Treadmill exercise tolerance test(Modified Bruce Method) was performed with and without warm water bathing (WWB, 41°C, 10min) in 14 healthy aged men and women over 65y. o. (68.6±6.0y.o).
Increase in HR, BP and PRP during exercise was reduced after WWB. Duration of exercise and ST depression and occurrence of arrythmia during treadmill exerecise were significantly improved after WWB. Fatigability of the legs and Borg's index were also decreased aftr WWB. These results indicated the improvement of exercise tolerance after WWB was probably due to the increase in cardiac functions and collagenous viscosity (extensivility) of the musculoskeletal system.

 Blood glucose disposition rate after intravenous glucose infusion is considered to reflect mainly the rate of cellular glucose uptake, the rate of glucose degradation process and gluconeogenesis. excluding the influense of glucose absorption.
 When it is hypothesized that the elevated blood glucose is disposed by constant rate (one-compartment theory), the following formula will be realized.
 Ct = A (1— k)^t   Ct = blood glucose level at t-minutes after infusion
            A = initial glucose level after infusion
            k = constant glucose disposition index / min
 log Ct = log A (1—k) ^t= log A + t log (1 — k)
 This formula demonstrates that logarithm of blood glucose concentration (Ct) is a one-dimensional (linear) function of time t with a slope log (1 — k), and blood glucose disposition index k can be calculated from this slope.
 To examine the validity of this hypothesis, 1.5 ml / kg of 20% glucose (0.3g / kg) was infused at rest within 3 minutes into an antecubital vein and plasma glucose was determinned at 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 min after the cessation of infusion.
 In 10 healthy subjects, linear regression coefficient between logarithm of plasma glucose and time t was significantly higher (r= 0.992 ± 0.006, p<0.001) during 5 to 40 min. Calculated k index ranged from 0.78 to 4.54% / min and the correlation between the 1st and the 2nd measurements (n=5) within a week was also significantly high (0.92±0.06, p<0.01). These results highly support the validity of basic formula (one-compartment theory) and practical procedure to measure k index.
 The effects of warm water bathing (42 C, 10min) was examined in 7 subjects keeping warmth by blankets. After bathing, k value remained in nearly the same in 4 subjects, decreased in 2 and increased in 1. Although more detailed studies are needed, the effect of single bathing on glucose disposition seems to be not so significant.

Purpose : To study the effect of repetitive facilitation exercise combined with continuous low-frequency electrical stimulation on upper-extremity motor impairment or hand edema during the acute phase of cerebral infarction. Subjects : Thirty inpatients with both hemiplegia and hand swelling, who were admitted to a hospital from April 2011 to March 2012. Methods : In this randomized, controlled, observer-blinded trial, we randomized the subjects into two groups and provided treatment on a 2-week, 30 minutes/day schedule. Subjects in the intervention group received repetitive facilitation exercise concurrent with continuous low-frequency electrical stimulation, while subjects in the control group were provided passive range-of-motion (ROM) exercise. Upper Limb Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), edema and passive ROM were evaluated at baseline and at two weeks. Results : At two weeks, the intervention group showed significant improvements on all measurements. However, the control group showed significant improvement only in their FMA. The intervention group had significantly greater improvements than the control group on all three measurements. Conclusion : Repetitive facilitation exercise concurrent with continuous low-frequency electrical stimulation therapy is effective not only for recovery from motor impairment but also for reducing swelling of the hand during the acute phase of cerebral infarction.

Although visual field defects are common disorders in stroke patients, rehabilitation treatments have developed slowly. In this study, we report a case of a 35-year-old man with quadranopsia and visual agnosia due to right occipital hemorrhage. He had no upper limb motor impairments and began to work as a dental mechanic one month after the stroke, but had to retire because of difficulty in making dental implants. He failed to find things in his lower left visual field, and could not perceive fine differences in slope and depth. He was admitted 2 months after the onset and received occupational therapy for visual agnosia, and treatment for quadranopsia one month after admission. The treatment for quadranopsia was performed using a newly designed computerized visual field training machine consisting of a personal computer system which displayed a fixing point for the eyes at the center of the computer display, and a visual stimulation point at areas between residual vision and quadranopsia on the computer display accompanied by a response warning sound after the patient indicated using a switch when he found the visual stimulation. The visual stimulations contained 20% placebo (no visual stimulation). The computer also calculated the percent of correct responses. After one month of continuous occupational therapy only, his visual agnosia improved but his quadranopsia did not. However, his quadranopsia did improve after repetitive visual stimulation using the computerized visual field training machine. In conclusion, quadranopsia might be improved by repetitive visual stimulation.

