Today ; Japanese language ; Language

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Japanese language ; Medicine ; Mental association

This is the second report of the findings of the clinical and epidemiological studies on pathogen-carrying madani tick bites (ixodiasis) and the vector-borne diseases conducted by a study group of researchers specially organized by the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine. The report covers the period from January 1 through December 31, 2004.The same questionnaires that had been prepared in the previous survey were sentto 80 JARM-affiliated medical facilities and 11 non-member medical institutions to collect information about tick bites and resultant infections.It was found that during 2004 there were 134 cases (67 for men and 67 for women) of skin lesions caused by ixodid tick bites, 14 cases of Lyme disease (7 for men and the same for women), and none for Japanese spotted fever. These ixodiasis cases did not show any speciffic difference from those reported previously. All the Lyme disease patients developed erythema migrans which characterize stage 1 infection.As there is still plenty of catching up to do in terms of coping with the tick bite problems in Japan, we referred to some literature on the control of ixodid ticks, serologic testing techniques for Lyme disease, administration of prophylactic antibiotics and therapeutic methods.
Ticks ; Clinical ; Lyme Disease ; seconds ; Japanese language

Objective: Although the Japanese EuroQol instrument was developed in 1998 by a Japanese translation team, the reliability of health state valuations of the fuller questionnaire has not yet been investigated in Japan. We carried out a pilot study to investigate the reliability of health state valuations of the Japanese EuroQol instrument. Methods: The survey was conducted twice with the fuller questionnaire of the Japanese EuroQol instrument in a class of preventive medicine. We analyzed test-retest reliability based on the health state valuations and calculated Cronbach’s coefficient alpha of both tests. Results and Conclusions: The mean valuations of 14 hypothetical health states and ‘death’ between test and retest were not significantly different by paired t-test. The reliability by calculated correlation between test and retest was 0.996 (p<0.0001). In addition, Cronbach’s coefficient alpha of the first test was 0.827, and that of the second test was 0.865. Although good reliability was shown in the present study, our conclusion was limited to applications of population-based surveys because of the small number and limited subjects of the present study. Further investigations are required in the form of a population-based survey.
Japanese language ; Health ; seconds ; instruments ; Surveys

Trichotillomania is a disorder of recurrent hair pulling, resulting in the dermatological expression of partial or total hair loss. Trichotillomania has been thought rare for many years, but recently it has been speculated that it is far more common than previously believed. The number of patients is increasing daily. In 1987, a new definition was proposed in the United States, and trichotillomania is now considered to be distinct from mere hair pulling behavior. Worldwide, a debate about the conditions and cures for trichotillomania continues, specifically debates based on the definition adopted in the United States. The author reviews the latest Japanese reports on trichotillomania, comparing key literature from abroad.
Trichotillomania ; Japanese language ; Recent ; United States ; Hair

The world has now rediscovered the value of traditional medicine. Much traditional medicine in South-East Asian countries originated from the medicines of ancient China, and developed independently within those individual countries. As a measure toward information exchange and communication among these countries, the World Health Organization's Western Pacific Regional Office (WHO-WPRO) has published its International Standard Terminologies (IST) for use globally. While domestically in Japan, Kampo is now taught as a regular subject in all medical schools. In this light, there is significant meaning to holding conference with the purpose of understanding the current status of Japanese Kampo around the world, and considering the best ways to disseminate Kampo information globally. The International Conference of Kampo Medicine (provisional title) has been held thus far a total of three times, to address the current status of Japanese Kampo, Japanese Kampo issues from global point of view, as well as the current status of traditional medicine in China and Korea also originating from the ancient Chinese medicine. The conference was entitled &lsquoWhy Kampo? Why Now? Why Me?—The reason why foreign medical doctors worldwide choose Japanese Kampo, and the situation or development of Kampo medicine in their own countries”, in which foreign doctors in Japan, medical students, and leading Kampo medical practitioners were invited to give lectures, which were followed by free discussions by all participants.
Medicine, Kampo ; Medicine ; seconds ; Japanese language ; Conferences

