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Objectives: To observe the effect of mind-regulating acupuncture on pain intensity, sleep quality, negative emotion in patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), and evaluate the clinical effect of mind-regulating acupuncture combined with surrounding needling and heavy moxibustion at Ashi points (Extra) in treatment of PHN., Methods: The patients with PHN were randomly divided into a control group (35 cases, 2 cases dropped out) and a comprehensive therapy group (35 cases). The patients in the control group were treated with surrounding needling and heavy moxibustion at Ashi points. In the comprehensive therapy group, the mind-regulating acupuncture therapy was delivered besides the treatment as the control group. The treatment was given once daily, one course of treatment was composed of 6 days and 2 courses were required in the 2 groups. Before and after treatment, the pain conditions were assessed using pain rating index (PRI), visual analogue scale (VAS) and present pain intensity (PPI), the negative emotions were assessed using Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) and Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), and the sleep quality with Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). One week before and one week after treatment, the average sleep time was recorded. The therapeutic effect of 2 groups was evaluated. The effective cases of 2 groups were followed up in 2 months after treatment completion and the recurrence of neuralgia was recorded., Results: There were no statistical differences in the above indicators between the 2 groups before treatment. After 2 courses of treatment, the scores of PRI, VAS, PPI, HAMA, HAMD and PSQI were reduced when compared with those before treatment in the patients of the 2 groups ( P< 0.05), and the average sleep time was increased ( P< 0.05). The scores of PRI, VAS, PPI, HAMA, HAMD and PSQI in the comprehensive therapy group, as well as the average sleep time were all improved when compared with those of the control group ( P< 0.05). The total effective rate in the comprehensive therapy group (34/35, 97.14%) was higher than that of the control group (27/33, 81.82%, P< 0.05) and the recurrence rate was lower (［2/34, 5.88%］ vs ［8/27, 29.63%］, P <0.05)., Conclusions: The combination of mind-regulating acupuncture with surrounding needling and heavy moxibustion at Ashi acupoint can effectively relieve PHN. Compared with the traditional surrounding acupuncture in pain area combined with moxibustion at Ashi points, this comprehensive therapy is more effective for ameliorating pain intensity, improving sleep quality and reducing negative emotions. It is also effective for declining the recurrence.

Background: S100B is involved in brain injury. This study aimed to determine plasma and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) levels of S100B in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and to correlate S100B levels with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores, ICH volumes, presence of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), and survival rate, and to correlate CSF S100B levels with plasma S100B levels as well as CSF interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) levels., Methods: Ten patients with suspicion of subarachnoid hemorrhage and 38 patients with spontaneous basal ganglia hemorrhage were included in the study. Their plasma and CSF samples were collected. The concentrations of IL-1β in CSF and S100B in plasma and CSF were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay., Results: Plasma or CSF S100B levels in the ICH group were significantly higher than those in the control group (178.7±74.2 versus 63.2±23.0 pg/ml; P<0.001 or 158.1±70.9 versus 1.8±0.7 ng/ml; P<0.001). S100B levels were highly associated with GCS scores, ICH volumes, presence of IVH, and survival rate (all P<0.05). CSF S100B levels were highly associated with plasma S100B levels as well as CSF IL-1β levels (both P<0.01) in patients with ICH. A receiver operating characteristic curve identified CSF and plasma S100B cutoff levels that predicted 1-week mortality of patients with a high sensitivity and specificity. The areas under curves (AUCs) of GCS scores and ICH volumes were larger than those of CSF and plasma S100B levels, but the differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05)., Conclusion: High levels of S100B are present in the cerebrospinal fluid and peripheral blood of patients with ICH and may contribute to the inflammatory processes of ICH. The levels of CSF and plasma S100B after spontaneous onset of ICH seem to correlate with clinical outcome in these patients. Increases in peripheral S100B properly reflect brain injury, and plasma S100B level may serve as a useful clinical marker for evaluating the prognosis of ICH.