The purpose of this study was to accumulate fundamental data for use in the future project for preventing or delaying institutionalization of the aged by clarifying the relationship between the Kihon Checklist and bone density. All the subjects were residents of the southern part of Akita Prefecture in the 65-74 age band. The Kihon Checklist was used. The women who marked the items on the list related to “intraoral conditions” tended to be low in bone density. Those who checked off the items related to “oral functions” -- the standard of judgment in determining the level of care needed - were inactive and depressed.   Since bone density was an indicator of whether the elderly women were in need of nursing care, we thought it of paramount importance to encourage them to participate in the screening for osteoporosis on a regular basis and to take measures to maintain or improve bone density.

Palmoplantar pustulosis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease involving the palms and soles where mild accumulation of helper T cells and neutrophils in the dermis histologically are observed. Leukoencephalopathy is a brain disease affecting white matter but is rarely accompanied by skin lesion. Here we report a unique case of leukoencephalopathy accompanied by palmoplantar pustulosis with identical pathological feature of helper T cell accumulation in both the brain and skin, suggesting a possible link in the pathogenesis.

A fungal carotid aneurysm is an infrequently occurring infectious aneurysm that is usually treated by antifungal therapy plus surgical debridement of the infected vessel. We herein report an extremely rare case involving a patient with a medical history of bladder cancer treated by Bacillus Calmette– Guérin (BCG) who developed a fungal aneurysm of the internal carotid artery and thrombosis of the superior ophthalmic vein caused by maxillary Aspergillus sinusitis. The patient was successfully treated by antifungal, anticoagulant, and antiplatelet drugs combined with internal carotid artery ligation therapy. Internal carotid artery fungal aneurysm is associated with a high mortality rate, but the present case suggests that it can be successfully treated by antifungal therapy combined with a less invasive endovascular therapy.

BACKGROUND: To examine changes in psychological distress prevalence among pregnant women in Miyagi Prefecture, which was directly affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, and compare it with the other, less damaged areas of Japan. METHODS: This study was conducted in conjunction with the Japan Environment and Children`s Study. We examined 76,152 pregnant women including 8270 in Miyagi Regional Center and 67,882 in 13 other regional centers from the all-birth fixed data of the Japan Environment and Children's Study. We then compared the prevalence and risk of distress in women in Miyagi Regional Center and women in the 13 regional centers for 3 years after the disaster. RESULTS: Women in the Miyagi Regional Center suffered more psychological distress than those in the 13 regional centers: OR 1.38 (95% CI, 1.03-1.87) to 1.92 (95% CI, 1.42-2.60). Additionally, women in the inland area had a consistently higher prevalence of psychological distress compared to those from the 13 regional centers: OR 1.67 (95% CI, 1.18-2.38) to 2.19 (95% CI, 1.60-2.99). CONCLUSIONS The lack of pre-disaster data in the Japan Environment and Children's Study made it impossible to compare the incidence of psychological distress before and after the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. However, 3 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the prevalence of pregnant women with psychological distress did not improve in Miyagi Regional Center. Further, the prevalence of mental illness in inland areas was consistently higher than that in the 13 regional centers after the disaster.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Disasters ; Earthquakes ; Female ; Humans ; Japan/epidemiology* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications/psychology* ; Pregnant Women/psychology* ; Prevalence ; Psychological Distress ; Tsunamis ; Young Adult