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Treatment Methods
Published in Yamuna Deepani Siriwardana, Leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka, 2023
Thermotherapy had been tested for its efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness on locally acquired cutaneous leishmaniasis with single lesions (Refai et al., 2017). A group of 98 patients receiving single sessions of radiofrequency-induced heat therapy (RFHT) at 50°C for 30 seconds had achieved a 66% cure rate at the end of a year without major adverse effects as compared to 59.4% cure rate achieved with IL-SSG treatment. Cost of treatment was assessed using the scenario building technique. The cure rate achieved by RFHT was significantly higher than the cure rate of SSG treatment during early weeks but was comparable after 10 weeks. Authors have reported a single application of RFHT as a safe, cost-effective, and convenient option as compared to multiple doses of IL-SSG for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka.
Prenatal Care
Published in Vincenzo Berghella, Obstetric Evidence Based Guidelines, 2022
Gabriele Saccone, Kerri Sendek
Pregnancy-specific exercises, physiotherapy, and acupuncture starting <32 weeks for 10 sessions appear to reduce back and pelvic pain; individual acupuncture sessions are more beneficial than group physiotherapy sessions. Education, other exercises, massage, heat therapy, support belts, analgesic therapy, etc., have not been studied in a trial in pregnancy for back pain relief.
Aspects of Circulatory Responses in Animals Pertinent to the Use of Hyperthermia in Cancer Treatment
Published in Leopold J. Anghileri, Jacques Robert, Hyperthermia in Cancer Treatment, 2019
A highly critical role is played by the circulatory system in the control of body temperature. Increased blood flow to superficial body tissues (the body “shell”) to transport heat, water, electrolytes, metabolites, and humoral agents is necessary to increase heat loss during hyperthermia. Further, thermal information must be transferred via the circulation, between sites within the body. Detailed discussion has been presented in several recent reviews.1-3 Thus, it is very probable that the hyperthermia sometimes employed in cancer therapy will be accompanied by circulatory responses. With such therapy, it is common for general body or local tissue temperature to be raised to 42 to 43°C4 and therefore both direct and reflex effects of temperature stimulation on local and distal tissue blood flows are likely to occur. Such effects will have implications for tissue metabolism, body heat balance, and the efficacy of the hyperthermia treatment; however, they do not appear to have been studied. The actual blood flow appears to be relatively low in tumors compared with normal tissue.5,6 This on the one hand means that localized heat therapy can be applied to a greater degree with less risk of heat damage to nearby normal tissue,7 but on the other hand means that relatively less intravascularly delivered cancericidal agent will be delivered to its target.
The Efficacy of Warm Compresses in the Treatment of Meibomian Gland Dysfunction and Demodex Folliculorum Blepharitis
Published in Current Eye Research, 2020
Orla Murphy, Veronica O’ Dwyer, Aoife Lloyd-Mckernan
Similarly, no significant change was detected in quantity of DF using the traditional modified Coston method,48 for any of the warm compresses studied. As can be seen from the current study, the quantity of DF detected whilst rotating the eyelash in-situ was significantly greater than that observed on microscopic examination (paired t-test p = .014, p = .015 and p = .007 for baseline, week four and week eight respectively). No significant difference was observed in both techniques in week two, where overall a low quantity of DF was detected. The authors postulate that the low quantity of DF detected in week two may be as a result of subjects using the warm compresses for 10 minutes twice a day. After two weeks, subjects reduced treatment time to 10 minutes once a day, and the quantities of DF appeared to increase again slightly. Thus, suggesting a direct correlation between length of heat therapy and therapeutic effect. The authors speculate that the lack of significant results found using the modified Coston method was due to the limitations of the method. Undercounting, results in reduced quantities of DF, which affects the compresses ability to demonstrate change, as outlined previously.
Microwave diathermy induces mitogen-activated protein kinases and tumor necrosis factor-α in cultured human monocytes
Published in Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine, 2019
George Lagoumintzis, Andreas Andrikopoulos, Adam Adamopoulos, Ioannis Seimenis, Constantinos Koutsojannis
Rehabilitation practice for most clinical protocols consists of a combined use of thermotherapy that is produced from diathermy devices resulting faster and deeper heating to the patient (Shields et al., 2003). Heat therapy depends on patient’s tissue sensitivity and this factor controls the safe dosage that will be used by a physiotherapist for the application of each treatment protocol (Andrikopoulos et al., 2017; Shields et al., 2003). Almost every health care professional during physical therapy routine experiences exposure to electromagnetic field (EMF) of high frequency caused by different types of thermotherapy devices used. The user-manual of these devises includes general instructions (maintenance, operation, precautionary practices, etc.) and intent to familiarize the operator before the clinical use on patients (Murray and Kitchen, 2000; Shields et al., 2004, 2003). The device is meant to be used by a health care professional such as a physiotherapist or a licensed practitioner always under the supervision of the first one (European Parliament and Council Directive 2005/36/EC).
Serum from young, sedentary adults who underwent passive heat therapy improves endothelial cell angiogenesis via improved nitric oxide bioavailability
Published in Temperature, 2019
Vienna E. Brunt, Karen M. Weidenfeld-Needham, Lindan N. Comrada, Michael A. Francisco, Taylor M. Eymann, Christopher T. Minson
Heat therapy, in the form of chronic use of hot tubs and saunas, has been gaining attention recently for its utility as a health-promoting lifestyle intervention. Several studies have shown that infrared sauna therapy improves clinical symptoms and outcomes of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) [1–3] and, in epidemiological studies, higher frequency and duration per session of lifelong sauna use has been associated with greatly reduced risk of CVD-related and all-cause mortality [4]. It is likely that these lifelong CV protective effects of heat therapy are related to effects on the vasculature, as the majority of CVDs are characterized and preceded by vascular dysfunction [5–7], including vascular endothelial dysfunction and stiffening of the large elastic arteries. These changes to arteries occur in large part due to superoxide-driven oxidative stress that reduces bioavailability of vasodilatory molecule nitric oxide (NO) [8,9]. We previously demonstrated that 8 wk of heat therapy via hot water immersion induces widespread and robust improvements in vascular function in young, sedentary adults [10], including improved brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (a measure of endothelial function), reduced arterial stiffness, and reduced blood pressure, all of which are independently predictive of CV-related morbidity and mortality [11–14]. Furthermore, using cutaneous microdialysis, we demonstrated that improvements in endothelial function were mediated by enhanced NO-dependent dilation [15].