This study examined the association of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) with chronic low back pain (CLBP) in older adults. Cross-sectional data were collected from 715 elders aged 65 years and over living in Dazaifu, Japan. CLBP was defined as pain that sustains more than 1-3 months within the past year. PA and SB were objectively measured using a triaxial accelerometer (Omron Healthcare, Active style Pro (HJA 350IT)). Participants were categorized into four groups (2 groups of PA×2 groups of SB) according to their levels of PA and SB (divided into 2 levels; low and high levels around the median). Logistic regression analysis was used to examine effect of PA/SB with CLBP. In the analyses, sex, age, body mass index, smoking, educational attainment, falls, handgrip strength, knee pain and non-locomotive activities were treated as potential confounders. The prevalence of CLBP was 35%. After adjustment of confounding factors, significantly higher risk of CLBP was shown only in Low PA/High SB group (odds ratio : 1.66, 95% confidence interval : 1.02-2.70), compared with that of the reference group (High PA/Low SB group). These results suggest that the combination of low PA and high SB might be the risk of CLBP. Future studies should try to clarify whether CLBP is a cause or a consequence of inactivity.

Objective : An adequate risk stratification protocol is important in cardiac rehabilitation. However, defining this is difficult in patients with myocardial infarction in the early recovery phase, because the maximal exercise testing for determining the stratification cannot be performed in this phase. The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of the risk stratification protocol of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) based on an index without cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Methods :We investigated 164 patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction who completed the acute rehabilitation program after percutaneous coronary intervention. Patients were classified into low, moderate, and high-risk groups by the risk stratification,and then we calculated their Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction risk score for STEMI (TIMI RS), Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events risk model (GRACE RS), Primary Angioplasty in Myocardial Infarction risk score (PAMI RS), and Zwolle risk score for STEMI (Zwolle RS) which are the major comprehensive risk scores designed for predicting short-term outcome after acute coronary syndromes. We compared the risk scores among the three groups, and we investigated major adverse cardiac events (MACE) during supervised exercise in the early recovery phase. Results : As a result, we found a statistically significant difference between the low-risk group and the high-risk group in all risk scores. In addition, there were no MACE during supervised exercise in this period. Conclusion : This study suggests that, by using the AACVPR risk stratification protocol based on an index without cardiopulmonary exercise testing, it is possible to roughly classify the risk in this phase, and that it is useful for defining safe exercise regimes in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction in the early recovery phase.

An 84-year-old woman was referred due to an abnormal shadow on her chest X-ray. Computed tomography and coronary angiography revealed a left coronary artery aneurysm associated with a complex coronary-pulmonary artery fistula. We present our surgical strategy used to treat this complicated pathology.

We evaluated the influence of a twice-weekly group exercise program on visceral fat area (VFA) and plasma adiponectin (APN) in the elderly. Thirty-three community-dwelling elderly (age : 72.4±6.9 yrs) participated in a 12-week supervised, geriatric exercise training program (GET) followed by a 12-week unsupervised GET (u-GET), which included stretching, strengthening, and balance-training exercises. Participants were evaluated for physical fitness, blood glucose, HbA1c, triglyceride, cholesterol, insulin, and APN. VFA was measured by computed tomography. All measurements were taken before the GET (TR1), after 12-weeks of GET (TR2), and at the end of the u-GET (TR3). Twelve weeks of GET produced significant increases in physical function measures. Both walking speed and functional mobility values at TR3 were significantly higher than TR1 values. A significant reduction in VFA was seen at TR3 in men. APN progressively elevated from TR1 to TR3 in women. In the frail elderly, 12 weeks of GET effectively increased functional ability and APN. The beneficial effects on VFA and APN were sustained following the participation in the unsupervised setting, suggesting that the frail elderly should be encouraged to participate and maintain a resistance training routine to achieve preferable effects on both functional ability and cardiovascular risk factors.

1) The faculty development at each medical school from 2003 through 2005 was analysed.
2) The major themes in faculty development were problem based learning, tutorial, computer based testing, and clinical training.
3) Faculty development is considered an effective way to enhance the contributions of faculty members to medical education.

