Hemiplegia after a cerebrovascular event is a complication that causes problems in daily life such as difficulty of walking and may lead to social disadvantages. Furthermore, various subsequent health issues that accompany hemiplegia tend to hinder rehabilitation. In particular, Shoulder-Hand Syndrome (SHS) is an intractably painful disease with primary symptoms of pain and swelling in the upper limbs of patients. We investigated the effect of the acupuncture treatment on those patients with hemiplegia after a cerebrovascular event who are suspected to have SHS because of such symptoms as pain, swelling, and paresthesia in the upper limb of the affected side by measuring the changes in the numerical scale (NS), Gibbons' RSD score, and range of motion (ROM) in upper extremities.
The present study consisted of 13 hemiplegic subjects (eight males, five females) with pain, swelling, and paresthesia in the upper limbs. Acupuncture treatment was applied twice a week for over two months. Specifically electrical acupuncture and/or the retaining needle technique was applied to the upper extremities for 20 minutes in each session. Of 13 participants, 10 showed a significant decrease in NS (reduced by five or more points), eight showed improvement of the swelling in the upper limbs, and nine showed reduction in paresthesia.
From these results, we concluded that the acupuncture treatment was effective for SHS that accompanies hemiplegia after a cerebrovascular event and that the improvement of the peripheral blood flow might play an important role in generating treatment effects.

A 64-year-old man with congenital factor V deficiency and hereditary spherocytosis was attending our hospital for type II diabetes and stage 4 diabetic nephropathy. Coronary angiography performed to assess chest pain revealed severe triple-vessel disease, including total occlusion of the right coronary artery. The patient required surgical coronary revascularization. In the preoperative examination, the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (PT-INR) were high (89.5 s and 1.95) and factor V activity was low (6% ; normal range, 70-135%). Hemodialysis was performed on the day of the operation, and 6 units of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) were administered, which reduced immediately the preoperative PT-INR to 1.33. We performed off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCAB) and perioperatively administered 6 units of FFP with 4 units of red blood cells (RBC) transfusion. The postoperative course of the patient was uneventful, and he was discharged on postoperative day 22. Here we report the case of a patient with a very rare disease of congenital factor V deficiency and hereditary spherocytosis complicated with stage 4 diabetic nephropathy who required OPCAB.

We report a case of syphilitic aortitis (SA) associated with severe right coronary ostial stenosis, aortic regurgitation (AR), and annuloaortic ectasia (AAE). A 48-year-old man presented to a regional hospital with easy fatigability and nocturnal dyspnea. Echocardiography revealed Seller's grade 3 AR. A computed tomography scan showed AAE, dilatation of the ascending aorta, and calcification of both coronary ostia. Coronary angiography demonstrated that the left coronary artery was intact ; however, the right coronary artery was obscure. Active syphilis was detected on routine blood tests on admission. Therefore, the patient was started on a course of ampicillin/sulbactam (ABPC/SBT). Subsequently, he underwent the Bentall procedure and coronary artery bypass grafting with the right internal thoracic artery. The intraoperative findings showed degeneration of the aorta and severe right coronary ostial stenosis. The pathological findings of the aortic wall and aortic valve were consistent with SA. The postoperative course was uneventful. The patient continued receiving ABPC/SBT for 3 weeks postoperatively, and was then switched to oral amoxicillin.

The purpose of this study was to reevaluate the sho of goshuyuto, which has been established in an unscientific manner, and to create a new concept of the sho of goshuyuto. Eighty-four patients suffering from chronic headache were instructed to orally consume 7.5g. day of a spray-dried powder of goshuyuto (TJ-31) for 4 weeks. Before consuming the TJ-31, all subjects underwent Kampo examinations that were based on 43 diagnostic items. After the 4-week period of medication, all the subjects were classified as either responders or nonresponders. After excluding insignificant items from the 43 diagnostic items, discriminant analysis, which discriminated between responders and nonresponders, was conducted. Of the 80 subjects who completed the trial period, 57 were judged to be responders and 23 to be nonresponders. “Cold feet,” “fluid and gas retention in the stomach,” “kyokyo-kuman,” “tenderness at side of navel,” and “pulsation at abdomen” were selected by stepwise selection. The results of the discriminant analysis using these 5 items suggest that 28 subjects were misclassified and that the misclassification rate was 35%. Of the actual 23 nonresponders, 20 were accurately discriminated as nonresponders. The 5 selected items are suggested to be more useful in selecting the nonresponders than the responders. In conclusion, the empirically established sho of goshuyuto seemed to not be abele to completely explain the indication of goshuyuto. However, the inclusion of “tenderness at side of navel” and “pulsation at abdomen,” as new components comprising the sho of goshuyuto, may facilitate a more accurate indication of goshuyuto.
Statistical Analysis ; Emotional tenderness ; week ; Discriminant Analysis ; Abdomen

A 61-year-old woman had a history of deep vein thrombosis of the right leg at the age of 36 years. Primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) had been diagnosed at the age of 38 years, and rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis had developed at 54 year. She started hemodialysis one month before presentation due to deterioration of renal function. This time, she presented to the emergency department with paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea. Echocardiography showed severe combined aortic stenosis and regurgitation (ASR). It was considered that the combination of ASR and construction of an arteriovenous fistula for dialysis had led to congestive heart failure. The patient had also experienced headache and agraphia for several days. Therefore, brain MRI was performed and multiple cerebral infarcts were detected. Early surgery should be considered for ASR, but we planned delayed surgery owing to the complication of acute cerebral infarction. During follow-up observation, a new asymptomatic cerebral infarct was detected. Eventually, aortic valve replacement (AVR) with a biological valve was performed on day 38 of hospitalization. Because she had highly active primary APS, surgery was performed with oral administration of aspirin, followed by continuous systemic heparinization from the early postoperative period. No perioperative thrombosis or bleeding was noted, and the patient was discharged uneventfully on postoperative day 34.