There are many studies on physical effects of hot spring bathing, but few studies have been made on effects of hot spring bathing on coagulation and fibrinolytic systems. Therefore we studied the effects of hot spring bathing blood coagulation and fibrinolytic systems by measuring levels of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), euglobulin lysis time (ELT), plasminogen (PLG), alpha plasmin inhibitor (alpha 2 PI), fibrinogen (FBG), antithrombin III (AT III), thrombin antithrombin III complex (T-AT), and von Willebrand factor (vWF) in plasma before and after hot bathing.
Methods: The above measurements were made on 20 patients with chronic thrombotic stroke (65±12 years old (mean±2SD), comprising 18 cases of deep branch artery occlusion including four cases of multiple infarction and two cases of main trunk artery occlusion.
Collection and assay methods: Blood was collected from antecubital veins before and after a five-minute hot bath (at 40°C) and dissolved into 3.8% sodium citrate at the volume ratio of 1:10. T-PA and T-AT were measured by specific enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay. ELT by the fibrin plate method. and vWF by immunoelectrophoresis. Activities of P1G, alpha 2 PI, and AT III were measured by S 2251 and S 2238.
Results: The basal level of t-PA was 5.4±.8ng/ml (±2SD) and rose to 7.2±1.8ng/ml (±2SD) after a five-minute hot bath (p<0.005). ELT decreased from 6.5±1.5 hours (±2SD) to 4.9±1.8 hours (±2SD) (0.1Conclusion: The above results show that fibrinolysis is induced during hot bathing by the release of tissue plasminogen activator from vessel walls without causing significant coagulative activities, suggesting the clinical significance of hot bath in patients with thrombotic stroke.

We report two cases of retroperitoneal fibrosis that emerged during a clinical course of moderate chronic kidney disease. In both cases, we observed an elevation in the serum CRP and IgG4 levels without an increase in the white blood cell count. The patients were treated with prednisolone. Their clinical conditions improved with a decrease in the serum IgG4 to total IgG ratio. The present cases suggest the importance of a differential diagnosis of retroperitoneal fibrosis in the medical care of chronic kidney disease patients, and we propose a useful biomarker for retroperitoneal fibrosis, which we suspect is associated with IgG4-related disease.

　　The Tsurumi Hospital introduced a state-of-the-art, multifunctional cancer radiation therapy system in April 2011. When a new building was completed. The cancer radiation therapy started in September of the same year. Our hospital as a cancer treatment hospital provides high-quality care, and can deliver radiation therapy of high performance and high precision in safety, and aims to be trusted by society and patients. In a cancer radiation therapy, it is important to work in teams made up of doctors, radiological technologists and nurses having a high degree of professionalism. In such circumstances radiological technologists have to play various roles and shoulder responsibility. For example, they have to take responsibility for dose distribution creation and calculation of monitor units according treatment plans, systems, positioning radiography, creating a fixture and immobilizer, verification of irradiation, setup of patient, quality assurance and quality control of related equipment for the radiotherapy system, explanation to the patient, medical safety and radiation maintenances etc. Since the introduction of the cancer radiation therapy system, radiological technologists have had to carry out work required for radiation therapy such as verification of creating specifications, determination of equipment, procedures based on the relevant laws and regulations, acceptance test, acquisition of clinical data, commissioning and verification of treatment dose. This paper describes the role and practice of radiological technologists to lead a cancer radiation therapy, based upon our experience.