In the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture, tea growing is carried out on hillsides. From the posture taken by farmers while they are picking tea-leaves, it is assumed that a heavy load is laid on the cervical region and that they must have complaints in that region frequently.
On this assumption, we have conducted a survey covering a total of 228 persons working in tea plantations, with 42 persons living in plains as a control group.
Of the total, 172 persons filled out a questionnaire and the remaining 56 underwent a physical checkup.
Of those surveyed, 92.8% said that they feel fatigued from work. Complaints in the cervical region were filed by 69.5% of the males and 89.0% of the females.
X-ray pictures revealed abnormal signs in 69.5% of the males and 89.0% of the females. Radiographic observation suggested that 77.0% of the abnormalities have some bearing on their complaints. It was also found that the stiffness in the shoulders accounted for most of the complaints.
From these findings, we have keenly felt it is necessary for us to continue to engourage them into practicing calisthenics designed to prevent the stiffness in the shoulders.

Thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (T-OLF) is a relatively rare spinal disorder that generally requires surgical intervention, due to its progressive nature and the poor response to conservative therapy. The prevalence of OLF has been reported at 3.8%-26%, which is similar to that of cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). The progression of OPLL after cervical laminoplasty for the treatment of OPLL is often shown in long-term follow-up. However, there have been no reports on the progression of OLF following surgery. We report a case of thoracic myelopathy secondary to the progressive relapse of OLF following laminectomy.
Follow-Up Studies ; Laminectomy ; Ligamentum Flavum* ; Longitudinal Ligaments ; Prevalence ; Recurrence* ; Spinal Cord Diseases

Total of 216 animals conserved in Seoul Grand Park were examined on the antibody titers of Toxoplasma by the indirect latex agglutination test, 20 out of 131 cases (15.3%) in mammals, 2 out of 75 cases (2.7%) in birds, and none in reptiles, according to species, 15 out of 68 species (22.1%) in mammals, 2 out of 36 species (5.6%) in birds showed positive antibody titers when the titers of 1:32 or higher were regarded as positive. In mammals, it appeared as positive in 2 out of 6 cases (1 out of 3 species ) in marsupials, 1 out of 15 cases (1 out of 11 species) in primates, 1 out of 1 case in bats, 6 out of 13 cases (5 out of 10 species) in carnivores, 1 in 12 cases (1 species out of 3) in odd-toed ungulates, 9 out of 80 cases (6 species out of 38) in even-toed ungulates, and none in rodents and in whales. In birds, 1 out of 21 cases (1 out of 7 species) in gallinaceous birds and 1 out of 6 (5 species ) in parrots appeared to have the positive antibody titers of Toxoplasma. And, none of reptiles showed positive. Frequencies of positive antibody titers were high in 1: 64, 9 cases in mammals followed by 1: 32, 6 cases, 1: 128, 3 cases, and 1: 256, 2 cases, respectively. Two positive cases in birds appeared to be 1: 64.
parasitology-protozoa ; Toxoplasma gondii ; epidemiology ; marsupial ; primate ; bat ; rodent ; whale ; carnivore ; ungulate

STUDY DESIGN: Animal study. PURPOSE: To review the present warning point criteria of the compound muscle action potential (CMAP) and investigate new criteria for spinal surgery safety using an animal model. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Little is known about correlation palesis and amplitude of spinal cord monitoring. METHODS: After laminectomy of the tenth thoracic spinal lamina, 2-140 g force was delivered to the spinal cord with a tension gage to create a bilateral contusion injury. The study morphology change of the CMAP wave and locomotor scale were evaluated for one month. RESULTS: Four different types of wave morphology changes were observed: no change, amplitude decrease only, morphology change only, and amplitude and morphology change. Amplitude and morphology changed simultaneously and significantly as the injury force increased (p<0.05) Locomotor scale in the amplitude and morphology group worsened more than the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: Amplitude and morphology change of the CMAP wave exists and could be the key of the alarm point in CMAP.
Action Potentials* ; Animals* ; Contusions ; Gravitation ; Laminectomy ; Models, Animal* ; Spinal Cord

OBJECTIVETo clarify the seasonal differences of the trace element excretion in sweat, the trace element concentration in sweat and their loss during exercise were compared between summer and winter.