We report three cases of panic disorder treated with kampo formulae including shohangekabukuryoto. Case One was a 47-year-old driver. Sharp rises in blood pressure caused transient ischemic attacks in the brain. We suspected that anxiety over recurrent brain attacks stagnated his water and qi below the heart and caused phlegm heat, which lead to his panic disorder. His symptoms were cured with shohangekabukuryoto and the substance of orento. Case Two was a 49-year-old homemaker. Her domestic anxiety developed into a panic disorder. We suspected that her anxiety diminished the blood and the function of her liver, as well as her splenic sufficiency. Her attacks were cured with kamishoyosan, and with bukuryoingohangekobokuto which contains shohangekabukuryoto. Case Three was a 32-year-old homemaker. Overwork through her child-raising tasks developed into a panic disorder. We suspected that fatigue caused her splenic insufficiency and resulted in blood deficiency with the extra water below the heart. Shohangekabukuryoto and juzentaihoto were very effective, and resolved her attacks.These cases suggest that shohangekabukuryoto improved epigastric discomfort, dizziness and palpitation by justifying middle-jiao dysfunction, qi and water regurgitation. In each of the three cases, shohangekabukuryoto showed efficacy for panic disorder with other kampo formulae for respective signs and symptoms.
Panic Disorder ; Three ; Water ; Anxiety ; Cases

A19-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of severe congestive heart failure on 7 April 2000. In the previous year his case had been diagnosed as Churg-Strauss syndrome (allergic granulomatous angiitis, AGA) with bronchial asthma and mononeuritis multiplex. Echocardiography revealed the dilatation of the left ventricle (LVDd 74 mm) and impaired left ventricular systolic function (LVEF 20%). On the 21st hospital day, the irregularity of peripheral branches of left and right coronary arteries was detected by coronary arteriography. Right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy yielded little fibrosis and no infiltration of eosinophil. Although all the laboratory tests showed lower activity of AGA, steroid pulse therapy was tried and the use of steroids was tapered at intervals of two weeks. Left ventricular function was slowly improved (LVDd 60 mm, LVEF 36%). He was discharged on foot on the 71st hospital day.

In recent years, we have been told that the western medicine has developed the techniques of treatments on cancer, but the truth is that very few practical accomplishments has been made, while death rate from cancer has been steadily increasing. Although acupuncture has been thought to be ineffective in the treatments of cancer, nowadays we find some reports concerning its effectiveness in palliative cares, improvements of quality of life (QOL) and cancer regressions. Thus, this symposium was planned to investigate this theme. There were reports from appointed speakers on the acupuncturists' feelings of swung back and forth between joy and despair when treating patients with cancer, the experiences in treating her parents who died of lung cancer, and the patients who failed or rejected to be treated in western medicine but successfully treated using acupuncture eventually.
A panelist who practices acupuncture treatments in a hospital reported the effectiveness and indications on combined application of acupuncture and standard treatments for the patients in the terminal stage of cancer. He also reported that no correlation had been found between effective rates and duration (frequency) of treatments neither between stages (duration) of disorders and efficacy. Furthermore, if the environment of acupuncture treatment is well organized, he mentioned that acupuncture can produce a good deal of effect even in patients with terminal stage. He also reported that acupuncture will be able to influence on the physiology in autonomic nervous system, leading to the hyperactivity of parasympathetic nerve.
A panelist who practices his acupuncture treatments based on the theory of Professor Abo reported the effectiveness of acupuncture in improving QOL and in prolonging one's life. He showed an actual situation of the patient with scirrhous carcinoma who had prolonged his life for a long period using acupuncture treatment. He also demonstrated that radiotherapy, one of the three major medical treatments for cancer, will deprive the resistance of the patients.
A panelist who advocates salutogenesis demonstrated the possibility of the direct effectiveness of acupuncture treatment on cancer because acupuncture has significant effects in alleviating pains and enhancing the power of restoring human energy in patients with cancer. He mentioned the limitation of the treatments using “a theory of pathogenesis (modern medicine)” and the importance of the treatments using “a theory of salutogenesis (traditional medicine)”, and emphasized the necessity of acupuncture treatments as well as supplemental agents, and the importance of psychological approaches toward the mind of patients.
In this symposium, the efficacy of acupuncture treatments as palliative cares was indicated. Although there are few convincing evidences, the efficacy of acupuncture treatments as one of treatment methods for cancer may be demonstrated. Further integrative researches on the efficacy of acupuncture in patients with cancer are needed.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of hochuekkito for late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) patients. We administered hochuekkito 7.5 g/day for 8 weeks to 47 patients with LOH whose AMS scale was more than 27. We assessed the patients' symptom change with the AMS, SHIM, SDS, BDI, and SF-36. We measured their endocrine profiles and levels of their cytokines. At the end of study, 31 of 47 patients were evaluable. No significant difference in subjective symptoms was seen with any questionnaire after 8 weeks hochuekkito administration. However, hochuekkito significantly increased free testosterone and decreased ACTH/cortisol levels. Thus we believe hochuekkito is beneficial for the treatment of LOH.