We examined three cases where Kampo medicine had effects on palindromic rheumatism. All the patients are men with arthralgia accompanied by redness, fever, and swelling. All cases are RF negative. Cases 2 and 3 are brothers. Case 1: A 58-year-old patient with recurrent arthralgia on shoulders, hands, and legs for 30 years. Eppi-ka-jutsu-to was administrated for arthralgia. When discomfort of the hypochondrium (Kyokyokuman) was noted, the administration of Sho-Saiko-to reduced the symptom.
Case 2: A 40-year-old patient with recurrent arthralgia on shoulders, hands and legs for nine years. Eppi-ka-jutsu-to was administrated for arthralgia. When discomfort of the hypochondrium (Kyokyokuman) and contraction of the abdominal muscles (Fukuhikokyu) was noted, the administration of Eppi-ka-jutsu-to-go-Shigyaku-san-ryo was replaced, which reduced the symptoms.
Case 3: A 46-year-old patient with recurrent arthralgia on knees and fingers, and pain in hip joints. Eppi-ka-jutsu-to was administrated for arthralgia. When discomfort of the hypochondrium (Kyokyokuman) and contraction of the abdominal muscles (Fukuhikokyu) were noted, the administration of Shigyaku-san reduced the symptoms.
All cases were typical palindromic rheumatism, and Eppi-ka-jutsu-to was effective to a certain degree. Kampo diagnosis of Saiko (Saiko-sho) was made and additional Saiko-drugs (Saiko-zai) reduced the frequency, the degree, and the length of the period of symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: The present study assessed the validity of the benchmark, 75 years old, that divides elderly people into an early and a late stage, based on health checkup results for two consecutive years. We also investigated prevalent health problems and improvement trends.
METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted on 1,416 subjects (1,007 early and 409 late elderly subjects) who received health checkups at the Health Care Center of the St. Marianna University School of Medicine Hospital between April 2006 and March 2007. The survey consisted of blood pressure, required blood test results, diagnoses according to the criteria defined by Kawasaki city, outcomes, and the presence or absence of a primary care doctor.
RESULTS: The number of subjects with anemia and/or renal dysfunction was significantly greater in the late elderly than the early elderly (p<0.01). The results of the survey demonstrated that 79.6% of the early elderly and 87.4% of the late elderly had primary care doctors (p<0.01). In the early elderly, 57.0% of the subjects with primary care doctors and 43.2% of those without primary care doctors showed improvement; the subjects with primary care doctors showed significant improvement compared to those without primary care doctors (p<0.05). In the late elderly, 50.2% of the subjects with primary care doctors and 54.2% of those without primary care doctors showed improvement, resulting in no significant difference between the subjects with and without primary care doctors.
CONCLUSIONS: We found differences in the detected health problems and outcomes between the early and late elderly. These results support the appropriateness of the current age segmentation and future prospects for medical care in detecting and managing health problems in the elderly.

Brainstem gliomas are not common in adults, and the treatment strategies and their outcomes are limited. Immunotherapy is emerging as a promising new modality for the treatment of these gliomas. Here, we report the first case of brainstem glioma treated with a combination of radiotherapy and autologous formalin-fixed tumor vaccine (AFTV). A 32-year-old man presented with left facial numbness and right hemiparesis, and was referred to our department. MRI and open biopsy indicated brainstem glioma, and he was specifically diagnosed with isocitrate dehydrogenase 1-mutant diffuse astrocytoma of WHO grade II. He was treated with stereotactic radiotherapy followed by AFTV three months later. MRI conducted at 42 months after the combination therapy showed a 91% decrease in tumor volume, and the regression was maintained for 5 years. Thus, combination treatment with radiotherapy and immunotherapy may prove to be a promising alternative for the treatment of brainstem glioma.