To clarify the relationship between the occurrence of the attacks of Raynaud's phenomenon and weather, maximum, minimum and mean air temperatures in winter were surveyed on the days in which the attacks of Raynaud's phenomenon occurred in 4 female students with Raynaud's phenomenon in the fingers. The results obtained were as follows:
1) In general, the percentages of the days when the attacks of Raynaud's phenomenon occurred was the highest from the end of November to December, compared to the January and February results.
2) Minimum and mean air temperatures on the days excluding holidays when the attacks of Raynaud's phenomenon occurred were significantly lower than those on the days when the attacks did not occur for the subject who went to school from her own home; this result was not noticeble for the others who lived at the dormitory. In all subjects there were no differences in the maximum air temperatures between the days when the attacks of Raynaud's phenomenon occurred and the days when the attack did not occur.

The present study was carried out on mice and rats to examine the effects of running and swimming on immune responses, particularly IgE antibody and hemagglutinin (HA) production. In the experiment with running mice, four-week old mice were divided into four groups. The first group of mice started running at the age of four weeks (E4 group), the second group started running at the age of seven weeks (E7 group), the third group started running at the age of 10 weeks (E10 group), and the fourth group was a control that received no treatment. In the experiment protocol, each group was subjected to running exercise until the age of 13 weeks. Each group of mice was forced to run at a speed of 15m/min on a flat floor with no slope for 60min a day. In the E4 group, IgE antibody production was suppressed without affecting HA production. In the E7 and E10 groups, neither IgE antibody production nor HA production was affected. In the experiment with swimming rats, seven-week old rats were divided into two groups: the swim group and the control group. The swim group was forced to swim for five days for three 15-min sessions a day loaded with an iron ring weighing 3% of the body weight. The control received no treatment. In the swim group, IgE antibody production was suppressed without affecting HA production. From these results, it might be concluded that running exercise and swimming exercise from early childhood will provide favorable influences on some asthmatic diseases by suppressing IgE antibody production.

The effects of a 70% methanolic extract and its fractions obtained from Eleutherococcus, and effects of exercise on oxidative enzyme activity in skeletal muscle, superoxide dismutase activity and lipid peroxidation were studied for 6 weeks using male ICR mice. At the age of 11 weeks, 70 mice were divided into six groups: a non-exercise group (control), a group administered the 70% methanolic extract (MeOH), a group administered a water-soluble extract (water), a group administered an n-BuOH extract (n-BuOH), a group administered an EtOAc extract (EtOAc) and a group given running exercise (exercise) . Eleutherococcus extracts were given p, o, at 170 mg/kg per day (6 days/week) for 6 weeks.
After 6 weeks of training (1 h/day, 6 days/week at 15 m/min, on a flat floor without any slope), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity in gastrocnemius muscle was increased significatly in the exercise group compared with the control group. SDH activity showed an increasing tendency in groups given Eleutherococcus extracts compared with the control group (n-BuOH>water>MeOH>EtOAc>control) . Malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activity in the exercise group was significantly different from that in the control group at P<0.005. In the water and n-BuOH groups, MDH activity was significantly greater than in the control group, whereas an increasing tendency was shown in the McOH and EtOAc groups. Muscle superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the exercise, McOH, water and n-BuOH groups was significantly greater than in the control group, and hepatic SOD activity was slightly higher in the exercise, McOH and water groups in comparison with the control group, although these differences were not significant. After endurance training, hepatic lipid peroxidation (LPO) was decreased by 17% in the exercise group. In the n-BuOH and EtOAc groups, a significant decrease was observed in hepatic LPO.
These results suggest that endurance training and administration of Eleutherococcus extracts enhance the activities of oxidative enzymes in skeletal muscle and also SOD in mice, resulting in improved aerobic metabolic rates, and also might intensify the functions of the host defense system against injury caused lipid peroxidation.

