procedure, a conditioned stimulus (CS), such as a light or tone, previously paired with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US), such as an electric shock, is presented to an animal working for some reward. The suppression in the rate of that rewarded behavior is taken as an index of the CS's conditioned strength. Hall (1984)

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Background Myofascial pain is a prevalent chronic pain disorder, affecting a large proportion of the general population. Electric stimulation techniques such as transcutaneous electric stimulation (TENS) and electroacupuncture have been shown to be effective for managing chronic pain conditions including myofascial pain. The goal of this study was to review the literature on the effectiveness of electric stimulation techniques on myofascial pain. Methods A comprehensive systematic search of three databases—Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL—was conducted using key words related to myofascial pain and trigger points, as well as various electric stimulation techniques. A total of 15 articles passed the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the study. Data were extracted from these studies and assessed qualitatively and quantitatively. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were computed from pain intensity measures extracted from these studies. Subgroup analyses were performed to assess the effectiveness of treatment modality, number of treatment sessions, frequency of stimulation, location of treatment, and duration of treatment. Results The SMD for electric stimulation techniques on reported pain intensity was significant (P = 0.03), as was the SMD for the electroacupuncture subgroup (P = 0.02); the TENS subgroups’ effect was not significant (P = 0.17). The subgroup analyses tentatively suggest that frequency and number of treatments do not influence pain intensity, whereas the duration of treatment may have an effect. The qualitative results of this study revealed variability in the results among studies delivering TENS treatments. Conclusions Electric stimulation is effective at mitigating reported pain intensity at the location of the trigger point. Electroacupuncture presented with significant and larger effect sizes of improvement relative to TENS for reported pain intensity. Given that this review included a small number of studies, there is a need for additional research to confirm its findings. Additionally, studies assessing the parameters and physiological location of treatment are needed to inform the clinical use and recommendations of electric stimulation treatments.