In Japan there are many people who are intolerant to alcohol. Known as flushers, they do not genetically have low Km acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (AlDH₂). Flushers are judged easily and accurately by the alcohol patch test. An ethanol patch test carried out on agricultural and fishing populations in Japan showed that approx. 40% were deficient in AlDH₂. A questionnaire survey of the drinking behavior of many people showed significant differences between the normal AlDH₂ and AlDH₂-deficient groups. The normal group drinks positively and actively, while the deficient group drinks negatively and passively. As a result, there were significant differences in subjective and objective symptoms that result from drinking between the two groups: More frequent hangovers, abnormal physical conditions and higher KAST scores were seen in the normal group, and health examination showed higher values in liver function tests, including γ-GTP, and higher levels of blood pressure, HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), etc., in the normal AlDH₂group.
It may be very useful for prevention of alcohol-related health disorders to help Mongoloid peoples, such as the Japanese, recognize whether their AlDH₂ is normal or deficient, which is as determined by the ethanol patch test.

We have conducted acupuncture treatment for prevening the relapse of recurrent tonsillitis. We previously noted the effectiveness of this treatment in 121 of 239 patients treated in 1980, especially in elementary school children. In the present study, we compared the annual days of absence from school and the body dimensions of children with tonsillitis given acupuncture treatment with those having tonsillar hypertrophy chosen by a school study, although there is a question on the latter's propriety as a control group in a strict sense, in order to investigate the degree of spontaneous healing included in the preventive effects of acupuncture treatment on the relapse of recurrent tonsillitis.
By May 1983, our reseach was completed in 22 children with tonsillitis given acupuncture treatment and 19 with tonsillar hypertrophy not given such therapy. In children with tonsillitis given acupuncture treatment, the average annual days of absence from school before treatment was 14.0, which was more than that for all children in the S elementary school, and that in the year after treatment was 6.5, approximating that for all children in the school. In children with tonsillar hypertrophy not given acupuncture treatment, the average number of days of absence was close to that for all children in the S elementary school in both years.
Among 14 children with tonsillitis given acupuncture treatment, lower values of height and weight were noted in eight and 12 children, respectively, at the beginning of treatment, as compared with the national averages. The body dimensions of children with tonsillar hypertrophy not given acupuncture treatment were similar to the national averages. Of 14 children with tonsillitis given acupuncture treatment, an increase to a value exceeding the national average was observed with both the height and weight in six children, the height in two and the weight in one within the year after treatment.
The above results show that children with tonsillitis have a problem from the educational and developmental standpoint, even if they do not have a focal tonsil. We think that acupuncture treatment is worth attempting prior to tonsillectomy, although it is not so surely effective as tonsillectomy, when the severity of operative stress on the living body due to tonsillectomy and the burden of medical expenses and the load on the patient's family caused by hospitalization are taken into consideration.