A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Technikon Natal, 1997. / The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the spinous push versus the transverse process contact rotary type adjustments in the treatment of sub-acute and chronic mechanical upper thoracic and neck pain. It was hypothesized that both adjustments, over a maximum of nine treatments with two treatments per week and a further four week follow-up period, would be effective in terms of improving the patients' cervical ranges of motion, vertebral pressure pain threshold levels and their perceptions of pain and disability. The study design was a randomized, un-blinded, un-controlled comparative group study with a sample population consisting of thirty consecutive patients (Ave. age 35.4 years; M:F 16: 14) suffering from joint dysfunction of the cervical or upper thoracic spine. Each group received one adjustment two times a week for a maximum of nine treatments. Soft tissue therapy was employed in each treatment as a pre-adjustment procedure. The objective data collected was goniometrically assessed cervical range of motion and algometrically assessed vertebral pressure pain thresholds. The subjective data was collected by means of the CMCC Neck Disability, the Short Form McGill Pain and the Numerical Pain Rating Scale-l0 1 Questionnaires. / M

A dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Diploma in Technology: Homoeopathy, Technikon NataI, 1994. / The efficacy of Pilocarpus Jaborandi in the management of emotional palmar hyperhidrosis was studied. It was hypothesised that this homoeopathic drug would cause a significant decrease in sweat production rates. The study was double blinded and consisted of thirty treated patients, with fifteen patients in group and fifteen patients in the the placebo group. Patients were chosen by convenience sampling with no specifications of age or sex. The treated group received Pilocarpus Jaborandi 9 CH, and were instructed to take five pills on waking everyday for ninety days. The other group received a placebo also for ninety days. Quantification of the first day, on ninetieth day of sweat production was done on the forty-fifth day and treatment, by means of on the sweat collection tests. In each test sweat was / M

M.Tech.

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements of the Master’s Degree in Technology: Homoeopathy, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Aim The purpose of this research study was to compare the similarity and differences of the rubrics from a proving of a homoeopathic complex (Cinnabaris 12CH, Hydrastis canadensis 12CH and Kalium bichromicum 12CH) in order to establish whether the symptoms are similar to the individual constituents, or whether a new remedy is produced when individual remedies are combined. The research questions addressed by the study were: 1) Will the twelfth centesimal potency (12CH) of the homoeopathic complex produce clearly observable signs and symptoms in healthy provers? 2) Will the majority of signs and symptoms of the complex be similar to those of its constituent parts? Methodology The proving was a randomised double blind placebo controlled study involving 20 participants who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The provers were randomly assigned to either a verum (80%) or placebo group (20%). Provers recorded their symptoms in their journals for one week prior to administration of the proving complex in order to establish a baseline for comparison. The proving complex was in form of lactose granules dispensed in lactose powders. Provers were given six lactose powders, one powder to be taken sublingually three times a day or until symptoms occurred. The provers recorded all mental or physical symptoms experienced in their journals. Once the proving was completed the journals were collected and symptoms derived from the recordings were collated and analysed. This information was converted to materia medica and repertory format. The researcher then analysed each rubric in order to establish if any or all of the three remedies of the complex appeared in that rubric. This comparison reflected the number of rubrics that contained the individual remedies of the complex. In this way the researcher established the rubrics that were unique to the complex as a whole. vi Results A total of 337 rubrics were produced by the proving. The analysis of rubrics showed that 216 rubrics did not contain any of the three remedies; 72 rubrics contained at least one of the three remedies; 29 rubrics contained two of the three remedies; and 20 rubrics contained all three remedies. Eighteen new rubrics were identified. In analysing the symptoms elucidated, a definite polarity between symptoms was noted, including within the same prover. This was the case with mental and physical symptoms. A vast range of symptoms was produced, spanning 29 sections of the repertory, with the majority being physical, related to headaches were quite common amongst provers, pain in the abdominal region, pain in the extremities, eye symptoms such as lachrymation and pain, pain in the throat, chest and neck, skin eruptions. Sinusitis or rhinitis symptoms such as nasal itching, sinus congestion, nasal discharge and sneezing were observed. A significant change in appetite and thirst was seen. The main regions that had an affinity for the complex were the head, abdomen and extremities with pain as the main symptom. Conclusion The substance did produce signs and symptoms in the provers, so Research Question 1 was answered with a “Yes”. Only a small proportion (0.05%) of the rubrics from the proving contained all three constituent remedies, therefore Research Question 2 was answered with a “No”. The results show that although the proving symptoms shared a small degree of similarity to the constituent remedies, the complex as an entity formed its own individual picture. / M

Mini-dissertation in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban Institute of Technology, 2005. / According to the recent literature the application of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) is the mainstay and first line of conventional treatment for many types of pain, including that of spinal origin (DiPalma and DiGregorio 1994; Dabbs and Lauretti 1995; Koes et al. 1997). NSAID therapy has inherent side effects (Goodman and Simon 1994), however, given the risks involved, they are still of value as an adjunct to spinal manipulation (Crawford 1988), which has been shown to have less side effects and be more effective than conventional NSAIDS (Dabbs and Lauretti 1995; Giles and Müller 1999). A homeopathic alternative to NSAIDS is Traumeel S, it fulfils all the criteria for a locally acting therapeutic medication, with promotion of the natural healing process, and minimum side effects (Zell et al. 1989). A study by Hepburn (2000) compared the relative efficacy of Traumeel S against NSAIDS in the treatment of cervical facet syndrome. Hepburn concluded that there was statistically no difference between the two therapies. It could therefore be inferred that Traumeel S may be a valid alternative to NSAID therapy in the treatment of cervical facet syndrome. This study tested this hypothesis by comparing the effectiveness of spinal manipulation with the concurrent administration of oral Traumeel S against spinal manipulation alone in order to assess the potential benefit of combining Traumeel S with manipulation. / M

M.Tech.

