Blog Arasys Perfector - Xanya Sofra Weiss

O B J E C T I V E— To evaluate the efficacy of combining electrotherapy with amitriptyline for the management of chronic painful peripheral neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— Patients (n = 26) with peripheral neuro p athy were treated with amitriptyline. After 4 weeks, those patients (n = 23) who failed to re s p o n d to amitriptyline or who only had partial relief were randomized between a sham tre a t m e n t g roup (control) or an electrotherapy group. Transcutaneous electrotherapy was given for 12 weeks by a portable unit (H-wave machine) that generated a biphasic exponentially decaying w a v e f o rm (pulse width 4 ms, 25–35 V, 2 Hz). The degree of pain and discomfort was graded on a scale of 0–5. An analog scale was used to re c o rd the overall change in symptoms.
R E S U LT S— Amitriptyline produced some degree of symptomatic relief in 15 (60%) of the 26 patients by the 4th week; pain scores decreased from 3.8 ± 0.1 to 2.9 ± 0.2 (P 0.1) and the overall reduction in pain was 26 ± 5% on an analog scale. In the amitriptyline plus sham t reatment group (n = 9), pain scores declined from 2.8 ± 0.3 to 1.9 ± 0.5 (P 0.03) and the overall reduction in pain was 55 ± 12%, suggesting a pro c e d u re - related placebo effect. In the g roup receiving combined electrotherapy and amitriptyline (n = 14), symptomatic impro v ement occurred in 12 (85%) patients. Five (36%) of the patients in this group became asymptomatic. Pain scores declined from 3.2 ± 0.2 to 1.4 ± 0.4 (P 0.01) and the overall re d u c t i o n in pain was 66 ± 10%. The degree of reduction in pain scores and the incremental relief (above the amitriptyline effect) were significantly greater (P 0.03) with electrotherapy as compare d with sham treatment. The outcomes indicate a substantial beneficial effect of electro t h e r a p y over and above any placebo influ e n c e .
C O N C L U S I O N S— Our clinical observations suggest that transcutaneous electrotherapy is e ffective in reducing the pain associated with peripheral neuro p a t h y. This form of therapy may be a useful adjunctive modality when it is combined with a pharmacological agent, such as amitriptyline, to augment symptomatic re l i e f .

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Every organ and cell in the human body uses ionic currents in the performance of critical daily functions. Electricity is the common denominator of all parts composing the Gestalt of a living organism. Except that the electricity it takes to run a cell is so miniscule that it is estimated to be below the nano ampere range- i.e. less than one over a billion of an ampere (Neher, Nobel Prize 1991). Every cell generates a voltage of roughly 70 mV (millivolt — one thousandth of a volt) across its outer membrane, which is used for a variety of signaling and transport functions (R. Nuccitelli, 2003). Many organ functions are coordinated with electrical signals, such as the wave of depolarisation that sweeps over the heart to trigger a synchronous contraction to pump blood efficiently. Abnormalities in this electrical signal can lead to fibrillation and heart attacks. The voltages generated by the contracting heart are so large that they can be easily detected at the surface of the body and this signal, called the electrocardiogram or EKG, is routinely used to diagnose heart disease. With this abundant use of electrical signals in cellular and organ function, it should not be a surprise that endogenous electric fields are also important for normal development, cellular regeneration and wound healing.

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Aging is not just the sum total of individually deteriorating cells. Aging is the dynamic process of increasing imbalances in the systemic organization of these cells. Antiaging reflects a multilevel approach that simultaneously targets a number of biological network modules. Identifying these dynamically organized network modules will be very important in formulating a model of how and why the aging process takes place and whether or not we can reverse aging by reorganizing an aged network model. How can a biological network be reorganized? The old, the ill, and the injured all suffer from disarranged patterns of atoms, whether disarranged by aging and accumulated free radicals, invading viruses, or unfortunate accidents. Aged and young are the Gestalts on opposite poles composed of variations in the arrangement of their dynamically organized networks.

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Xanya Sofra Weiss

The use of radiofrequency (RF) for selective electrothermolysis has been found to produce a highly efficient
thermal effect on biological tissue. Different from optical energy, RF energy is dependent on the electrical properties of the tissue rather than on concentration of chromophores in the skin for selective thermal destruction of targeted sites. Good results have been obtained with systems that use RF current alone for skin resurfacing, with efficacy comparable to laser resurfacing but with potentially more rapid healing. A related adverse effect is pain accompanying the procedure, due to a high depth of penetration. Another technology integrates RF energy together with optical energy (using lower energies of both forms of energies). These systems have shown efficacy in hair removal for all hair colors and skin types, as well as wrinkle reduction; and may reduce the risk of side effects associated with either RF or optical treatments alone. This article discusses the properties of electrical current in medicine and reviews the studies to date that have evaluated RF energy for dermatological applications. Lasers Surg. Med. 34:91–97, 2004

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Modern electronics and molecular biology research are combined to deduce the specifications for a technology that promotes Healthy Anti-aging. Resonating the firings, spatial organization and rhythms of electrically excitable cells leads to healing and rejuvenation in a completely safe, noninvasive method. The pervasive presence of ionic currents in core biological functions: (1) signal transduction, (2) the electrical conductivity of DNA, (3) the electromagnetic dynamics of protein conformation, render nanoelectricity the common denominator of all integral parts composing the Gestalt of a living organism. However, to date, few devices pay attention to waveform formation that reflects the essense of cellular communications. A simple square waveform is too impoverished to resonate the harmonious complexity of a biological system, the way a two piece band is insufficient in delivering the musical richness of a symphony. The waveform is as important in cellular resonance as language is in verbal communication. Language is confined by grammar and syntax rules in order to convey a message correctly. Similarly, a waveform is confined by the spatial organization and rythm of endogenous electrical signals that cells use in their multifaceted networking. Ion resonance has a harmonic specificity that has to be encompassed before a device is designed. There is a lot to be gained by developing a device that can emit signals capable of intertwining with those of signal transduction receptors (including G proteins, gene transcription and the activation of T cells). Such a device will not only become the protagonist in Anti-aging but it will have sufficient sophistication to heal disease and enhance overall immune efficiency.

