Objective: Similarity of drug names is one factor of dispensing incidents.  The aim of this study was to survey the relation between sensual similarities of drug names and the occurrence of taking errors for pharmacists who actually prepare medicine.
Methods: A pair of drugs (15 incident pairs and 104 control pairs) was displayed on a computer screen at random.  The subject’s task was to determine the sensual similarity of them.  Thirteen pharmacists who prepared these pairs and caused their incidents participated in the experiment.
Results: The result showed that the sensual similarity of drug names of incident pairs was found to be highly significant in comparison to one of the control pairs [p=0.026].  However, the similarity in incident pairs is not necessarily high.  It was suggested that the similarity of drug name was not the only factor of taking error.  Multiple linear regression analyses of the sensual similarity in control pairs were performed, in which 10 variables were reported as quantitative indicators of similarity of drug name and were able to be measured on the internet.  The correlation was good [R²=0.828].  However, this regression model was not useful when adjusting to incident pairs.  In incident pairs, the similarity value calculated by the regression model was lower than the measured sensual similarity.
Conclusion: The result suggested that measured sensual similarity includes other risk factors of taking error, such as appearance similarity and/or efficacy similarity and/or short distance arrangement.  It seemed that the pharmacist’s ability complicated the factor of taking error.

Primary penile melanomas are rare tumors that represent less than 0.1% of all melanomas. We report a case of a 60-year-old Japanese male with a mucosal penile melanoma and describe an increased CD8⁺ T cell infiltration in brain after dacarbazine (DTIC) administration. After partial penectomy and left inguinal lymphadenectomy, he developed multiple lung, bone, spleen, brain and skin metastases. He was treated with interferon-β, DTIC and nivolumab. However, the metastases were not reduced in size. Immunohistochemistry showed an increase of CD8⁺ T cell infiltration and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression after the administration of DTIC, but the expression of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) was negative. We speculate that DTIC exerted immunostimulatory effects, but nivolumab was ineffective due to the negative expression of PD-1 and/or an insufficient infiltration of CD8⁺ T cells. Although this is only one case, this case report could be the first step to discuss the development of effective therapies against melanoma to take advantage of the increased CD8⁺ T cell infiltration elicited by chemotherapeutic agents. It would be beneficial to pay more attention to the relationship between DTIC and immune checkpoint modulators.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Brain ; Cell Death ; Dacarbazine* ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung ; Lymph Node Excision ; Male ; Melanoma* ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Skin ; Spleen ; T-Lymphocytes*

Early detection and treatment decrease the mortality rate associated with gastric cancer (GC). However, the natural history of GC remains unclear. An 85-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for evaluation of a gastric tumor. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy identified a 6 mm, flat-elevated lesion at the lesser curvature of the antrum. A biopsy specimen showed a well-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma. The depth of the lesion was estimated to be intramucosal. Although the lesion met the indications for endoscopic resection, periodic endoscopic follow-up was performed due to the patient's advanced age and comorbidities. The mucosal GC invaded into the submucosa 3 years later, and finally progressed to advanced cancer 5 years after the initial examination. The patient died of tumor hemorrhage 6.4 years after the initial examination. In this case, mucosal GC progressed to advanced GC, eventually leading to the patient's death from GC. Early and appropriate treatment is required to prevent GC-related death.
Adenocarcinoma ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biopsy ; Comorbidity ; Endoscopy, Digestive System ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Mortality ; Natural History* ; Stomach Neoplasms*

Based on two years working of “the enlarged working group for the curriculum of chemistry for medical education”, a provisional plan of the curriculum of chemistry for medical students is proposed. The article is consist of four sections; namely A: general problems, B: “chemistry” as a general education, C: purpose and specific problems of the general education for medical students, D: a provisional plan of the curriculum of chemistry for medical students.
The main part D is consist of three subsections: namely (1) a plan of the curriculum of physical and inorganic chemistry, (2) a plan of the curriculum of organic chemistry, (3) a plan of the curriculum of experiments.

Since students who would like to study Kampo medicine more have no opportunity to communicate each other in Northern Japanese Universities, we newly started joint study conferences held by medical students in 2013. The objectives of this paper are to report on these annually held student-based Kampo study conferences in the Hokkaido and Tohoku areas, and the ways each university studies Kampo medicine. In the conference, the students reported on their club activities. Then they studied the history of Kampo medicine and simulation of abdominal diagnosis, and performed group work on case reports together. The number of student participants in these conferences has tripled over 3 years from 18 to 58 (for a total of 111 participants). All members were satisfied with the content. And this reflects medical students' need for a wider perception of Kampo medicine, rather than a limited one gained in their university club activities. We hope this conference will play a major role in other nationwide student-based Kampo study conferences in the years to come.

Mitochondria activation factor (MAF) which is high-molecular weight polyphenol contained in black tea and oolong tea can increase the mitochondrial membrane potential. MAF supplementation to mice facilitates endurance running performance after 9-week endurance training and muscle hypertrophy induced by synergist ablation. In this study, we examined the effect of oral MAF supplementation on overall physical fitness (expressed as physical fitness age) in physically active middle-aged and older women. This study is a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial implemented between January and May 2019 at three fitness facilities in Ibaraki, Japan. Seventy middle-aged women aged 55 to 69 years were randomly assigned into placebo (n = 35) and MAF groups (n = 35). The placebo participants took cornstarch-containing capsules, and the MAF participants took MAF-containing capsules twice a day for 80 days consecutively. During the intake period, all participants were instructed to follow 30-min circuit training program at least twice a week. Physical fitness age was computed with eight physical fitness items assessing upper-extremity muscle strength, locomotion, and postural change. The physical fitness age decreased by 1.48 years (95% confidence interval [CI]: -2.66, -0.30) in the placebo group and 3.01 years (95% CI: -4.16, -1.86) in the MAF group. The reduction was greater in the MAF group, but did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.06). The combination of 80-day of MAF intake and circuit exercise showed beneficial results. However, our results did not indicate clear effects on physical fitness age because of low statistical power. Further studies are necessary to reveal the effects of MAF supplementation.