Acupuncture for de Quervain's tenosynovitis: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture has been an alternative approach for de Quervain's tenosynovitis (DQt), but trial evidence is still lacking. PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of acupuncture in patients with DQt. STUDY DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial. METHODS: A total of 68 subjects with DQt were recruited from outpatients of Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, and Chinese medicine clinics, The University of Hong Kong, and were randomized into the acupuncture group (n = 34) and the waitlist group (n = 34). Subjects in the acupuncture group received 5 acupuncture sessions over 2 weeks, followed by a 10-week follow-up. The waitlist control group received assessments only in the first 6 weeks of the waiting period and received the same acupuncture treatment and follow-up as the treatment group in the next 12 weeks. The primary outcome was the general pain intensity using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at the end of treatment (week 2). Secondary outcomes were grip and pinch strengths of affected hands, the quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Score (Q-DASH), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-brief Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) at weeks 2 and 6. RESULTS: From baseline to 2 weeks, the mean VAS score decreased by 19.5 points in the acupuncture group and by 3.4 points in the waitlist group. The difference for acupuncture vs waitlist control was -16.2 points (95% CI, -26.7 to -5.6, p = 0.003). Acupuncture effects sustained for 10 weeks (mean difference compared with baseline, -30.6; 95% CI, -39.6 to -21.7). Secondary outcomes showed that acupuncture reduced pain intensity, improved grip and pinch strength of affected hands, and Q-DASH scores, but not the scores of WHOQOL-BREF in patients. No serious adverse event occurred during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support that 2-week of acupuncture is safe and effective in the reduction of pain intensity, and improvement of strengths and disabilities of hand in DQt patients. Acupuncture also has long-term effects on DQt. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03472443).

Gene expression profiles of cold-stored and fresh pollen to investigate pollen germination and growth.

In lily (Lilium longiflorum cv. Avita) pollen cold-stored (-20 degrees C) for 2 months, typical in vitro germination/growth was delayed by about 1 h compared with fresh pollen. We hypothesized that some proteins and mRNAs stored in mature pollen were degraded during storage periods and that re-synthesis of them was essential to resume normal germination and growth. Cold-stored and fresh pollen grains were used to investigate the regulatory mechanism of pollen germination and tube growth in terms of both total protein profile and gene expression. Total protein profiles of cold-stored pollen differed qualitatively and quantitatively from fresh pollen. Actinomycin D significantly inhibited both germination and tube growth of cold-stored pollen and later tube growth of fresh pollen but had no effect on fresh pollen germination and early tube growth. Suppression subtractive hybridization screening revealed 99 cDNAs enriched in fresh mature pollen, and 22 were selected for further characterization. Most of these 22 cDNAs gradually disappeared during cold storage, but full recovery was achieved by incubating the cold-stored pollen in culture medium for 2 h. Because of different sensitivities to cold storage and actinomycin D, the transcripts were divided into three groups according to their possible roles in pollen germination and tube growth. Several cDNAs encoding novel proteins showed pollen-specific expression patterns and may participate in drought tolerance (an Na+/H+ antiporter), endomembrane trafficking (DnaJ), division of the generative cell (Sgt1), pollen wall precursor uptake from stylar exudate (an Na+/myoinositol symporter) and chemotropism of the pollen tube (peptide transporter) during pollination.