The relation of needles inserted to the points of the posterior neck with the anatomical structures was investigated with dissection of four cadavers. The points investigated here are the five points of “Amon”, “Tenchuu”, “Fuuchi”, “Kankotsu”, and “Eifu”. The needles inserted to the respective points of the former three were found to penetrate the posterior atlantooccipital membrane and then the dura mater, and finally to reach the medulla oblongata. The depth from the inserted spots on the surface of the skin to the dura mater are 50, 51, and 49mm in the Amon, Tenchuu, and Fuuchi, respectively, in a cadaver with 39.1cm of circumference of the neck. Furthermore, it was found that the vertebral, the occipital, and the external carotid and the maxillar arteries were penetrated by or located near the needles which were inserted to the Fuuchi, Kankotsu, and Eifu, respectively.

The positional relation between the dorsal sacral foramina and a needle inserted in the point “T, ze-Liao” according to the method of Takenouchi-Hamazoe, and the projection positions of the respective foramina to the body surface were anatomically and bilaterally examined using fifteen cadavers. The results were as follows. (1) The needles inserted in the point “T, ze-Liao” missed the second dorsal sacral foramen caudally or latero-caudally in many cases. (2) In the mediolateral direction, the first to fourth dorsal sacral foramina were located in the middle zone between the dorsal median line and the posterior superior iliac spine. (3) In the rostro-caudal direction, the first dorsal sacral foramen were, approximately located at the same level as that of the posterior superior iliac spine. The second to fourth foramina corresponded to three points which divided the rostro-caudal distance between the posterior superior iliac spine and the sacral cornua equally into four.

A dermatitis of unknown etiology has occurred among the farmers working in paddyfields in some districts of Tokushima Prefecture, such as Anan, Kainan and Komatsujima.
The dermatitis occurs from March to May when rice-planting and weeding are on and is characterized by erythemato-papulo-vesicular eruptions accompanied with severe itching. The chief symptoms are observed on the parts exposed to water, especially on forearms and lower legs. The results of the epidemiologicaland clinical observations indicated that the dermatitis was due to the invasion of cercariae of an avian schistosome.
The investigation for snail intermediate hosts was carried out in the paddy fields where the dermatitis occurred.
Cercariae of apharyngeal furcocercous type were detected from the fresh water snails (Austropeplea ollula) which were collected most abundantly from the paddy fields during the season of occurence of the dermatitis.
The cercaria wasidentified as species belonging to the genus Trichobilharzia and was regarded as the same species as so far described in Saitama Prefecture by Suzuki et al (1973).
An experimental infection with the cercaria was performed. A few drops of watercontaining cercariae was placed on the fore-arm of. a voluntor. The cercariae invaded into the skin and produced a dermatitis quite similar to that prevailing in the endemic areas.
Therefore, it was concluded that theetiological agent was the cercaria of a species of an avian schistosome.

The positional relation between the point Jingei and the bifurcation of the common carotid artery was investigated with dissection of the neck after inserting a needle into the bilateral Jingei, using nineteen Japanese cadavers. We determined first the position of the point Futotsu as a point in the sternocleidomastoid lying about 10cm lateral to the laryngeal prominence along the neck wrinkle, and defined the location of Jingei in the cadavers as the mid-point between the laryngeal prominence and Futotsu mentioned above. The common carotid artery shows a dilatation, termed the carotid sinus, at its point of division into the external and internal carotid arteries. The needle did not prick the carotid sinus in all of the thirty-eight cases of insertion; it pricked the common carotid artery at a lower level than the carotid sinus in four of these cases, and in the other cases the needle did not prick the vessel, but rather a portion of the neck medial to the vessel at the lower level, similarly as in the former cases. The points of division of the common carotid arteries of the cadavers dissected were all located at a considerably higher level than the laryngeal prominence; the average level was 32.8mm higher than the prominence on the left, with maximum and minimum values of 52 and 11mm, respectively, and 29.9mm upper on the right (maximum and minimum values: 45 and 8mm). Furthermore, it was suggested that the insertion of a needle at the level of the hyoid bone has a higher possibility of reaching the carotid sinus than that at the level of the laryngeal prominence in acupuncture of the sinus.

