title: Differences in pulse spectrum analysis between atopic dermatitis and nonatopic healthy children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common allergy that causes the skin to be dry and itchy. It appears at an early age, and is closely associated with asthma and allergic rhinitis. Thus, AD is an indicator that other allergies may occur later. Literatures indicate that the molecular basis of patients with AD is different from that of healthy individuals. According to the classics of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the body constitution of patients with AD is also different. The purpose of this study is to determine the differences in pulse spectrum analysis between patients with AD and nonatopic healthy individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 60 children (30 AD and 30 non-AD) were recruited for this study. A pulse spectrum analyzer (SKYLARK PDS-2000 Pulse Analysis System) was used to measure radial arterial pulse waves of subjects. Original data were then transformed to frequency spectrum by Fourier transformation. The relative strength of each harmonic wave was calculated. Moreover, the differences of harmonic values between patients with AD and non-atopic healthy individuals were compared and contrasted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study showed that harmonic values and harmonic percentage of C3 (Spleen Meridian, according to Wang's hypothesis) were significantly different.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results demonstrate that C3 (Spleen Meridian) is a good index for the determination of atopic dermatitis. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the pulse spectrum analyzer is a valuable auxiliary tool to distinguish a patient who has probable tendency to have AD and/or other allergic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jyh-min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Liou
authors.forename: Chin-Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Chun-Chien
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Hong-Song
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yin Tzu
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Yu-Chi
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Yu-Chen
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Shinn-Jye
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Jaung-Geng
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Fun-jou
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001824:Body Constitution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000379:methods*; D016740:Meridians; D011674:Pulse / Q000379:methods; D017534:Radial Artery; D012016:Reference Values; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared