A 74-year-old man with very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was scheduled for elective total arch replacement for a distal arch saccular aneurysm. Postoperative respiratory failure was anticipated because of a marked reduction in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV_1.0 - less than 0.5l). Through median sternotomy, total arch replacement using selective cerebral perfusion was completed uneventfully. Postoperative respiratory condition was stable. Therefore, the patient was extubated on postoperative day 2 (POD2). However, as the respiratory condition started getting worse, respiratory therapy external (RTX) was introduced to assist ventilation. Additionally, non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) with BiPAP was used on POD3 and management with both RTX and NPPV was continued during the remainder of the intensive care unit stay. As a result, we were able to avoid re-intubation. In conclusion, assisted ventilation supplemented by RTX and NPPV was useful for the prevention of postoperative respiratory failure in a patient with very severe COPD undergoing total arch replacement.

We describe the case of a 59-year-old man who developed constrictive epicarditis 2 months after an episode of acute pericarditis. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated parietal pericarditis and epicarditis. Through a median sternotomy, a markedly thickened parietal epicardium was noted which was removed where possible. After this procedure, however, no improvement of the hemodynamic parameters was observed. We attempted removal of the epicardium, but the procedure had to be abandoned due to myocardial injuries and bleeding. Multiple longitudinal and transverse incisions were carefully performed on the thickened epicardium, following which relief of constriction along with a remarkable improvement of the hemodynamic status was achived. Although the dip and plateau pattern was persisted, cardiac index increased from 2.2 to 2.9 l/min/m² and the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure decreased from 20 to 13 mmHg. Patient's postoperative course was uneventful and he was discharged on postoperative day 22.

We have tried to design a method to measure health degrees as one of ideas to grasp the activity of general population.
We should like to suggest to measure relative local endurance and to observe its index or their mutual index ratio measurement of their endurance in each item.
Exercise method was already reported in the report (1) .
Loading time by standing arm test (SAT) is 1 minute, knee test (KT) is 30 seconds, sit up test (ST) is 30 seconds for general population.
Extimate formulas on index are given as follows,
SAT=120-2Y/ (P₁+P₂) ×4×1.36×100=2206-37Y/P₁+P₂
KT=120-2X/ (P₁+P₂) ×4×1.22×100=2459-41X/P₁+P₂
_??_ST₃₀=120-3Z/ (P₁+P₂) ×4×1.20×100=2500-63Z/P₁+P₂
_??_ST₃₀=120-3Z/ (P₁+P₂) ×4×1.38×100=2174-63Z/P₁+P₂
X, Y and Z show frequency of impossible in each exercise.
The above index itself can be compared with index in another person, but for the individual SAT/KT and ST/KT show that balance of moving and in case need SAT+ KT and SAT+KT+ST can be compared as the whole body endurance.
After this, we are expected to investigate whether the health degree in each individual can be observated or not, by these methods.

Pulmonary artery (PA) aneurysm is rare, but its true incidence is unclear, because most cases remain asymptomatic. The need for surgical treatment is controversial. We report two cases of surgical treatment of PA aneurysm associated with pulmonary valve (PV) disease in adults. Case1: A 54-year-old woman. She underwent pulmonary valvotomy for pulmonary stenosis (PS) at age 22. She had suffered from palpitations and dyspnea on effort recently. Then progressive changes of pulmonary stenosis-regurgitation (PSR) occurred. After further examinations, she was diagnosed as having PA aneurysm and right ventricular dysfunction with PSR, tricuspid regurgitation and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. We performed PV replacement, PA aneurysmo-plasty, tricuspid annuloplasty, cryo-MAZE procedure. Case2: A 70-year-old man sufferd recently from dyspnea on effort. The dilatation of the pulmonary artery was pointed out on chest X-ray. PA aneurysm and PS with ventricular arrhythmia were diagnosed. We performed PV commissurotomy and PA aneurysmo-plasty. There were no significant findings of high PA pressure in either case. PA with pulmonary valve disease in the presence of low pulmonary pressure have low risk of rupture and dissection. Surgical treatments are recommended when right ventricular dysfunction or ventricular arrhythmia secondary to pulmonary valve disease is present.

