Recently, laser has been widely applied in the field of medicine and surgery. However, laser application is very rare in the cardiovascular surgery through world. Among the patients with ischemic heart disease there are some cases for whom aortocoronary bypass could not be carried out, because of small branches and diffuse stenoses of the coronary arteries. Besides, there are some problems in keeping long-term patency after vascular anastomosis especially for small-caliber vessels. For resolving these problems we have performed and continued to achieve laser works concerning, 1) myocardial revascularization by laser, 2) laser vascular anastomosis, 3) laser angioplasty. Subsequently, myocardial revascularization by high energy CO₂ laser could be successfully carried out experimentally. It was microscopically clarified that transventricular laser channels newly created in the ischemic myocardium were patent even 3 years after surgery. On the basis of excellent results of experimental studies laser was successfully employed in a 55 year-old male patient who had severe anginal attack and 90% stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary artery. On the other hand, vascular anastomosis by low energy CO₂ laser (out put 20-40mW, irradiation time 6-12s/mm) was satisfactorily utilized in 83 patients with intermittent claudication, chronic renal insufficiency and angina pectoris after a feasibility of the procedure was clearly confirmed by hemodynamic and histological examinations. Finally, laser angioplasty using Argon laser was fundamentally studied in the mongrel dogs and human cadaver. Based on the successful results of these studies, laser angioplasty was clinically applied in the 17 patients with multiple coronary stenoses or severe stenoses of the peripheral arteries. From these excellent results, laser application was inevitable for treatment in the field of cardiovascular surgery. Clinical experience of 101 patients treated by laser was reported in detail.

Objective: Serum 25−hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] is a vitamin D metabolite and a good indicator of vitamin D nutritional status. Low 25(OH)D levels accelerate age−related bone loss in women. The aim of this study was to assess 25(OH)D levels using population−based samples from women in a community in Japan. Subjects and Methods: Of all 187 adult women living on a solitary island (Niigata, Japan), 150 (80.2%) were enrolled in a cross−sectional study in early June 1998. After excluding 6 subjects who were undergoing treatment for osteoporosis, 144 female subjects were analyzed. Serum 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 were determined by high−performance liquid chromatography. The sum of 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 was calculated, yielding 25(OH)D, for which a concentration of less than 30 nmol/L was defined as vitamin D insufficiency. Demographic data such as age, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were also recorded. Results: The average age of the subjects was 61.3 years (SD 12.8), ranging from 21 to 87. The average concentrations of 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 were 0.5nmol/L (SD 3.2) and 64.6nmol/L (SD 17.6), respectively. The number of subjects with 25(OH)D concentration less than 30nmol/L was 4 of 149(2.7%). Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were not significantly correlated with age (r=−0.065, p=0.441) or BMI (r=0.086, p=0.310). Conclusion: The present population−based study confirms adequate levels of 25(OH)D and low prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in Japanese women. Further research should be directed toward clarifying which dietary factors determine vitamin D nutrition.
hydroxyl group ; Upper case dee ; Vitamin D ; Nutritional status ; Human Females

The efficacy of Landiolol hydrochloride (Onoact^®) for the treatment of arrhythmia was studied in 10 adult patients who underwent cardiovascular surgery. Onoact was continuously infused at a mean rate of 0.018 mg/kg/min initially and followed by 0.01 mg/kg/min. After the initiation of Onoact infusion, supra-ventricular tachycardia was eliminated in 5 out of 6 patients, and ventricular tachycardia disappeared in all 4 patients. The decrease in systemic blood pressure was not significant. Low-dose continuous infusion of Onoact was safe and effective even in patients just after cardiovascular surgery.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of weight reduction on the anti-mutagenicity of human saliva. Subjects were 16 male college judo players. The anti-mutagenicity of the saliva was measured using the umu test. There was an inhibiting effect of the saliva on the mutagenicity of AF-2. However, a modifying effect of the saliva on Trp-P-1 was not observed. On the day before a competition and 7 days after the competition, the inhibiting capacity of the saliva for the mutagenicity of AF-2 decreased and increased in two non-weight reduction and two weight reduction groups, respectively. However, on the day before the competition, the changed body weights (r=−0.77, p<0.01) and BMI (r=−0.77, p<0.01) were significantly correlated with that of the inhibiting capacity of the saliva for the mutagenicity of AF-2. In addition, the BMI at 20 days before the competition was not significantly but markedly correlated with it (r=0.50, p=0.057). At 7 days after the competition, however, these correlations were not found. These findings suggest a unique correlation between the anti-mutagenicity of human saliva and body weight or BMI.
Saliva ; competition ; Human ; Body Weight ; g <3>

The efficacy of Landiolol hydrochloride (Onoact^®) for the treatment of arrhythmia was studied in 10 adult patients who underwent cardiovascular surgery. Onoact was continuously infused at a mean rate of 0.018 mg/kg/min initially and followed by 0.01 mg/kg/min. After the initiation of Onoact infusion, supra-ventricular tachycardia was eliminated in 5 out of 6 patients, and ventricular tachycardia disappeared in all 4 patients. The decrease in systemic blood pressure was not significant. Low-dose continuous infusion of Onoact was safe and effective even in patients just after cardiovascular surgery.

To assess the effectiveness of a problem-based learning tutorial system introduced at Gifu University School of Medicine in 1995, we conducted a questionnaire survey of medical knowledge, attitudes about learning, communication ability, and social behavior in sixth-year medical students. The questionnaire was given to instructors and attending physicians at community hospitals who were involved in clinical education. Many of the evaluators felt that students who trained with the tutorial system showed improved understanding, a more active attitude toward learning, and a better attitude toward patients than did students who received traditional, lecture-based education.