The variance of tandem repeats in the rpoT gene of Mycobacterium leprae was recently demonstrated. The objects of this study was to examine the proportion and distributions of the genotypes of M. leprae in Korea and to compared it with genotypes of M. leprae form foreign leprosy patients using difference of the tandem repeats. Among 101 cases, 72 isolated from Korea and 4 cases from Japan (except Okinawa) demonstrated four copies of the 6 bp tandem repeats in the rpoT gene, and three copies were found in isolates from two korean, 2 cases of Okinawa in Japan, and those from Southeast Asian countries, Peru and Paraguay. These results reveal the genetic diversity of M. leprae and the related genotype-specific distribution in the world. In this study, a more detailed explanation can be also possible regarding the transmission route of M. leprae.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Humans ; Japan ; Korea ; Leprosy* ; Mycobacterium leprae ; Paraguay ; Peru ; Tandem Repeat Sequences

The projection region of the dome of the pleura to the surface of the anterior neck was investigated in 31 domes of 17 cadavers. The point “Tentotsu”, and a line connecting that point and the most lateral edge of the acromion were adopted for a basis of measurement of the projection region. The mean length of the Tentotsu-Acromion line was 185mm on either side of the body. Its upward angle to the horizontal plane was 22° and 23° in average on the right and left sides, respectively, while its backward angle to the frontal plane was 23° on the right and 25° on the left. The right pleural domes (17 cases) were included within a range 0-58mm lateral to the Tentotsu and lower than 44mm above, and on the left side (14 cases), these values were 5-58mm and 49mm, respectively. On the other hand, when adopting the Tentotsu-Acromion line as the basis, the pleural domes were located within the medial one-third of the line. Their summits lay on the point of its medial one-fourth in medio-lateral direction, and were situated at levels lower than about 35 (on the right) or 32mm (on the left) above the line.

Twenty-six domes of the pleura of thirteen cadavers were investigated. The summits of all domes protruded above the clavicle. Mediolateral positions of the summits were located between the lateral edge of the origin of the sternal head of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (CL3) and the lateral edge of the origin of its clavicular head (CL5), and their craniocaudal positions were located between the Point “Suitotsu” (S₁₀) and the medial edge of the origin of the clavicular head (CL4). The lateral edges of the domes did not reach the level of the clavicle. Their mediolateral positions were located between CL4 and the Point “Ketsubon” (S₁₂), and their craniocaudal positions were located between CL5 and the sternal extremity of the clavicle (CL2). The medial edges of the domes were both mediolaterally and craniocaudally located between CL2 and the suprasternal point. Projection regions of the domes of the pleura to the surface of the anterior neck were included, in all cases, within the quadrate region connecting the following four points: the Point “Suitotsu” (S₁₀), a point of intersection between the median line and a line drawn vertically from the Point “Suitotsu” (S₁₀) toward the median line, the suprasternal point, and a point on the clavicle corresponding to the medial one-third of the half shoulder width.

AIMTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of an extract of Ganoderma lucidum that shows the strongest 5alpha-reductase inhibitory activity among the extracts of 19 edible and medicinal mushrooms by a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized and dose-ranging study in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).

METHODSIn this trial, we randomly assigned 88 men over the age of 49 years who had slight-to-moderate LUTS to 12 weeks of treatment with G. lucidum extract (6 mg once a day) or placebo. The primary outcome measures were changes in the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and variables of uroflowmetry. Secondary outcome measures included changes in prostate size, residual urinary volume after voiding, laboratory values and the reported adverse effects.

RESULTSG. lucidum was effective and significantly superior to placebo for improving total IPSS with 2.1 points decreasing at the end of treatment (mean difference, -1.18 points; 95% confidence interval, -1.74 to -0.62; P < 0.0001). No changes were observed with respect to quality of life scores, peak urinary flow, mean urinary flow, residual urine, prostate volume, serum prostate-specific antigen or testosterone levels. Overall treatment was well tolerated with no severe adverse effects.

CONCLUSIONThe extract of G. lucidum was well tolerated and improved IPSS scores. These results encouraged a further, large-scale evaluation of phytotherapy for a long duration using the extract of G. lucidum on men with LUTS.

Aged ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Ethanol ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Placebos ; Reishi ; Solvents ; Treatment Outcome ; Urination Disorders ; drug therapy ; Urodynamics ; drug effects

AIMTo conduct a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized and dose-ranging study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the extract of Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum) in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).

METHODSWe enrolled male volunteers (> or = 50 years) with an International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS; questions 1-7) > or = 5 and a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value < 4 ng/mL. Volunteers were randomized into groups of placebo (n = 12), G. lucidum of 0.6 mg (n = 12), 6 mg (n = 12) or 60 mg (n = 14), administered once daily. Efficacy was measured as a change from baseline in IPSS and the peak urine flow rate (Q(max)). Prostate volume and residual urine were estimated by ultrasonography, and blood tests, including PSA levels, were measured at baseline and at the end of the treatment.

RESULTSThe overall administration was well tolerated, with no major adverse effects. Statistical significances in the magnitude of changes between the experimental groups were observed at weeks 4 and 8. No changes were observed with respect to Q(max), residual urine, prostate volume or PSA levels.

CONCLUSIONThe extract of G. lucidum was well tolerated and an improvement in IPSS was observed. The recommended dose of the extract of G. lucidum is 6 mg in men with LUTS.

Aged ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; methods ; Pilot Projects ; Prostate ; pathology ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; drug therapy ; Reishi ; Treatment Outcome ; Urinary Bladder, Overactive ; drug therapy ; Urinary Incontinence ; drug therapy