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Objective To evaluate the effect of radiant shock wave therapy (RSWT) on postherpetic neuralgia. Methods Twenty-six cases of postherpetic neuralgia were treated with RSWT around the pain point. Before and after the treatment, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Neuropathic Pain Scale (NPS) were used to assess the therapeutic efficacy. Results Twenty-two cases completed RSWT. Two patients who were inconvenient to the clinic and another 2 patients attributed to poor curative effect were transfered to other treatments. After one course of treatment, 22 patients all presented obvious pain relief. The VAS and NPS scores reduced from 8.41 ± 1.11 and 1.88 ± 0.59 to 6.15 ± 1.23 and 1.38 ± 0.60 respectively, and the differences were statistically significant (P = 0.000, for all). After completing two courses of treatment, VAS score reduced to 3.57 ± 1.30 and NPS score reduced to 1.04 ± 0.31 in comparison with pre-treatment, and both of the differences were statistically significant (P = 0.000, for all). Conclusion Radiant shock wave therapy may alleviate the pain of patients with postherpetic neuralgia, which is a valuable method for conservative treatment of postherpetic neuralgia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigated variations in gut microbiota among severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients and changes in gut microbiota after continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment., Method: From November 2020 to August 2021, laboratory-based polysomnography (PSG) was used to measure sleep parameters in healthy controls, severe OSA patients, and severe OSA patients treated with CPAP for three months. A fully automated biochemical analyzer was used to evaluate routine blood tests and biochemical indicators. Whole-genome metagenomic analysis was used to determine the microbial composition of gut samples from all participants. The relationships between gut microbiota and hypertension were examined using correlation analysis., Result: The relative abundances of Bacteroides, Firmicutes, and Parabacteroides were significantly lower at the species level. Enterobacterales and Turicibacter were significantly higher in participants with severe OSA than healthy controls. Negative correlations were identified between Bacteroides coprocola and systolic blood pressure (SBP) (r =  - 0.710, P = 0.003) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (r =  - 0.615, P = 0.015). Conversely, a positive correlation was found between Escherichia coli and SBP (r = 0.568, P = 0.027)., Conclusion: The metabolic pathways and gut microbiota differed significantly between the control group and individuals with severe OSA. Additionally, CPAP therapy substantially changed the metabolic pathways and gut microbial composition among patients diagnosed with severe OSA. Correlation analysis further revealed a strong association between Escherichia coli, Bacteroides coprocola, and blood pressure levels., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The research was carried out in alignment with the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and received approval from the Ethics Committee of the PLA General Hospital (S2020-397–02). Conflict of interest: There are no potential conflicts of interest regarding this study., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)