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Biomedical subjects

Y Wyon

Publications and source records attributed to Y Wyon.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Acupuncture treatment of vasomotor symptoms in men with prostatic carcinoma: a pilot study.

PURPOSE: Most men who undergo castration therapy for prostatic carcinoma will have vasomotor symptoms that usually persist for years. Vasomotor symptoms are elicited from the thermoregulatory center, possibly due to a decrease in hypothalamic opioid activity induced by low sex steroid concentrations. Acupuncture treatment in women, which stimulates hypothalamic opioid activity, alleviates vasomotor symptoms. We report on men treated with acupuncture for relief of vasomotor symptoms after castration therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We asked 7 men with vasomotor symptoms due to castration therapy to receive acupuncture treatment 30 minutes twice weekly for 2 weeks and once a week for 10 weeks. Effects on flushes were recorded in logbooks. RESULTS: Of the 7 men 6 completed at least 10 weeks of acupuncture therapy and all had a substantial decrease in the number of hot flushes (average 70% after 10 weeks). At 3 months after the last treatment the number of flushes was 50% lower than before therapy. Therapy was discontinued after 10 weeks because of a femoral neck fracture in 1 man and after 3 weeks due to severe back pain in 1. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture may be a therapeutic alternative in men with hot flushes after castration therapy and merits further evaluation.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed1998

Postmenopausal women with vasomotor symptoms have increased urinary excretion of calcitonin gene-related peptide.

OBJECTIVES: To establish whether 24 h urinary excretion of the potent vasodilator calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) was higher in postmenopausal women with vasomotor symptoms compared to the level in women without symptoms. We also wanted to establish whether urinary excretion of CGRP changed during the menstrual cycle in women of fertile age. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirteen postmenopausal women with and 13 women without vasomotor symptoms were included. Urine was collected over 24 h and CGRP excretion was measured utilizing radio-immunoassay technique. Twenty-four hour CGRP excretion was also measured in ten fertile women with regular cycles in early follicular, preovulatory and midluteal phase. RESULTS: Twenty-four hour urinary excretion of CGRP was significantly higher in women with vasomotor symptoms compared to non-flushing women (median 7.16 vs 5.15 pmol/24 h; P = 0.028). CGRP concentrations were stable throughout the ovulatory cycles. CONCLUSION: The 24 h urinary excretion of CGRP is higher in women with vasomotor symptoms than in women without these symptoms. CGRP may be the mediator of vasodilator signals originating from the thermoregulatory center.

Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide↗
PubMed1998

Effects of physical activity and acupuncture on calcitonin gene-related peptide immunoreactivity in different parts of the rat brain and in cerebrospinal fluid, serum and urine.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a very potent vasodilator in the nervous system, and may be involved in hot flushes experienced by most women around menopause. Flushing post-menopausal women had higher urinary excretion of CGRP before than after successful treatment of their flushes with acupuncture. The prevalence of vasomotor symptoms is lower in physically active women. In a rat model we therefore intended to assess whether acupuncture and exercise affected CGRP concentrations in different parts of the brain and peripherally. The aim of the study was to elucidate the short- and long-term effects of exercise and acupuncture on CGRP concentrations in the nervous system of normal adult rats. In a rat model, we examined the effects of single interventions and long-term treatment with physical exercise and manual or electro-acupuncture on CGRP concentrations in urine, cerebrospinal fluid and serum and different parts of the brain. In all compartments studied, but significantly only in the cerebrospinal fluid, CGRP increased after a single session of physical exercise or electro-acupuncture. Manual acupuncture did not change CGRP concentrations in any compartment. Rats had the highest concentrations of CGRP in the pituitary and hypothalamus but the concentrations did not differ significantly between control rats and those subjected to long-term treatment with manual or electro-acupuncture or running rats. Rats treated with electro-acupuncture had twice the CGRP concentration in the frontal cortex compared to control rats, albeit the difference did not reach statistical significance. Evidently manual and electro-acupuncture have different effects, whereas electro-acupuncture and physical exercise have more similar effects on CGRP production and/or release. To elucidate the role of CGRP in vasomotor symptoms, further studies with older flushing rats should be performed.

Anesthesia, Intravenous↗
PubMed1997

[Estrogen and natural products in the treatment of postmenopausal complaints. Oral contraceptives prepare the way for hormonal substitution].

