This study was to examine the effects of quantity of taking salt diet on the body during exercise. The subjects were made to do endurance exercise on each after intake of the moderate-salt diet, the much-salt diet and a little-salt diet in a fixed duration.
The results were obtained as follows:
1) Under the much-salt diet intake, responce of systolic blood pressure and heart rate showed small increment during the exercise.
2) Under a little-salt diet intake, the CK-MB/CK ratio showed large increment during exercise.
3) Under the much-salt diet intake, serum BUN values were decreased compared with under the other diets. Under a little-salt diet intake, serum BUN, Uric Acid and Triglycerides values were increased, on the contrary serum Glucose values were decreased in resting condition. Especially, under a little-salt diet intake, serum BUN values were increased during the exercise.
4) The value of urinary sodium excretion was varied in response to the intake of salt. The value of urinary potassium excretion showed no change under the much-salt diet intake. But it showed decrease under a little-salt diet intake.
5) Under a little-salt diet intake, the creatinine clearance values were decreaced during and after the exercise.
The above mentioned findings suggested that the change of salt intake itself may become a stressor to the body and it is necessary to pay much attention when we exercise under these condition.

Objectives : We evaluated the efficacy of tokishakuyakusan and kamishoyosan for patients who complained of feeling cold, and identified key symptoms that would predict positive treatment outcomes for coldness with these medicines.
Design : A retrospective cohort study
Subjects and Methods : The subjects were 188 patients who reported feeling cold. They were treated with tokishakuyakusan or kamishoyosan according to their Sho for more than one month. The relationships between improvement of cold sensation and 62 factors, including other symptoms noted at the first medical examination, were evaluated by means of cross-sectional analysis, followed by logistic regression.
Results : The factors of coldness of the abdomen (odds ratio, 5.0), vertigo (7.7), dimness of sight (16) and blushing (5.6), without anger (0.11) or tinnitus (0.025), were found to be predictors of a positive effect with tokishakuyakusan treatment (p < 0.001). The factors of hot flushes (14), without coldness of the whole body (0.099), and faint feeling (0.21) were significant for kamishoyosan (p < 0.001). This suggests that kamishoyosan can improve subjective coldness of the extremities (AIC -8.64), especially of the legs (-2.23).
Conclusions : Coldness in the abdomen was an important indicator for treatment with tokishakuyakusan, while coldness in the legs, but not in the whole body, was important in the case of kamishoyosan.

Objectives : Persistent coldness is a common complaint for which Kampo, traditional Japanese herbal medicine, is often tried, because there is no definition or objective measure of subjective coldness in Western medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a common Kampo agent, tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto, and to identify key symptoms that would predict positive treatment outcomes for coldness.
Design : A retrospective cohort study.
Setting : 181 patients who complained of coldness without any organic abnormalities self-surveyed their health using a Kampo questionnaire database system on their first visit. Another 28 patients were assigned to verify the discriminatory predictability of treatment efficacy.
Interventions : Patients were treated with extract product, 7.5 grams a day for a month.
Outcome measures : Treatment efficacy as a binary response.
Results : Frequency and severity scales (0 to 4) for coldness decreased from 3.2 ± 0.7 to 2.1 ± 0.1 (p < 0.01)and from 3.1 ± 0.7 to 2.2 ± 0.9 (p < 0.01), respectively. Improvements in both frequency and severity of coldness were observed in 74.0% of patients. The status of tenderness in the iliac region, without upset stom ach or depression, was obtained as an appropriate model for the prediction of treatment effect, and its discrimi natory predictability was calculated as 84.4%. The predictive accuracy of the model was validated with 82.1% for the 28 new patients.
Conclusions : Coldness susceptible to tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto was very frequently accompanied by tenderness in iliac region, without upset stomach or depression.

An attack of Raynaud's Phenomenon (RP) is characterized by blanching of the fingers in response to cold or emotional stimuli.
We analyzed the effect of ninjinyouei-to on RP in patients with MCTD. Subjects in this study comprised 19 patients, two males and 17 females, with a mean age of 38 years, and a mean duration of disease of 57.6 months. The study was performed at a time when RP occurred frequently in our country, that is in the period from November 1992 to March 1993.
We administered 9.0g of ninjinyouei-to to each case for four weeks and measured the surface skin temperature of the hands before and after medication with a thermograph using a Thermoviewer-JTG 3300.
There was a significantly higher temperature on the left first finger-tip after medication. Our thermographic findings in this study demonstrate a quantitative efficacy of ninjinyouei-to on RP in MCTD.

Patients often complaint about their health, even if nothing is wrong with them upon concise objective examination. The complaints often imply the symptoms reflect more than one organ. Kampo treatment has the advantage of curing several symptoms at the same time, with only one or a few medicines. Kampo medicines comprise Chinese herbal formulations individually tailored to the patient. Therefore, symptom reduction is one of the most essential outcome parameters in Kampo treatment. However, how these subjective symptoms should be quantified, is controversial. The purpose of the current paper is to introduce an evaluation system for subjective symptoms. The system is referred to as Tokyo Women's Medical University Oriental Medicine Research Active Support System (TOMRASS). Apart from subjective symptoms, this database contains physical examination, laboratory data, clinical diagnosis and prescribed medicines, etc. In this study, 2 cases are shown as examples of practical use with TOMRASS use. One is a case with many complaints, which is effective with one medicine, Toki-shigyaku-ka-goshuyu-shokyo-to. The other is a case, which reveals unexpected outcomes with Sho-seiryu-to.
The new approach enables us not only to give more consideration to the patient's perspective, but also to differentiate therapeutic implications. The investigation between the subjective quality of life and therapeutic relationship may contribute to further understanding of Kampo treatment.

We experienced a case of chronic pain responding to electrical acupuncture therapy while on spinal cord stimulation. A 35 year-old male presented with chronic neck pain. At 16 years of age, he had neck pain due to traffic accident with stellate ganglion block and epidural block. At 29 years of age, he sensed radiating pain in the 3rd to 5th digits of the left hand during epidural block. At 33 years of age, nerve root injury occurred after insertion of an epidural catheter, resulting in epidural abscess. Although the abscess resolved after antibiotic treatment, he had stiff fingers in the left hand together with neck pain and restricted range of motion of the neck. At 34 years of age, a spinal cord stimulation device was inserted which improved the stiff fingers in the left hand, but not the neck pain and restricted neck motion. He therefore visited our institute. At presentation, neck pain together with dysphagia and mastication pain were observed, and the patient was on a liquid diet. He was given electrical acupuncture treatment in additional to trigger point block and stellate ganglion laser. After two treatments, he was able to resume a normal diet. With reduced neck pain, he also undergo rehabilitation mainly through voluntary neck movements. This case demonstrates that electrical acupuncture treatment may be safe and effective for patients fitted with spinal cord stimulation device.