Objective: Exercise baths are generally considered to be one of the most appropriate and advantageous rehabilitative therapies, yet their effects have not been comprehensively investigated. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of exercise baths on quality of life (QOL).
Methods: The 49 subjects consisted of 20 patients with brain disease, 21 patients with orthopaedic disease, and 8 patients with other diseases (i.e., 7 life-style related diseases and one heat burn). In the present study, all patients were first treated by conventional rehabilitation comprising physical therapy and occupational therapy for 4.2±1.4 weeks. Exercise baths were then added to the rehabilitation program for a further 4.4±1.2 weeks. The subjects were immersed in water at 38°C for 30-60min, twice a week. QOL was evaluated by alterations in the MOS Short-Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36). We defined the period from admission to exercise bath start as Treatment I, and the period from exercise bath start to discharge (exercise bath finish) as Treatment II. On admission, before and after exercise bath, QOL was evaluated using the SF-36 scores.
Results: We found that the increase of all eight subscales of the SF-36 was smaller in Treatment I period than in Treatment II period. Increases in SF-36 scores were observed in all patients, in all eight domains. Specifically, after exercise baths, increased scores of Physical functioning (PF), Role physical (RP), General health (GH), Vitality (VT), Role emotional (RE) and Mental health (MH) subscales of the SF-36 were observed in the patients with brain disease. Further, after exercise baths, increased scores of PF, RP, Bodily pain (BP), GH, VT, RE and MH subscales of the SF-36 were observed in the patients with orthopedic disease.
Conclusions: It was concluded that exercise baths are an effective non-pharmacological treatment that might facilitate rehabilitation programs.

Purpose
 Forearm bathing is considered beneficial for the hands of patients with spastic hemiplegia, but the effect has not been investigated comprehensively. This study investigated the effectiveness of forearm bathing for patients with hemiplegic hands.
Subjects and Methods
 In total, nine hemiplegic patients participated in the study (mean±standard deviation age=56.9±16.6 years; mean±standard deviation period from onset=21.1±21.2 months). Participants sat in a relaxed position on a chair, and dipped the affected forearms into 40°C warm water for 15 mins. The Simple Test for Evaluating Hand Function (STEF) score was evaluated before and after forearm bathing as an indicator of hemiplegic hand function. The Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) score for the biceps brachii muscle, and both the resistance power of elbow extension and the F/M ratio (F-wave amplitudes/ M wave amplitudes) for the abductor pollicis brevis muscle, were evaluated as indicators of hemiplegic hand spasticity. The device used to measure the resistance power of elbow extension comprised a motor, cuffs to fix the hemiplegic arm and forearm in place, and a control system. The axis of rotation of the device was positioned over the axis of rotation of the elbow joint. The device induced passive elbow flexion and extension movements at an angular velocity of 60°/sec or 90°/sec.
Results
 After forearm bathing, the STEF score increased significantly (p<0.05) from 42.9±28.0 to 47.8±28.4 (n=9), the resistance power of elbow extension at 90°/min decreased significantly (p<0.01) from 4.0±1.8 N to 3.0±1.9 N, and the MAS score and F/M ratio were unchanged (n=6).
Conclusions
 Forearm bathing appeared to improve function and decrease spasticity in hemiplegic hands. This treatment might facilitate hand rehabilitation.

Genetic polymorphisms in the cytochrome P450 family are widely known to contribute to inter-individual differences in drug pharmacokinetics. In this study we report a case of a patient with cytochrome P450 2C19 polymorphism. A 57-year-old woman presented with right cerebral hemorrhage and left hemiplegia. She was administrated phenytoin (200 mg/day)and phenobarbital (60 mg/day) to prevent convulsions. After a change in phenytoin dosage (97% grains to 10% grains), she developed ataxia and experienced a disturbance in her activities of daily living. She was admitted to our hospital. Her serum concentration of phenytoin was found to be at a toxic level (45.9μg/ml) and serum phenobarbital was relatively high (19.1μg/ml). She showed an extremely low clearance of phenytoin, so we checked the genotype of her P450 2C9 and P450 2C19 cytochromes, which are metabolic enzymes of phenytoin. For cytochrome P450 2C9, the patient was a homozygous extensive metabolizer (wild type, *1/*1), but for cytochrome P450 2C19, she was a poor metabolizer (*3/*3). Her phenytoin dosage was reduced, and her ataxia, activities of daily living, left hemiplegia, and cerebral blood flow in Xe-CT improved.