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Calcium salts are often present in the center of all types of gallstones. Matrix proteins are known to be essential for biomineralization and may therefore also be important in the formation and growth of gallstones. Other researchers have described an anionic peptide fraction of a biliary lipoprotein complex in bile and a low - molecular weight acidic glycoprotein present in gallstones. Our goal was to determine whether such a protein was present in bile and whether this protein has any calcium-binding properties. We identified a
pigment-associated, highly acidic protein that precipitates from bile on addition of CaCl2 0.5 mol/L. In addition, the protein is selectively concentrated in cholesterol and pigment stones. We have, therefore, confirmed the findings of these other researchers, and we have extended the study of this protein’s interactions with calcium. Sodium dodecylsulfate - polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis demonstrates a single band (molecular weight 14 kD) that reacts positively with cationic stains. The protein was shown to inhibit the precipitation of CaCO3 from a supersaturated solution. The capacity to bind calcium was further confirmed by autoradiography with 45Ca++ and by a membrane adsorption - binding assay. Calcium-induced aggregation was demonstrated by equilibrium dialysis and by quasielastic light scattering studies. Protein measured by Lowry’s assay method and amino acid analysis constitutes only 2% to 4% of the harvested material. We speculate that a substantial lipid component may also be present. The presence of this material in bile, its ability to bind pigment and calcium, its presumed lipid content, its self-aggregation in the presence of calcium and its selective incorporation into gallstones suggest that it may play a functional role in the pathogenesis of gallstones.

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Xanya Sofra Weiss

In microneurography experiments 56 unmyelinated nerve fibers were studied in the cutaneous branch of the peroneal nerve of healthy volunteers. Units were identified with the “marking” technique as mechanically and heat-responsive (CMH; n 5 30), heat-responsive (CH; n 5 13), or unresponsive to mechanical and heat stimulation (CMiHi ; n 5 13). None of the units showed spontaneous activity. These units were tested for responsiveness to iontophoresis of histamine (1 mA, 20 sec) from a small probe (diameter, 6 mm), which induced itch sensations lasting several minutes. Twenty-three units were unresponsive to histamine, and 25 units responded weakly with a few spike discharges after iontophoresis. Eight units, however, responded with sustained discharges to histamine, and their discharge patterns were matching the time course of the itch sensations. All C-units in this group were mechanically insensitive, and five of them were heat-responsive. They had very low conduction velocities of only 0.5 m/sec, on average, which is significantly lower than conduction velocities of the “polymodal” CMH units. This slow conduction velocities attributable to small axon diameters may be one reason why these units have not been encountered in previous studies. Histaminesensitive C-units had very large innervation territories extending up to a diameter of 85 mm on the lower leg. We conclude that these C-fibers represent a new class of afferent nerve fibers with particularly thin axons but excessive terminal branching. This type of C-fiber probably represents the afferent units long searched for mediating itch sensations.

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Brain functions are regulated by chemical messengers that include neurotransmitters and neuropeptides. Recent studies have shown that acupuncture or electrical stimulation in specific frequencies applied to certain body sites can facilitate the release of specific neuropeptides in the CNS, eliciting profound physiological effects and even activating self-healing mechanisms. Investigation of the conditions controlling this neurobiological reaction could have theoretical and clinical

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Messenger ribonucleic acid encoding the alpha-subunit of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (camkII) is abundantly and constitutively expressed in dendrites of pyramidal and granule cell neurons of the adult hippocampus. Recent evidence suggests that camkII messenger ribonucleic acid is stored in a translationally dormant state within ribonucleic acid storage granules. Delivery of camkII messenger ribonucleic acid from sites of storage to sites of translation may therefore be a key step in activity-driven dendritic protein synthesis and synaptic plasticity. Here we explored possible camkII trafficking in the context of long-term potentiation in the dentate gyrus of awake, adult rats. Long-termpotentiation was induced by patterned high-frequency stimulation, synaptodendrosomes containing pinched-off dendritic spines were obtained from microdissected dentate gyrus, and messenger ribonucleic acid levels were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. High-frequency stimulation triggered a rapid 2.5-fold increase in camkII messenger ribonucleic acid levels in the synaptodendrosome fraction. This increase occurred in the absence of camkII upregulation in the homogenate fraction, indicating trafficking of pre-existing messenger ribonucleic acid to synaptodendrosomes. The elevation in camkII messenger ribonucleic acid was paralleled by an increase in protein expression specific to the synaptodendrosome fraction, and followed by depletion of camkII message. Activity-dependent regulation of camkII messenger ribonucleic acid and protein did not require N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation. In contrast, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation was required for induction of the immediate early genes zif268 and activity-regulated cytoskeleton associated protein in dentate gyrus homogenates. The results support a model in which locally stored camkII messenger ribonucleic acid is rapidly transported to dendritic spines and translated during long-term potentiation in behaving rats.

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Xanya Sofra Weiss

The case is described of a 51-year-old man with a 21 year history of severe, longlasting and widespread muscle cramps. Physical examination revealed muscle hypertrophy and fasciculation; electromyography showed spontaneously active motor units which disappeared during sleep. Cramps could be aborted by ice or mechanical vibration but the most effective management was achieved using transcutaneous nerve stimulation.

Xanya Sofra Weiss

Xanya Sofra Weiss