The most common mandibular fractures involve the condyloid process. It is necessary to diagnose and treat the cases of mandibular condylar fracture carefully, because the temporomandibular joint is complicated anatomically and functionally.
A clinical study was made in 72 patients with mandibular condylar fracture referred to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Gunma University Hospital from April 1991 to March 1995.
The results were as follows:
1. Mandibular condylar fracture occurred in 42.6% of the mandibular fractures. The male-to-female ratio was 2 to 1. The largest age group of patients was from 10 to 19 years (31.9%).
2. The most frequent cause of the injury was falls (50.0%). Of all the patients 84.7% visited our department within 2 weeks after injury.
3. Fifty-nine cases (81.9%) were unilateral fractures and 13 (18.1%) were bilateral. Of the total, thirty-six cases (50.0%) were combined with other fractures of the mandible and/or maxillofacial fractures.
4. As for the fracture level and position of fragment, fractures with deviation were most frequently observed in the subcondylar region (20.5%).
5. Of the 67 cases treated at our department, 62 (92.5%) were treated with a conservative therapy for mandibular condylar fracture, primarily by maxillomandibular fixation followed by functional rehabilitation. The remaining 5 (7.5%) cases were treated surgically.
6. Fifty-nine patients were recalled after more than 6 months. As for the treatment outcome in 54 nonsurgical cases, 46 cases (85.2%) showed excellent prognosis, 6 (11.1%) had disorder I and 2 (3.7%) had disorder II. In 5 surgical cases, 3 cases showed excellent prognosis and 2 had disorder II. Most of the patients treated nonsurgically had relatively good results.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) causes severe respiratory dysfunction and severely limits patients' daily activities. We report a case of the patient with COPD whose respiratory symptoms were successfully improved by acupuncture. A 70-year-old man visited Meiji University of Oriental Medicine Hospital complaining of dyspnea during exercise on _??_. Despite strictly controlled medication and a regimen of home oxygen therapy (HOT), his general condition continued to worsen. Then a series of acupuncture treatment was started on _??_. The severity of dyspnea of the patient before acupuncture treatment was determined as level V according to Hugh-Jones classification, and spirometry showed severely disturbed respiratory functions (%VC: 63.5%, FEV₁%: 29.4%, PEFR: 84.8 1/min in the morning and 93.5 1/min at night). The basic combination of meridian points for the treatment of the case was LU1 (Zhongfu), CV12 (Zhongwan), CV4 (Guanyuan), LU5 (Chize), and BL13 (Feishu). The acupuncture needles were retained for ten minutes in each session. The single-subject research design (A-B-A method) was applied to detect the specific effect of the acupuncture treatment on the respiratory functions or the symptoms of the subject. “A” and “B” mean “treatment period” and “no treatment period” respectively. After 60 acupuncture treatments during a 14-month period, both the respiratory symptoms and the VAS for dyspnea showed improvement, which were specifically observed during the intervention period. Improvement was also reflected in the level of the Hugh-Jones classification and respiratory function test. It was suggested that acupuncture treatment might be effective for advanced cases of COPD.

[Aim] Acupuncture has traditionally been used in Japan in the treatment of bronchial asthma and is being increasingly applied. However, although there are many published studies on acupuncture and asthma, few meet the scientific criteria necessary to prove the effectiveness of acupuncture. Therefore, this study presents the clinical results of acupuncture treatment for adult bronchial asthma.
[Design] Single-subject research design (N-of-1 method).
[Setting] Department of Internal Medicine, Acupuncture and Moxibustion Center, Meiji University of Oriental Medicine, Japan.
[Participants] Six patients of both genders (mean age, 49.0 years old) with moderate-to-severe persistent bronchial asthma.
[Intervention] Six patients received 10 sessions of acupuncture treatment (once per week) for 10 weeks. The basic combination of meridian points for the treatment of the patients were LU 1 (Zhongfu), LU 5 (Chize), LU 9 (Taiyan), CV4 (Guanyuan), CV 12 (Zhongwan), BL 13 (Feishu), BL20 (Pishu) and BL23 (Shenshu).
[Measurements] Primary outcome was the symptom of asthma at the end of the 10 treatment sessions. Secondary outcomes were the Dyspnea Visual Analogue Scale (DVAS), respiratory function, Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR), blood, the use of asthma drugs. The effect of the intervention on eosinophils in blood was assessed.
[Main results] Late effects of asthma patients showed significantly better results compared with the base line on outcome measures after the 10 weeks. In this study, symptoms of asthma and dyspnea VAS in patients with asthma were significantly improved by acupuncture.
[Conclusion] This study indicated that acupuncture was effective in asthma symptoms and respiratory functions.

