In Japan, there are insufficient measures to ensure that women can maintain good health while working. In addition, many women have limited health literacy, making it difficult for them to access information on physical and mental health problems that are specific to them. In this context, it is essential for pharmacists to become the first point of contact for women seeking information about their physical health, as they are familiar with healthcare providers in the community. To address this issue, we organized a Women's Health Care Cafe for pharmacy students to provide them with an opportunity to learn about women's health.

　　Along with the accumulation of evidence to support the use of an oral rehydration solution before surgery, there is a strong tendency for the period of fasting before the induction of general anesthesia to become shorter and shorter. In this study, we compared hunger, thirst, psychology and onset of pneumonia as a sequela in between two groups of surgical patients-one with preoperative rehydration and the other without. The results showed that stress did not build up in the patients given a preoperative oral rehydration solution even after they returned to their rooms and did not have an intravenous drip. No one in either group developed pneumonia after surgery.

OBJECTIVESTo clarify the origin of dioxin and related compounds (dioxins) in human hair, we determined the amounts of adsorbed dioxins in human hair, and the distribution of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in rats.

METHODSHuman hair specimens, packed in a glass column, were exposed to ambient air that was introduced into the column with an air pump for 24 h. Rats were administered TCDD by gavage at doses of 0.2, 0.8, and 1.6 μg/kg body weight. Four weeks after TCDD administration, hair from the back, serum, and adipose tissue were removed under diethyl ether anesthesia. The amounts of dioxins in these samples were analyzed by high resolution gas chromatography with mass spectroscopy.

RESULTSExposure of the hair specimens to ambient air for one day increased the total toxic equivalent (TEQ) value by 51%. In TCDD-treated rats, the amount of TCDD in hair increased in a dose-dependent manner, and showed a significant positive correlation with that in adipose tissue.

CONCLUSIONSHuman hair was found to retain dioxins by both internal and external exposure, and the contribution of external exposure was estimated to be about 40% of the TEQ.

Eosinophilic inflammation in combination with immunoglobulin E (IgE) production is a characteristic feature of atopic dermatitis. Although activated T-helper type (Th) 2 cells play critical roles in the local accumulation and activation of eosinophils, whether they induce eosinophilic skin inflammation, independent of the IgE-mediated pathway has been unclear. To address the functional role of T cells in allergic skin diseases, we herein transferred Th1/Th2-differentiated or naive DO11.10 T cells into unprimed BALB/c mice. Ovalbumin-specific Th2 cells, as well as eosinophils, accumulated in the skin upon antigen challenge, despite the absence of antigen-specific IgE. Neither antigen-specific Th1 nor naive T cells induced eosinophil accumulation, although Th1 cells by themselves migrated into the skin. Interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, and eotaxin were specifically produced in the skin of antigen-challenged, Th2 cell-transferred mice, whereas interferon (IFN)-γ and regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) were preferentially produced in Th1 cells-transferred mice. Production of monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 and MCP-3 was enhanced by both Th1 and Th2 cells. The accumulation of eosinophils and Th2 cells in the skin was suppressed by both dexamethasone and FK506, indicating an essential role of Th2 cells in eosinophil recruitment. We conclude that Th2 cells can induce eosinophilic infiltration into the skin in the absence of antigen-specific IgE.
Animals ; Chemokines ; Cytokines ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Dexamethasone ; Eosinophils ; Immunoglobulin E ; Immunoglobulins ; Inflammation ; Interferons ; Interleukin-5 ; Interleukins ; Mice ; Monocytes ; Skin Diseases ; Skin ; T-Lymphocytes ; Tacrolimus ; Th1 Cells ; Th2 Cells