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Background/Objective: To investigate the patient- and therapist-related factors underlying adverse events (AEs) in acupuncture and moxibustion (A&M). Design: Retrospective study using data from medical records. Subjects: Patients who underwent A&M therapy in 4 clinics providing A&M over a 6-month period and their therapists. Main Outcome Measures: Survey items included the number of patients, age, sex, number of sessions, number and type of AEs, patients' underlying disease, and the therapist's years of clinical experience. The chi-squared test was used for intergroup comparisons. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlations between the number of sessions and AEs. Logistic regression analysis was performed with AEs as the objective variable to investigate the relationships between the various parameters and AEs. Results: The analysis included 615 patients and 113 therapists. A total of 421 AEs occurred in a total of 4,369 sessions (9.6%). The number of sessions and number of AEs were significantly and positively correlated with patients (r = 0.47, P

Ethanol extract of the seeds of Licaria puchury-major, a Brazilian herbal medicine, was found to inhibit cell proliferation in human leukemia cell line (Jurkat) by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the active components led to the isolation of one phenylpropanoid (1) and ten neolignans (2-11). The apoptosis-inducing activity of the compounds showing cytotoxicity in Jurkat cells was assessed by flow cytometric analysis. Among the identified neolignans, compounds 3, 4, 6 and 7 which have similar molecular structures, showed apoptotic activity. To elucidate the mechanism of apoptosis induction by neolignans, intracellular caspase-3, -8 and -9 activity in Jurkat cells was evaluated. Compound 4 markedly elevated the activity of caspase-3 and -9.

【目的】国体セーリング競技会場に設置したコンディショニングルームでセーリング選手の身体愁訴に対する鍼治療の直後効果を検討したので報告する。【方法】腰部の筋痛 (n=108) 、頚肩背部の筋痛 (n=72) に鍼治療を単独で行った。鍼治療は局所治療とした。調査項目は主訴およびその程度を示すVAS値とした。VAS値の有意差検定は対応のあるt検定とした。【結果】主訴は腰痛、頚肩背痛、その他の順に多かった。鍼治療は腰部の筋痛 (n=108) のVAS値を治療前53.2±21.5mmから後21.5±16.4mmに減少 (p

A considerable number of patients (61.5/1000) who complain of shoulder stiffness visit oriental therapeutic clinics (Journal of Health and Welfare Statistics, 2007). Several studies have shown that acupuncture can be a useful modality for treating pain due to muscle spasms (Lundeberg et al., 1988: Sandberg et al., 2005: Inoue et al., 2006). It is believed that shoulder stiffness is caused primarily by restriction of blood flow to the working muscles where accumulated metabolites appear to activate sympathetic vasoconstrictors. Acupuncture stimulation (AS) is reported to increase local tissue blood flow in animals (Noguchi et al., 1999; Sato et al., 2000; Uchida et al., 2007) and humans (Sakai 2005; Sandberg et al., 2003; Sandberg et al., 2005) and are applicable in therapeutic interventions of shoulder stiffness. The effects of acupuncture include neural, endocrinological, cardiovascular, and immunological functions. Among cardiovascular effects, in particular, acupuncture stimulation elicits enhanced muscle blood flow via peripheral vasodilatation. The enhanced blood flow response induced by acupuncture may be attributable to C-fibre mediated axon reflex (Nishijo et al., 1997) resulting from noxious mechanical stimulation. Conventional invasive techniques for evaluating muscle blood flow have limitations such as a relatively great burden on subjects and tissue destruction that may influence blood flow itself. On the other hands, noninvasive methodologies such as laser Doppler flowmetry and thermography could primarily measure and evaluate superficial skin blood flow response. In vivo near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a noninvasive technology for measuring muscle blood volume and oxygenation response with a depth of ~2cm from the skin surface (Hamaoka et al., 2007), which is suitable for assessing the effect of acupuncture on deep tissue blood flow and metabolic response. First, we documented in the section 2.1 whether AS would provoke vasodilatation in the trapezius muscle and whether the influence of AS would propagate to a region distant from the stimulation point (spatial distribution of the stimulation). Further, the temporal response at the stimulation onset was also examined. In the section 2.2, we reported the trapezius muscle blood volume and oxygenation in the stimulation region during four different acupuncture techniques, which are popular intervention techniques in Japan.

Melting characteristics of phase change material by natural convection heat transfer inside horizontal rectangular capsules are examined experimentally. The capsules are heated isothermally and three kinds of aspect ratios (H/W=3, 1 and 1/3) are provided. Octadecane and ice are used, respectively, as the phase change material. A method of analysis applying the empirical correlations for natural convection heat transfer in a vertical or horizontal enclosure to the melting in the rectangular capsules is presented. The predicted results show good agreement with the experimental data. For the melting of octadecane and ice, it is found that the effect of aspect ratio on melting velocity is not significant for the range of B=1/3 to 3.

Twelve healthy beagles were given ketamine by the “Micro-Mini” drip administration technique and subjected to the general clinical examination and hematological tests. For the purpose of premedication before dripping ketamine they had been divided into four groups, which were premedicated with diazepam (Dz), droperidol (Dro), propyonylpromazine (Prop), and xylazine (Xyl), respectively. As a result, the following conclusions were drawn.(1) The analgesic and anesthetic effects were satisfactory in the Prop and the Xyl groups, but were insufficient in the Dz and the Dro groups.(2) Transient laryngospasm and respiratory obstruction were noticed immediately after the beginning of dripping ketamine and disappeard in several minutes, without any pharmacotherapy.(3) Ketamine was examined for toxicity by the hematological test, which revealed no noteworthy changes at all.(4) The dripping technique of ketamine was examined with regard to the total amount of transfusion administered, and the maintenance of and awakening and recovery from anesthesia. In consequence, it was clarified that these items of examination had been influenced remarkably with such types of drugs used for premedication as analgesics, sedatives, and anesthetics, and that full consideration should be given to the selection of a drug for premeditation.From the results mentioned above it was indicated that the “Micro-Mini” drip administration technique of ketamine was influenced greatly with the type of drugs used for premeditation in the maintenance of anesthesia. If ketamine is used for anesthesia, taking this indication into consideration, it will be possible for ketamine to induce anesthesia which is safe from a clinical point of view, since ketamine was proved hematologically to be free from adverse effects.