M.Tech. / The primary aim of this investigation was to evaluate the possible effectiveness of a cervical support pillow in combination with cervical spine manipulation versus cervical spine manipulation alone, in the management of cervicogenic headache. The secondary aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of a cervical support pillow (Top Pillow) to the efficacy of the cervical support pillow used by Ross (2002) in the management of cervicogenic headache. During this study, thirty participants were recruited. The participants were divided into three groups of ten each. The three groups received the following treatments over a 3 week period: • Group one only received chiropractic cervical adjustments • Group two received a cervical support pillow and chiropractic cervical adjustments • Group three received only a cervical support pillow. After the treatment was concluded the recorded data was submitted to the staff at STATKON where the data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The results of the clinical trial revealed that the group that received chiropractic manipulation and the cervical support pillow showed the most significant changes of all three the groups in all planes of cervical range of motion, with all the results being statistically significant. The group that only received chiropractic manipulation also exhibited a significant increase in all planes of cervical range of motion, with only extension not being statistically significant. The group that only received a cervical support pillow, revealed a statistically significant increase in almost all planes of cervical range of motion except for flexion where no increase was noted the increases were, however, still markedly less than those of the former two groups that received chiropractic adjustments to specific restricted motion segments. With regard to perceived pain measured on the Numerical Pain Rating Scale, the two groups that received chiropractic adjustments improved to a much greater degree than the group that only received a cervical support pillow. With regard to Vernon-Mior Neck Pain and Disability Index all three groups had a statistically significant decrease in the perception of disability although the adjustment groups once again showed a much greater decrease in disability than the pillow only group. The already proven benefits that patients with cervicogenic headache receive from chiropractic spinal manipulation, can be successfully supplemented by the use of a cervical support pillow and the top pillow performed better than the pillow used by Ross et al. (2002) in the treatment of cervicogenic headache.

M.Tech.

There is ample evidence of the crucial role of PI3K/Akt dependent signalling in cardiac function, cellular growth and cell apoptosis. The PI3K/Akt pathway mediates cardioprotective effects in experimental models of cardiovascular disease. For example, activation of this pathway ameliorates the sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction, whereas its activation in myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) limits cardiac injury. This thesis investigates the role of two drugs, which activate the PI3K/Aktpathway, namely the haematopoietic cytokine erythropoietin and the anti-malarial drug artesunate, in a mouse animal model of experimental sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction and in a rat model of regional myocardial I/R injury, respectively. Using a clinically relevant model of caecal ligation and puncture in mice, I demonstrated that aged (8 months) C57BL/6 mice (receiving fluid resuscitation and antibiotic therapy) developed significant cardiac dysfunction (within 24 h), while younger mice (2 months) did not. Erythropoietin attenuated the impaired systolic contractility (in vivo and ex vivo) caused by endotoxaemia (lipopolysacchride 9 mg kg-1; young mice) and sepsis (aged mice). These beneficial effects were associated with activation of Akt and endothelial nitric oxide synthase survival pathways and inhibition of the glycogen synthase kinase 3β, nuclear factor-κB and interleukin 1β pro-inflammatory pathways, secondary to activation of the β-common receptor. A single bolus administration of artesunate at the start of reperfusion in a rat model of myocardial I/R significantly attenuated the infarct size. This effect was mediated via activation of pro-survival pathways (PI3K/Akt and ERK 1/2 and STAT-3) and inhibition of the glycogen synthase kinase 3β and nuclear factor-κB pro-inflammatory pathways. Thus, in this thesis I have demonstrated that pharmacological activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway by erythropoietin and artesunate in sepsis and myocardial I/R, respectively, plays a vital role in the amelioration of cardiac dysfunction and injury.

In multiple sclerosis (MS), clonally-expanded brain-resident B cells may sustain chronic disease, however their relative contributions versus recently recruited B cells is unclear. Furthermore, pro-inflammatory CD20+ T cells may also be involved in MS pathogenesis. This study aimed to characterise the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) B cell response in MS and investigate the features of CD20+ T cells. CSF B cells and antibody-secreting cells (ASC) displayed an activated phenotype and were identified in MS CSF at a higher frequency than controls. In contrast to the periphery, CSF ASC almost exclusively expressed IgG and were strongly lgK-biased, whereas memory B cells displayed similar immunoglobulin expression profiles in both compartments. MS CSF antibodies were frequently reactive towards EBNA-1, which preferentially induced an lgK-biased antibody response. Finally, CD20+ T cells displayed a highly activated effector phenotype and were present in the CSF, although their frequencies were no different between MS and OND groups. These findings suggest that most CSF B cells result from non-specific recruitment, whereas ASC are involved in a persistent lgK-biased antigen-driven immune response, which may primarily be directed towards EBNA-1. Despite their highly activated phenotype, a role for CD20+ T cells in MS pathogenesis, if any, remains to be determined.