David Weightman | PubMed Health

PubMed2005

Good vibrations: do electrical therapeutic massagers work?

Health, leisure and beauty activities are increasing in popularity, with a particular emphasis on self-help and alternative health practices. One product type that has increased sales with this expansion is the hand-held electric massager. These are products that use vibration as a means of alleviating muscular strains and pains, as well as promoting relaxation. Paradoxically, these products are extremely popular as gifts, but are soon discarded. A multi-disciplinary research team was commissioned by a British manufacturer of electrical consumer products to investigate user attitudes and perceptions of existing massagers, to identify areas of user dissatisfaction. The manufacturer was also concerned about a possible stigma attached to these products because of an association with sex aids. This paper provides an account of the perceptions of both consumers and therapists regarding the use of these products. Identifying the differences between the perceptions of consumers and therapists should help provide a basis for effective integration of user needs, manufacturer requirements, designers' skills and sound therapeutic practice. The results provide insight to support the development of more effective hand-held massagers.

Consumer Behavior↗

PubMed2004

A new assay for thyrotropin receptor autoantibodies.

A new procedure for measuring patient serum thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) autoantibodies is described in which the autoantibodies inhibit binding of a human monoclonal thyroid stimulating antibody M22 (labeled with biotin) to TSHR-coated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) plate wells. In the assay, M22-biotin binding is detected by addition of streptavidin peroxidase. The M22 based assay was more sensitive than a similar ELISA based on inhibition of TSH-biotin binding to TSHR coated wells with 1 U/L of NIBSC 90/672 giving approximately 35% inhibition in the M22-based system compared to approximately 15% inhibition in the TSH-based ELISA. This had an important impact on the precision of the 2 assays with the M22-based ELISA showing an interassay coefficient of variation (CV) of 10% at 1 U/L whereas the TSH-based ELISA had an interassay CV of 20% at 1 U/L. Analysis of sera from 307 control subjects without a diagnosis of Graves' disease indicated that only 2 (0.65%) gave inhibition of M22 binding values of greater than 10% (11% and 12% inhibition). In the case of sera from 108 patients with Graves' disease (treated and untreated) 103 (95%) gave inhibition of M22 binding values of 14% or greater. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) plot analysis showed that 100% specificity for TSHR autoantibody detection in Graves' disease was obtained at 95% sensitivity for the M22-based ELISA and 89% sensitivity for the TSH-biotin-based ELISA. Inhibition of M22 binding to the TSHR was closely correlated to inhibition of TSH binding in the 108 Graves' sera (r = 0.99). However, inhibition of M22 binding was almost always greater resulting in improved sensitivity and precision.

Adult↗