The effects of a 70% methanolic extract and its fractions obtained from Eleutherococcus, and effects of exercise on oxidative enzyme activity in skeletal muscle, superoxide dismutase activity and lipid peroxidation were studied for 6 weeks using male ICR mice. At the age of 11 weeks, 70 mice were divided into six groups: a non-exercise group (control), a group administered the 70% methanolic extract (MeOH), a group administered a water-soluble extract (water), a group administered an n-BuOH extract (n-BuOH), a group administered an EtOAc extract (EtOAc) and a group given running exercise (exercise) . Eleutherococcus extracts were given p, o, at 170 mg/kg per day (6 days/week) for 6 weeks.
After 6 weeks of training (1 h/day, 6 days/week at 15 m/min, on a flat floor without any slope), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity in gastrocnemius muscle was increased significatly in the exercise group compared with the control group. SDH activity showed an increasing tendency in groups given Eleutherococcus extracts compared with the control group (n-BuOH>water>MeOH>EtOAc>control) . Malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activity in the exercise group was significantly different from that in the control group at P<0.005. In the water and n-BuOH groups, MDH activity was significantly greater than in the control group, whereas an increasing tendency was shown in the McOH and EtOAc groups. Muscle superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the exercise, McOH, water and n-BuOH groups was significantly greater than in the control group, and hepatic SOD activity was slightly higher in the exercise, McOH and water groups in comparison with the control group, although these differences were not significant. After endurance training, hepatic lipid peroxidation (LPO) was decreased by 17% in the exercise group. In the n-BuOH and EtOAc groups, a significant decrease was observed in hepatic LPO.
These results suggest that endurance training and administration of Eleutherococcus extracts enhance the activities of oxidative enzymes in skeletal muscle and also SOD in mice, resulting in improved aerobic metabolic rates, and also might intensify the functions of the host defense system against injury caused lipid peroxidation.

The attack of Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is characterized by finger blanching in response to cold or emotional stimuli.
To clarify the relationship between the attack of RP and air temperature, certain inhabitants of mountain village “T” (N₁=23) who had primary RP (PRP) were observed every day from August 20, 1990 to May 31, 1991 and those in town “K” (N₂=20) were observed from November 1, 1990 to May 31, 1991. One hundred and sixty-seven attacks of RP among 6 subjects in T Village and 89 attacks among 8 subjects in K Town were observed.
In T Village, the frequency of attacks was high in the morning, and the minimum and mean air temperatures in the days when some of the subjects had attacks (“attack days”) were significantly lower than those in the days when there was no attack on any subject (“non-attack days”). In K Town the frequency of attacks was high both in the morning and in the evening. In addition, the, mean and maximum air temperatures on the “attack days” were significantly lower than those on the “non-attack days.” The threshold temperature to cause RP attacks differed from one subject to another (5.2 to 17.6°C) in K Town during the period from November through February. The minimum air temperature which caused an attack of RP on any subject in T Village from August 20 to December 31 was 17.8°C.
These results suggest that cooling of the whole body in daily life promotes the onset of attacks of RP. When the minimum air temperature becomes lower than 18°C from autumn to winter, the whole body must be protected against cold to prevent the onset of RP.

To explore the possibility of incorporating oriental medicine and medical hydrology in the educational programs of medical, nursing and pharmaceutical schools, a questionnaire on the attitude of medical students (group A, N=70; group B, N=77), nursing students (group C, N=64; group D, N=61) and pharmaceutical students (group E, N=172) who had not yet received any practical medical education was circulated. The results showed that about 50% of the students did not recognize the term “medical hydrology, ” and about 10% of them did not recognize the term “oriental medicine.” Seventy-five percent of the group A medical students and 93% of the group B medical students were interested in oriental medicine, and these rates were higher than those who were interested in medical hydrology (49% (67%)). About 50% of the nursing and pharmaceutical students were interested both in oriental medicine and medical hydrology. Eighty-two percent of group A and 86% of group B medical students hoped to attend lectures on oriental medicine, and these rates were higher than those among nursing and pharmaceutical students. Between 49% and 60% of the students of all three groups hoped to attend lectures on medical hydrology. This rate was lower than that of those who hoped to attend lectures on oriental medicine. In general, the rate of those who had a positive image of oriental medicine was higher among medical and pharmaceutical students. However, there were no significant differences in the rates of those who had a positive image of medical hydrology among different groups of students. In all student groups, the rate of those who answered that both oriental medicine and medical hydrology are “relatively effective” was the highest.