We report a rare case of a giant celiac aneurysm complicated with nosocomial acute aortic dissection and idiopathic thrombocytonenic purpura (ITP). A 75-year-old man with ITP complained of abdominal swelling. Enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed a giant celiac aneurysm 72 mm in size. Surgery repair was scheduled and platelet count increased by intravenous administration of immunoglobulin. After admission, he complained of back pain. CT showed aortic dissection (DeBakey classification : IIIb) and a celiac aneurysm enlarged to 78 mm. He underwent surgical repair for a giant celiac aneurysm and splenectomy after management with medial therapy.

Introduction : We report the effect of adaptive servo ventilation (ASV) treatment on heart failure in a home care setting.
Methods : For eight home care patients aged ≥75 with heart failure, we diagnosed sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) by using a simplified monitor and implemented ASV treatment. We assessed its effect on heart failure by using NT-proBNP. We also assessed its effects on SDB by using apnea hypopnea index (AHI).
Results : Three patients dropped out because they felt fear of putting on the mask. Among the other five patients, we observed a significant decrease rate of NT-proBNP (mean : -0.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) : -0.64, -0.22) after the ASV treatment. With regard to AHI, we observed a decreasing tendency (mean : -20.4 /hour, 95% CI : -41.2/hour, 0.4/hour).
Conclusion : This study suggests that ASV treatment is effective for a treatment of heart failure in a home care setting.

A 60-year-old male patient visited the Oriental Medicine Research Institute of the Kitasato on ***** because of abdominal discomfort. Hangeshashin-to was administered to him and the abdominal discomfort was relieved. He continued to take Hangeshashin-to from June to August 1997. He had chills, high fever, and fatigue from ********. He stopped Hangeshashin-to and took Shosaiko-to for five days because of liver dysfunction. He was admitted to our hospital on ********. Antibiotics and stronger neo-minophagen C were administered to him. A chest roentgenogram revealed a ground-glass shadow on the left upper lung, and Shosaiko-to was discontinued. The patient began to complain of dyspnea and had fine crackles on the chest. A chest roentgenogram and chest CT showed interstitial pneumonitis. Oral predonisolone therapy was started for hypoxemia and the patient improved. A drug lymphocytes stimulation test revealed that lymphocytes were stimulated by Shosaiko-to and its components, Saiko and Ogon. A chest roentgenogram just before ingesting Hangeshashin-to revealed the interstitial change of the lung. Taken all together, this patient suffered from druginduced hepatitis and pneumonitis as a result of ingesting Hangeshashin-to and Shosaiko-to.

Effects of environmental (cold) stress and aging on cells in monocyte/macrophage lineage were investigated. We demonstrated that immune suppressive states seen in acute cold-stressed mice (8-10 weeks of age) is attributable to FcγRIIbright suppressor macrophages. Serum corticosterone levels were markedly increased in acute cold-stressed mice. In addition, expression of glucocorticoids (GC) receptor mRNA was observed in FcγRIIbright cells from these mice. The increase of FcγRIIbright cells in peritoneal exudate cells caused by acute cold stress was inhibited by adrenalectomy or administration of a saturating amount of the GC antagonist RU 38486 (mifepristone). On the contrary, administration of the GC agonist, dexamethasone, markedly increased the proportion of FcγRIIbright cells in peritoneal exudate cells of control mice. These results suggest that the generation of FcγRIIbright suppressor cells of monocyte/macrophage lineage by acute cold stress was mediated by action of GC through the GC receptor. We likewise found that the proportion of FcγRIIbright suppressor macrophages is increased in aged mice (22-24 months of age). Meanwhile, activated macrophages which function as antigen presenting cells were decreased in aged rats. Both the basal corticosterone concentrations in serum and the expression of mRNA for GC receptor in peritoneal macrophages increased significantly in aged animals, suggesting that these populational and functional changes of macrophages in aged animals were mediated, in part, by the increased basal levels of GC. This is probably being responsible for immunosenescence.
Neisseria gonorrhoeae ; Laboratory mice ; Acute ; Macrophages ; receptor