To chart current and previous use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and alternative remedies in a postmenopausal population, in relation to previous oral contraceptive (OC) usage, all 1,323 55-56-year-old women living in Linköping in 1995 were sent a questionnaire concerning health status and climacteric symptoms, and previous and/or current use of HRT, OCs and alternative remedies. Current HRT was more common among previous OC users than among those who had never used OCs (41.4 vs. 23.1 percent). As compared with non-HRT users, HRT users were characterised by greater physical activity but less strenuous occupations, and a higher prevalence of hysterectomy. Of the series as a whole, 35 per cent were currently on HRT, half of them having been so for at least two years, and only 5 per cent had abandoned HRT after trying it for some time. Alternative remedies were used by 5 per cent of the women as therapy for climacteric complaints, but about four times as many women had tried such therapy and abandoned it. The sole characteristic feature of alternative remedy usage was that it was less common among hysterectomised women. Of women treated for breast cancer, none used HRT and few used alternative remedies. Thus, in this postmenopausal population, the prevalence of HRT was high, as was the level of compliance. Previous OC usage was probably a determinant of current attitudes toward HRT.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Problem-based medical education: development of a theoretical foundation and a science-based professional attitude.

Problem-based learning, combined with early patient contact, integration between different subject areas, elements of multiprofessional education, and special emphasis on the development of communications skills has become the basis for the medical curriculum at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping. Critics have questioned the depth of the scientific and theoretical aspects of the curriculum. Through a series of specific measures in the organization of the curriculum and examinations, and due to the pedagogical principles involved per se, our claim is that students graduating at Linköping do possess the required theoretical knowledge and a scientific attitude to the practice of medicine, at least equivalent to that obtained in a more conventional medical curriculum. One such specific measure is that all students perform one field study and two scientific studies during the course of the curriculum. An investigation of student opinions regarding the value of performing scientific projects of their own have shown that these projects have had a positive impact on the students' general scientific attitude and their willingness to engage in future scientific work. The specific skills acquired, as confirmed by oral examinations, were largely determined by the scientific nature of the chosen field of study. Our graduates have not yet progressed far enough in their careers for comparisons to be made on the basis of the Swedish Licensing Board Internship Examinations, but continuing evaluations of students, graduates and licensed doctors emerging from the curriculum will provide future evidence as to whether our present evaluation is correct.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1996

Hormone replacement therapy and previous use of oral contraceptives among Swedish women.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the current and previous use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and alternative remedies in a postmenopausal population and to relate HRT use to previous use of oral contraceptives. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All 1323 women living in Linköping of 55 or 56 years old during 1995 were sent a questionnaire asking for data with relation to health and climacteric symptoms as well as to previous and current use of HRT, oral contraceptives and alternative remedies. RESULTS: Current use of HRT was more common among women who previously used oral contraceptives (41.3%) than among women who had never used oral contraceptives (23.1%). HRT users were also more often physically active, had undergone hysterectomy and had lighter occupation than non-users. Of all women 35% were current users of HRT, half of them for at least 2 years, whereas only 5% had tried HRT and abandoned therapy. Alternative remedies were used by 5% of the women as therapy for climacteric complaints, and about four times as many women had tried such therapy but abandoned it. The only characteristic about use of alternative medicines was that they were used less often by women who had been hysterectomized. No women treated for breast cancer used HRT and only few of them used alternative remedies. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of HRT use, as well as compliance, was high. Previous use of oral contraceptives probably affected the attitude towards using HRT.

Climacteric↗
PubMed1994

[Acupuncture against climacteric disorders? Lower number of symptoms after menopause].

Vasomotor symptoms are very common among perimenopausal women, but also among orchidectomized men. The cause of the symptoms is not the low steroid concentrations per se, but probably changes in central neuropeptide activity. Twenty-four healthy women with natural menopause, suffering from hot flushes, were included in the study and randomly assigned to either of two groups, one group received treatment with electrostimulated acupuncture (EA), the other with superficial needle position (SNP) acupuncture. Treatment was given for totally of eight weeks, twice a week during the first two weeks, and then once a week for the remaining six weeks. As recorded in logbooks kept by the participants, the frequency of flushes decreased significantly by more than 50 per cent in both groups, and remained decreased in the EA group, whereas in the SNP group it increased slightly again over the three months after treatment. Values for the Kupperman Index decreased in both groups during treatment, changes still evident at three-month follow-up, whereas the self-rated general climacteric symptoms (VAS) decreased significantly in the EA group only. The PGWB (Psychological General Well-Being) index did not change significantly in either group during treatment.

Acupuncture Therapy↗