Objective: Plasma cluster ions consist of positive and negative ions and are known to suppress the activity of total bacteria, mold fungi, viruses and allergens floating in the air. In terms of inactivating mite allergens, it was reported that plasma cluster ions suppressed the symptoms of atopic dermatitis in mice. In the present study we investigated the effect of plasma cluster ions on attenuating chronic allergic rhinitis and fatigue induced by mite allergens in humans.
Design: Sixteen subjects with specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) positive to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, who had symptoms of allergic rhinitis caused by house dust participated in a randomized double-blinded crossover trial. Subjects occupied a mite allergen challenge room and performed mental task for 4 hours with 25,000/cm³ plasma cluster ions or without plasma cluster ions and rested for 2 hours outside of the room. We measured mite allergens (Der p1) on the floor using plastic dishes (90 mm diameter) placed at 5 points in the room. We also investigated the symptoms of allergic rhinitis using the Japanese Allergic Rhinitis Standard QOL Questionnaire (JRQLQ) during the 4-hour load and 2-hour rest and performance by Uchida-Kraepelin psychodiagnostic test during the 4-hour load.
Result: Plasma cluster ions inactivated 80–90% of Der p1 and attenuated the symptoms of nasal congestion in JRQLQ. Moreover, plasma cluster ions inhibited fatigue-induced impaired performance in Uchida-Kraepelin psychodiagnostic test compared to the case without the ions.
Conclusion: Plasma cluster ions reduce mite allergens and are effective for attenuating chronic allergic rhinitis and fatigue.

Several factors have been reported as risk factors for the development of osteoporosis. In this study, we aimed to examine the relationship among lifestyle factors, biologic factors, and bone mineral density (BMD) using structural equation modeling (SEM). The subjects in the present study consisted of 866 postmenopausal Japanese women aged between 40 and 80 years old. In the analysis by the SEM, we employed a multiple basic model. As the structural variables, lifestyle factors and biologic factors were selected. The goodness of fit index (GFI) of the final model was 0.991 and the Akaike’s information criteria (AIC) showed the lowest value in the peripheral models. The degree of association between biologic factors and BMD was −0.576 (direct association), 0.012 (indirect association), and −0.564 (total association). With regard to the correlation between lifestyle factors and BMD, the degrees of association were 0.085, −0.084, and 0.001, respectively. This study defined a pilot model for factors influencing BMD. Although is remains necessary to conduct further analyses with more valid measurements and constructs, this model indicated that the correlation between BMD and lifestyle factors was lower than that between BMD and biologic factors.
Relationship by association ; Models ; Life Style ; structural equation model ; Japanese language

In the present study, we investigated the effects of plasma cluster ions on moisturizing skin and increasing comfort sensation in healthy female volunteers. Thirty-two healthy women who often experienced dry skin participated in a randomized crossover trial. We evaluated skin moisture using the Corneometer CM825 and comfort sensation using the visual analogue scale. Plasma cluster ion concentrations of 25000 pcs/cm³ increased skin moisture, while concentrations of 7000 pcs/cm³ increased comfort sensation. These results suggest that plasma cluster ions have an effect on skin moisture contents and comfort sensation.

Today, well over 160, 000 patients undergo dialysis throughout Japan. The number of patients who are newly required to receive it is increasing year by year. Given that situation, our hospital has annually held a seminar since October 1994 for patients with renal diseases. The purpose is to slow the deterioration of renal function and to delay the introduction of dialysis by encouraging the patients to acquire a habit of taking high calory, low protein food.
This seminar must have help the patients get more knowledgeable about morbidity and learn the benefit of low protein rice-based diet. Now that three years have passed since the opening of the course, we reviewed the outcome, comparing the effects of old and new restrict diets.
A difference began to appear 9-2 months after the lst seminar between the seminar participants and the non-participants (control group) who received guidance only at the outpatient ward. The average rate of decrease in the serum creatine level of those participants who eated lowprotein rice was 0.029 and that of those participants who did not eat the restricted food was 0.166 (p<0.05), compared with 0.262 in the control group. We concluded that the difference is ascribable to the effect of the seminar. We would like to contribute to the well-being of the patients by enriching the content of the seminar and continuing to hold it.

We here report three cases of choroidal metastases with ocular pain and visual symptoms treated with palliative irradiation. Case 1: A 71-year-old woman was treated with chemotherapy for multiple metastases after surgery for right breast cancer. Sixteen years after surgery, a right choroidal metastasis with ocular pain and visual disturbance was detected. Palliative irradiation to this lesion achieved reduction in ocular pain and shrank the tumor. Case 2: A 54-year-old man presented with right ocular pain and abnormal vision and was diagnosed as having right lung cancer with multiple systemic metastases. Palliative irradiation to a right choroidal metastasis achieved reduction in ocular pain and shrank the tumor. Case 3: A 71-year-old woman developed left eye pain 17 months after surgery for lung cancer in the right upper lobe. She was diagnosed as having a left choroidal metastasis. After palliative irradiation, the tumor shrank and the left eye pain temporarily resolved. Palliative radiation therapy for choroidal metastasis with ocular pain and visual symptoms seems to be effective in improving symptoms.