In an effort to contribute to the understanding of acupuncture therapy, using the serum cortisol level as an index we examined the responses of the dog's body to acupoint stimulation through intermittent measurement of changes in serum cortisol levels.
The experimental animals used were 5 adult beagles bred in similar environements. The areas of needle stimulation-ST-36, BL-23, throat point and various non-acupoint areas on the thigh were selected and experiments conducted 5 times at each point. The dogs were secured in place and after needle insertion, 30 minutes of electrical stimulation at 30Hz, double electrode pulse wave at 5Vp-p was administered. Blood was withdrawn before electrical stimulation, directly after stimulation, 1 hour after, 2 hours after and at 2 hour intervals for 8 hours. Also in a similar manner blood was withdrawn from those simply secured in place. The serum cortisol levels were measured through radioimmunoassay methods revealing the following results.
1) The serum cortisol levels increased most directly following electrical current and then dropped quickly and returned to original levels 2 hours after stimulation. After this there were slight variations however no remarkable changes from pre-treatment levels were observed.
2) The serum cortisol levels increased most with stimulation at the throat point followed by ST-36, the non-acupoint area, secured in place, and BL-23 in that order.
3) From the period directly after stimulation to 1 hour after, the levels after throat point stimulation showed tendencies to increase in comparison with secured in place, the non-acupoint area and BL-23 stimulation.
4) Stimulation at BL-23, opposite to that at all other points, resulted immediately following electrical current in levels lower than secured in place.
As explained above in this experiment the changes in the serum cortisol levels differed depending on the point of stimulation, however in every case the changes were temporary and recovery quick.

Background: On receiving chemotherapy, extravasation of drugs is a severe problem. The extravasations occur more commonly in patients who are elderly, have a poor performance status, have diabetes mellitus complications or have repeatedly received chemotherapy. Also, cancer patients usually require repeated venous punctures for this treatment. Purpose and methods: For the purpose of evaluating the efficacy and safety of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) for intravenous chemotherapy, we retrospectively reviewed all the cancer patients for whom PICC were inserted for chemotherapy from April 2008 to December 2010. Patients' background, duration of PICC insertion and complications were evaluated in this study. Results: Ten patients (male 4, female 6) were reviewed in this study. The median age was 59 years (17∼69). A total of 13 PICCs were inserted in 10 patients. The most common underlying disease was abdominal rhabdomyosarcoma (n=3, 30%) followed by lung cancer (n=2, 20%) and hematologic tumor (n=2, 20%). The average catheter span was 46 days. Catheter-related infections were seen in 2 cases (15.4%). No phlebitis or thrombosis usually associated with venous route was detected in PICC used for chemotherapy. Conclusions: PICC might reduce patients' discomfort such as repeated venous punctures or complications associated with chemotherapy. We suggest that PICC would be one of the effective tools in chemotherapy. Palliat Care Res 2011; 6(2): 233-236

Up until the present, the primary treatment for threatened premature labor has been bed rest, with drug therapy as a supplement. However, with drug therapy the problems of side effects and dosage limitations have made it difficult to achieve therapeutic effectiveness. In this paper, the authors report the favorable results obtained in such cases when moxibustion and a microwave emitter were used for stimulation therapy based on Oriental medical theory. Moxibustion was carried out on Shim, Yusen and Saninko (acupuncture points) in cases of threatened premature labor beyond the 24th week. Despite the short duration of treatment, uterine tension was relieved, fetal movement increased, and resistance in the umbilical artery and uterine artery reduced. Similar results were achieved with multiple microwave stimulation treatments; the effects lasted for long periods and were not accompanied by side effects. Thus, the results showed that through the use of moxibustion therapy in conjunction with drug therapy, the dosage could be reduced, and the frequency of side-effect appearance lowered. These results suggest that moxibustion therapy has potential as an effective and safe new treatment for threatened premature labor.

The system of the Japanese Board of Cardiovascular Surgery is changing. Since the last time, we have deliberated on the medical specialty board for U-40 column articles about the problems faced by young cardiovascular surgeons. This time, we conducted the second survey to U-40 members about the realities of becoming a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon. The results showed the circumstances and details on how to acquire the board certification. Moreover, we discussed about the current problems and future perspectives for the young cardiovascular surgeons.