Fifty-two-year-old man who suffered from headache and left neck pain was brought to a nearby hospital by ambulance. Anisocoria and disorder in the field of view of the left eye were observed. Emergency brain MRA showed obstruction of the left internal carotid artery. The patient was transported to our hospital for emergency surgery for suspected acute type A aortic dissection on CT scan. Operative findings revealed a thrombus attached to the ascending aorta continued to left common carotid artery. Thrombectomy for left carotid artery and partial arch replacement were performed. The patient was discharged in good condition on the 16th postoperative day. We encountered a very rare mural thrombus in the ascending aorta.

A cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the effect of physical exercise in daily lives of healthy women on the aging process in terms of maximal aerobic capacity (VO₂max), body fat tissue mass (FTM), lean tissue mass (LTM), bone mineral density (BMD), serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C and LDL-C concentrations, and systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) . These parameters are considered as risk factors of cerebrovascular disease and/or osteoporosis, which are the main causes of becoming bedridden and demented in middle-aged and older women. One hundred sixty-five healthy female volunteers aged 20 to 76 years participated in the study, 82 of whom were postmenopausal with a mean age at menopause of 49.7±3.1 years. Eighty-two of the subjects had been exercising regularly by jogging, swimming, aerobic dancing, or playing tennis more than twice a week for 2 years (Ex group), whereas 83 individuals had not been engaging in regular exercise (Cont group) . Serum lipid concentrations, SBP and DBP measurements at rest and treadmill VO₂max and HRmax measurements were determined in the morning after an overnight fast. Whole-body BMD (TBMD), head, lumbar, arm and leg BMD, FTM and LTM were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry one to two hours after a light lunch. The mean and SD of each measurement were calculated for five-year age groups between 40 and 60 years and one group each under 40 and over 60 years.
The results were as follows:
1, VO₂max (r=-0.590) and HRmax (r=-0.632) decreased significantly with age. The VO₂max of the Ex group was significantly higher than that of the Cont group in all each age groups. However, no differences in the aging process in terms of HRmax were found between the two groups.
2, Resting SBP (r=-0.391) and DBP (r=0.315) increased significantly with age. However, no hypertensive individuals (160/95 mmHg-) were found among the 165 subjects.
3. Only serum TC (r=0.346) and LDL-C (r=0.339) among the blood constituents measured changed with age. No changes in serum HDL-C were detected with age. Lower TC (189.2±23.3 mg/dl) and higher HDL-C (72.2±10.9 mg/dl) were observed in eleven runners (49.7±7.7 years) among the subjects who participated frequently in official races than in subjects of the same ages in the Cont group. The highest serum HDL-C (75.8±15.8 mg/dl) and HDLC/TC ratios (0.362) were noticed among the subjects (n=26) who both regularly exercised and consumed alcoholic beverages.
4. A tendency for FTM to increase and LTM to decrease with age were observed in both groups, and a lower %FTM (percentage of FTM to body weight) and higher %LTM were evident in the Ex group. Differences in %FTM and %LTM between the Ex and Cont groups at 40-45 years were significant.
5. Partial and whole BMDs decreased significantly with age (TBMD-Age ; r=- 0.527) . Significantly higher leg BMDs in both the 20-39-year and 40-45-year groups, and spine and TBMD in the 20-39 years in the Ex group, who were premenopausal women, were shown. No significant differences in BMDs between the two groups were observed in postmenopausal women, but the Ex group tended to have higher partial and whole BMDs. The postmenopausal official race runners (n=5.52.6-1.5years) also had higher TBMD and leg BMD values than subjects of the same ages in the Cont group.
6. Investigation of correlations between VO₂max, LTM, FTM, BMDs and serum lipid concentrations, yielded a significantly higher correlation (r=0.669) between LTM (kg) and absolute VO₂max (1/mm) . Although VO₂max per LTM (VO₂max/LTM) decreased with age (r=-0.595), VO₂max/LTM in the Ex group was significantly higher than in the Cont group in each age group. The VO₂max per body weight (ml/kg/min) was negatively correlated with %FTM (r=-0.442) and positively correlated with