Japanese pharmacopoeia prescribes a crude drug, Uncaria hook, or the hook-like structures of Uncaria rhynchophylla (Miq.) Jacks, U. sinensis (Oliv.) Havil., and U. macrophylla Wall., while Chinese pharmacopoeia prescribes the hooks with attached stems of above3species, in addition to2other species of Uncaria hook; U. hirsuta Havil. and U. sessilifructus Roxb (all in the Rubiaceae family). Our herbological study has found that the botanical origin was Uncaria rhynchophylla before the Ming Dynasty, and that the part used was not the hook itself, but the plant's bark till the early Ming Dynasty. Use of the hooks with stems began in the late Ming Dynasty. On the other hand, in Japan, the hooks themselves have been mainly collected from wild U. rhynchophylla plants growing in southern warm-temperate zone of Japan, for use in Kampo medicines. We considered this differing Japanese custom was influenced by the descriptions in the Ben Cao Gan Mu (1596)written in the Ming dynasty by Li Si Chen, which state that the hook itself had medicinally sharp power. And we conclude that use of Uncaria bark alone is reasonable for prescriptions which originated before the early Ming dynasty, such as chotosan.
Unit ; Chinese People ; Japanese language ; Within ; Hook

This paper describes the results of clinical and epidemiological studies of pathogen-carrying madani tick bites and the vector-borne diseases. The studies were conducted by a group of researchers specially organized by the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine.Questionnaires were sent out to JARM-affiliated 108 medical institutions to collect information about cases of ixodiasis, Lyme disease and Japanese spotted fever. It was found that during 2002, there were 151 cases of Ixodes tick bites (67 males and 84 females) and 17 cases of Lyme disease (13 males and 4 females). The incidence of Japanese spotted fever was zero.The survey also found that before that year, 24 out of the 108 medical institutions had treated tick bite cases and 13 handn’t. No reply came from the rest. As to Lyme disease, six hospitals had experienced in treating this vector-borne disease, 31 hadn’t and the rest did not reply. Japanese spotted fever was confirmed by one hospital. Thirty-three hospitals said they had not encountered this disease. The remaining 74 facilities did not respond. It was regrettable that more than a half of the 108 institutions did not respond to the survey. Considering that new types of infectious diseases caused by new forms of pathogens are raging nowadays, we, professionals affiliated with the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine, must keep careful watch on these diseases.
Japanese language ; Ticks ; Genus: Ixodes ; Clinical ; Lyme Disease

Background: Little information has been collected on the prevalence of hypertension in different rural parts of Japan, using similar methods for sample selection and based on similar diagnostic criteria, and epidemiological studies are urgently needed in each Japanese rural county to determine the baseline against which future trends in risk factor levels can be assessed in order to be able to plan appropriate preventive strategies. Objective: To study the prevalence and its relationship to risk factors of hypertension without controlled drug treatment in rural populations. Materials and Methods: Three cross-sectional surveys were conducted in the Akita (north), Gifu (middle) and Fukuoka (south) regions during 2004-2005 using study subjects (n=1778) aged 40-79 years who participated in a health check-up program. Blood pressure was measured by a trained nurse. Information concerning their history of hypertension and lifestyle was obtained by self-administered questionnaires. Results: When comparing the three regions, the prevalence of hypertension (≥140/90 mmHg) without controlled drug treatment demonstrated a significant difference among males (16.8%, 22.1% and 12.7% in Akita, Gifu and Fukuoka, respectively; p<0.05). However, no significant difference was seen among females (14.4%, 16.0% and 16.5% in Akita, Gifu and Fukuoka, respectively). According to a multivariate logistic regression analysis for these two groups in each of the three regions, the odds ratio (OR) showed that obesity (body mass index≥25 kg/m2) was strongly associated with the Hypertensive (-) group among females in two regions (ORs of 2.32 for both Akita and Fukuoka). Physical inactivity (average daily physical activity energy expenditure<300 kcal), alcohol drinking (alcohol intake≥44 g/day and/or frequency of drinking≥5 days/week), cigarette smoking (Brinkman index≥400) and a stressful lifestyle were not significantly associated with the Hypertensive (-) group among these rural populations. Conclusions: Therefore, hypertension in females in rural Japan may be controlled by a reduction in body weight.
Hypertension induced by pregnancy ; Risk Factors ; Japanese language ; Prevalence aspects ; Three