Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics Volume 23 • Number 5 • June 2000

Journal Abstracts

377

ture treatment prescriptions combining distant and local acu- points were selected according to the differential diagnosis. Sixty-four patients were divided into two equal groups: one group received acupuncture, and the other group underwent conventional drug treatment.

Results: The efficacy rates in the acupuncture and control groups were as follows, respectively: Cure: 75% versus 34.4%, marked improvement: 18.8% versus 28.1%, no effect: 6.3% versus 37.5%. The overall effective rates for the acupuncture and control groups were 93.8% and 62.5%, respectively, indicating a significantly greater effect in the acupuncture group (P < 0.01, x=13.475).

Sobel E, Giorgini RJ. Problems and management of the rearfoot in neu- romuscular disease. A report of ten cases. J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 1999;89:24-38.

ABSTRACT: Neuromuscular disease commonly affects the rearfoot as

equinus, equinovarus, and equinovalgus deformity. Spastic hemiplegia caused by stroke, head injury, and cerebral palsy results in equinovarus deformity of the rearfoot. Spastic diplegia, most frequently caused by cerebral palsy, results in equinovalgus rearfoot deformity. Problems in ambulation, footwear, and bracing, as well as their orthopedic manage- ment, in patients with neuromuscular disease are discussed in a case-report format.

Vingen JV, Sand T, Stovner LJ. Sensitivity to various stimuli in prima- ry headaches: A questionnaire study. Headache 1999;39:552-8.

ABSTRACT: Questions about discomfort or pain produced by various

stimuli (eg, light, sound, exercise, neck movements) are cur- rently used to differentiate between various primary head- ache disorders. In order to evaluate the usefulness of differ- ences in sensitivity to physical stimuli in headache diagnosis, the answers to a questionnaire about sensitivity to various stimuli were compared in 68 patients with migraine, 45 with tension-type headache, 46 with cluster headache, and 23 pa- tients with cervicogenic headache, and in 71 controls. Even among controls, a high proportion reported that many of these stimuli could elicit some degree of discomfort or pain. Without headache, migralneurs differed from the other pa- tients with headache and controls mainly in their increased sensitivity to light. With headache, patients with tension-type headache were the least sensitive and migraineurs were the most sensitive to all stimuli, except for stimuli stemming from neck movements, to which patients with cervicogenic headache were most sensitive. Migraineurs also reported the highest degree of sensitivity regarding aggravation and provocation of headache. However, the most striking finding was that all patient groups, cluster headache in particular, be- came significantly more sensitive with headache than with- out headache to almost all stimulus categories. This may in-

dicate that these headaches share important pathogenetic mechanisms. The fact that no headache had a very specific sensitivity profile may point to weaknesses of present head- ache classification systems.

Waalen D,WatkinsT, $aranchuk R. The philosophy of chiropractic: an action research model of curriculum review. JCCA 1999;43:149-60.

ABSTRACT: The philosophy of chiropractic has always been regarded

as an integral and indispensable component of the curricu- lum at chiropractic colleges. This study describes a review process in which instruments were designed to survey stu- dents and faculty to obtain information concerning curricu- lar aspects of philosophy at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College. Approximately one half of the student body (N = 292) and sixty percent of the full-time and part- time faculty members (N = 66) responded to the surveys. The students who were surveyed indicated that philosophy was a very important part of their chiropractic education and they felt that their needs in this regard were not being met by the present program. Further, they perceived most faculty as being unappreciative of philosophy. The results from the faculty survey were at odds with the students' perceptions and indicated that the faculty members were favorably dis- posed towards philosophy and felt that it should be an inte- gral part of the students' educational experience. The infor- marion gained from these surveys was subsequently used as a catalyst to stimulate discussion in a series of student/facul- ty focus groups on philosophy. These discussions helped to clarify some curricular philosophical issues and resulted in specific modifications to the philosophy program in the areas of content, format, faculty, and evaluation methods.

Weatherall M. Contralateral fracture of the proximal femur. Implica- tions for planning trials. J Bone Joint Surg Br 1999;81:77-9.

ABSTRACT: In three consecutive years 462 patients over the age of 60

years presented at Waikato Hospital, Hamilton, New Zealand, with a fracture of the proximal femur. Within two years, 11 (2.4%) returned with a fracture of the contralateral femur. If the effectiveness of any form of treatment aiming at reducing the incidence of contralateral fracture were subjected to a trial, a sample size of 5000, randomly distributed equally be- tween treatment and placebo groups, would be needed for the trial to have a power of 80% to detect a reduction.

Yank V, Rennie D. Disclosure of researcher contributions: a study of original research articles in The Lancet. Ann Intern Med 1999;130:661-70.

ABSTRACT: Background: Authorship disputes and abuses have

increased in recent years. In response to a proposal that

378 Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics Volume 23 • Number 5 • June 2000

Journal Abstracts

researcher contributions be specified for readers, The Lancet began disclosing such contributions at the end of original articles.

Objective: To analyze the descriptions researchers use for their contributions and to determine how the order of names on the byline corresponds to these contributions, whether persons listed on the byline fulfill a lenient version of the criteria for authorship specified by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (the Vancouver Group), and whether the contributions of persons listed as contributors overlap with the contributions of those who are acknowledged.

Design: Descriptive study. Measurements: A taxonomy of researchers' contributions

was developed and applied to researchers' self-reported con- tributions to original research articles published in The Lancet from July to December 1997.

Results: Contributors lists occupied little page space (mean, 2.5 cm of column length). Placement on the byline did not in- dicate the specific category of task performed, although the first-contributor position corresponded to a significantly greater number of contributions (mean numbers of contri- butions: first-contributor position, 3.23; second-contributor position, 2.51; third-contributor position, 2.20; and fourth- contributor position, 2.51) (P < 0.0 t). Forty-four percent of contributors on the byline did not fulfill a lenient version of the Vancouver Group's criteria for authorship. Sixty percent of the most common categories of activities described on contribu- tors lists overlapped with those on acknowledgments lists.

Conclusions: Publication of lists that specify contribu- tions to research articles is feasible and seems to impart important information. The criteria for authorship outlined by the Vancouver Group do not seem to be congruent with the self-identified contributions of researchers.