We performed mitral valvuloplasty for 25 months old infant with endocardial fibroelastosis (EFE) and 21 months old infant with endomyocardial fibrosis (EMF). These two patients showing good post operative cause, have been followed up during 10 and 1 years respectively. The EFE and EMF are severe and progressive restrictive cardiomyopathy of unknown etiology. Most of cases with EFE and EMF have an enlarged left ventricle with incompetent atrioventricular valve. The prognosis of these patient is usually poor. We believe that the surgical treatment in early phase may be able to improve heart failure and also to protect the progression of these disease. This case with EMF is the first report of successfull surgical treatment for the patients with severe congestive heart failure whithin one year after birth in Japan.

As regards obesity screening tests, it's a widly known fact that there are many problems in the existing notation of various body indices.
Moreover, in regards to the determination of skin-fold thickness, measurments must be taken at two or three places, and this, plus the fact that a certain amount of expertise is necessary, represent a shortcoming.
Using abdominal girth, which can be relatively easily measured, together with the chest girth measurment, the author examined a method for assessing obesity.
Various body indices were computed from height, weight, chest measurement, abdominal girth, etc. and the correlation between their value and skin fold thickness and average skin fold thickness was determined.
As a result of this, abdominal girth measurement and evaluation may be used in obesity screen tests in the following way.
1. Method for measuring abdominal girth.
[1] Have the patient assume normal posture.
[2] Girth is measured (in centimeters) around the area mid way above the navel while the patient resting expiratory state with arms hanging limp and shoulders relaxed.
2. Method for computing obesity index.
obesity index=height (in cm) ×10/abdominal girth (in cm)
The subject of the above research is extreamly limited in respect to age range. Therefore, the authors would like to examine further to see if this method is applicable to all age renges.

OBJECTIVE: Diagnosis of sporadic cerebellar ataxia is a challenge for neurologists. A wide range of potential causes exist, including chronic alcohol use, multiple system atrophy of cerebellar type (MSA-C), and sporadic late cortical cerebellar atrophy. Recently, an autosomal-dominant spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) mutation was identified in a cohort of patients with non-MSA-C sporadic cerebellar ataxia. The aim of this study is to genetically screen genes involved in SCA in a Japanese single-hospital cohort. METHODS: Over an 8-year period, 140 patients with cerebellar ataxia were observed. There were 109 patients with sporadic cerebellar ataxia (no family history for at least four generations, 73 patients with MSA-C, and 36 patients with non-MSA-C sporadic cerebellar ataxia) and 31 patients with familial cerebellar ataxia. We performed gene analysis comprising SCA1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 12, 17, 31, and dentatorubro-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) in 28 of 31 non-MSA-C sporadic patients who requested the test. Familial patients served as a control. RESULTS: Gene abnormalities were found in 57% of non-MSA-C sporadic cerebellar ataxia cases. Among patients with sporadic cerebellar ataxia, abnormalities in SCA6 were the most common (36%), followed by abnormalities in SCA1 (7.1%), SCA2 (3.6%), SCA3 (3.6%), SCA8 (3.6%), and DRPLA (3.6%). In contrast, gene abnormalities were found in 75% of familial cerebellar ataxia cases, with abnormalities in SCA6 being the most common (29%). For sporadic versus familial cases for those with SCA6 abnormalities, the age of onset was older (69 years vs. 59 years, respectively), and CAG repeat length was shorter (23 vs. 25, respectively) in the former than in the latter (not statistically significant). CONCLUSION: Autosomal-dominant mutations in SCA genes, particularly in SCA6, are not rare in sporadic cerebellar ataxia. The reason for the frequency of mutations in SCA6 remains unclear; however, the reason may reflect a higher age at onset and variable penetrance of SCA6 mutations.
Age of Onset ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Atrophy ; Cerebellar Ataxia ; Cohort Studies* ; Diagnosis ; Family Characteristics ; Genetic Testing* ; Heredity ; Humans ; Multiple System Atrophy ; Penetrance ; Spinocerebellar Ataxias*