Brain Functional Connectivity in Middle-Aged Hong Chuan Tai Chi Players in Resting State.

Tai Chi is an effective strategy for slowing cognitive decline, although the underlying mechanism remains unclear. We designed a cross-sectional study to examine brain functional connectivity in middle-aged Hong Chuan Tai Chi practitioners. Eighteen middle-aged Hong Chuan Tai Chi practitioners and 22 age-matched Tai Chi-naïve controls completed functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) tests to evaluate oxyhemoglobin changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), motor cortex (MC), and occipital cortex (OC) in five frequency intervals (I, 0.6-2 Hz; II, 0.145-0.6 Hz; III, 0.052-0.145 Hz; IV, 0.021-0.052 Hz; V, 0.0095-0.021 Hz). Wavelet phase coherence was used to analyze the match between the instantaneous phases of the two signals to accurately measure brain functional connectivity. Global cognition was measured using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale. Compared with the control group, Hong Chuan Tai Chi practitioners had better global cognition (p < 0.01) and showed higher functional connectivity of the PFC, MC, and OC in intervals I, III, VI, and V in the resting state within the same brain hemispheres or between the left and right hemispheres. Our findings revealed that middle-aged Hong Chuan Tai Chi practitioners had higher functional connectivity of the PFC, MC, and OC across both brain hemispheres in cardiac activity, myogenic activity, sympathetic nervous system, and endothelial cell metabolic activities which may contribute to higher global cognition.

[Auricular acupuncture of magnetic pellet combined with catheter balloon dilatation in treatment of post-stroke cricopharyngeus muscle dysfunction: a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy on post-stroke cricopharyngeus muscle dysfunction treated with auricular acupuncture of magnetic pellet combined with catheter balloon dilatation, and the effect on the adverse reaction during catheter balloon dilatation and the patients' quality of life. METHODS: A total of 106 patients with post-stroke cricopharyngeus muscle dysfunction were randomly divided into an observation group (53 cases, 3 cases dropped off, 1 case excluded) and a control group (53 cases, 5 cases dropped off). The catheter balloon dilatation was provided in the control group, once a day. In the observation group, on the base of the treatment as the control group, auricular acupuncture of magnetic pellet was added. Before catheter balloon dilatation, the magnetic pellet was pressed at Yanhou (TG3), Xin (CO15), Naogan (AT3,4i), etc. These auricular points were pressed 5 min, as well as in every morning and evening for another 5 min, totally 3 times a day. The auricular acupuncture of magnetic pellet was applied on the ears alternatively each time, once every 3 days. One session treatment contained 6 days and 4 sessions of treatment were required in both groups. Before and after treatment, the scores of standardized swallowing assessment (SSA), Rosenbek penetration-aspiration scale (PAS) and swallowing quality of life (SWAL-QOL) were observed in both groups. Separately, on day 1 (T1) of treatment, in 2 weeks into treatment (T2) and on the last day of treatment (T3), the score of visual analogue scale (VAS) was recorded in both groups. The incidence of nausea and vomiting and the clinical efficacy were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, SSA and PAS scores were reduced (P<0.05) and SWAL-QOL scores were increased (P<0.05) in both groups compared with those before treatment, and the changes in the observation group were larger than those in the control group (P<0.05). At T2 and T3, VAS scores were lower than those at T1 in both groups (P<0.05), while VAS score at each time point in the observation group was lower than that of the control group (P<0.05). The incidence of nausea and vomiting in the observation group was 51.0% (25/49), lower than the control group (79.2%, 38/48, P<0.05). The total effective rate was 95.9% (47/49) in the observation group, better than the control group (87.5%, 42/48, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Auricular acupuncture of magnetic pellet combined with catheter balloon dilatation effectively improve the swallowing function, relieve the discomforts during the dilatation and promote the quality of life in patients with post-stroke cricopharyngeus muscle dysfunction.

The Effects of Qigong for Hypertension: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension has been a global public health problem. Qigong as a complementary and alternative therapy is often used to reduce blood pressure. The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate the effects of Qigong on blood pressure in hypertensive patients. METHODS: Six electronic resource databases were searched from inception to January 2019, and randomized controlled trials of Qigong on hypertension were retrieved. Meta-analysis was conducted according to the guidelines of the Cochrane Collaboration, and Review Manager 5.3 was applied. Two researchers independently identified articles to include based on inclusion/exclusion criteria, data extraction, and quality evaluation. RESULTS: Fourteen studies, with 829 individuals, were included. The meta-analysis demonstrates that, compared with no exercise, Qigong has significant positive effects on systolic blood pressure (mean difference = -8.90, 95% CI (-12.13, -5.67), P < 0.00001) and diastolic blood pressure (mean difference = -5.02, 95% CI (-7.88, -2.17), P < 0.00001). There is, however, no significant difference between Qigong and other aerobic exercises in reducing blood pressure. CONCLUSION: Qigong can effectively reduce blood pressure levels. Longer-term engagement in the practice has an even better effect in hypertension patients. However, the conclusion of this study still needs to be verified by more high-quality studies.