METHODSSweat samples were collected from ten healthy adult males. Bicycle ergometer exercise was conducted by each subject at a heart rate of 140 beats/min for 1 hour, in summer and in winter. Sweat was collected by the arm bag method.

RESULTSConcentrations of major (Na, K, Ca, and Mg) and trace elements (Zn, Cu, Fe, Ni, Mn, and Cr) in sweat tended to be lower in summer than in winter, and significantly lower concentrations of Mg (p<0.01), Na, Cu, and Mn (p<0.05) were found in summer. The sweat volume in summer (0.90 L) was 1.7-fold larger than that in winter (0.52 L) (p<0.01). The amount of loss of each element to sweat calculated from the concentrations in sweat and sweat volume showed no significant difference between summer and winter.

CONCLUSIONSIt is suggested that there was no significant difference in the amount of loss of trace elements in sweat due to exercise between summer and winter.

BACKGROUNDIn an earlier study, we identified a locus for Moyamoya disease (MMD) on 17q25.3.

METHODSLinkage analysis and fine mapping were conducted for two new families in additional to the previously studied 15 families. Three genes, CARD14, Raptor, and AATK, were selected based on key words, namely, "inflammation", "apoptosis", "proliferation", and "vascular system", for further sequencing. A segregation analysis of 34 pedigrees was performed, followed by a case-control study in Japanese (90 cases vs. 384 controls), Korean (41 cases vs. 223 controls), Chinese (23 cases and 100 controls), and Caucasian (25 cases and 164 controls) populations.

RESULTSLinkage analysis increased the LOD score from 8.07 to 9.67 on 17q25.3. Fine mapping narrowed the linkage signal to a 2.1-Mb region. Sequencing revealed that only one newly identified polymorphism, ss161110142, which was located at position -1480 from the transcription site of the Raptor gene, was common to all four unrelated sequenced familial affected individuals. ss161110142 was then shown to segregate in the 34 pedigrees studied, resulting in a two-point LOD score of 14.2 (P = 3.89 × 10(-8)). Its penetrance was estimated to be 74.0%. Among the Asian populations tested (Japanese, Korean, and Chinese), the rare allele was much more frequent in cases (26, 33, and 4%, respectively) than in controls (1, 1, and 0%, respectively) and was associated with an increased odds ratio of 52.2 (95% confidence interval 27.2-100.2) (P = 2.5 × 10(-49)). This allele was, however, not detected in the Caucasian samples. Its population attributable risk was estimated to be 49% in the Japanese population, 66% in the Korean population, and 9% in the Chinese population.

CONCLUSIONss161110142 may confer susceptibility to MMD among East Asian populations.

ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12199-009-0116-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A Kampo formulation boibukuryoto is originally described in the classic textbook “Kinkiyouryaku,” which indication is involuntary muscle movement (IMM) of extremities, similar to the movement of leaves of an elm tree. We experienced two cases of IMM successfully treated with boibukuryoto. This report presented the details of these two cases of IMM and the results of surface electromyogram (EMG). There has never been a report of boibukuryoto for the treatment of IMM. The results of EMG indicate that IMM may be associated with myokymia.

We experienced a patient, who complained severe fatigue in spite of adequate hormonal supplement after pituitary tumor removal, was successfully treated with Kampo therapy. The pharmacological effect of this Kampo formulation i.e. bukuryoshigyakuto is still unknown, but this formulation has been used for pre-shock conditions in the terminal stage of infectious diseases. According to the description in the classic textbook, this formulation is suggested to encourage metabolic function and maintain core temperature of the human body. The authors propose that Kampo medicine is a hopeful alternative way in the management of such patients.