The aim of this study was to investigate effects of acupuncture treatment on the improvement of visual acuity.
Six patients (male: 5, femal: 1, aged: 20-24) in the department of Ophtalmology were diagnosed with myopia grevis.
Used acupoints were EX-HN4, Jingming (B1), Hegu (Li4), Feugchi (G20), which were stimulated with the leaving needl techniqe for 10 minutes.
Acupuncture treatment was performed everyweek.
After 10 times treatment, the effect of acupuncture on visual acuity was evaluated.
As a result, three patients showed a remarkable improvement of the visual acuity and others not subsequently, the improved patients observed for 5 to 7 weeks without treatment in order to examine the durability of acupuncture effects.
While, the other three patients were treated with the electro-acupuncture instead of the leaving needl technique.
The visual acuity of the patients in whom acupuncture effective declined without treatment, but their visual acuity was kept at on higher level than before treatment.
On the other hand, the visual auity of the other patients improved by using electro-acupuncture.
These results suggest that acupuncture treatment is effective in improbvement of visual acuity and the effect remains for a certain period, and electro-acupuncture is effective when we do not get effect on vusual acuity with the leaving needle techniqe.

Objective:
There have been a few reports on the specificity of the meridians and Acupuncture-points. In order to identify the specific effects of the meridians and Acupuncture-points, the functional relations between “the gallbladder Meridian and gallbladder” were investigated using the gallbladder's form as an index.
Materials and Methods:
Ten healthy male adult volunteers participated in the experiments in fasting conditions. The target organ was the gallbladder, and its form was measured with the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus (Toshiba SSA-90A). The images of the gallbladder form were taken at the point when the major long axis of the cross-section of the gallbladder reached the peak. The cross-sectional area of the gallbladder was measured with the image analyzer. The measurement of the gallbladder form was conducted after 15 minutes lying on the back, taking images for 10 minutes before stimulation, for 30 minutes during and after stimulation, every two to five minutes. The acupuncture stimulation was given at the points of G34, G36, G37, G40 and G44 on the right side of the body. After getting the deqi, 1 minute of sparrow pecking needle technique and 1 minute of leaving needle technique were conducted three times. The effect of the G40 under the egg yolk loading were also investigated.
Results:
1) The stimulation of the G34, G36, G37, and G44 showed no effects on the gallbladder form. 2) The stimulation of the G40 caused the distension of the gallbladder form. 3) The stimulation of the G40 showed the suppressive effect on the contraction of the gallbladder due to the load of egg yolk.
As described above, the results of this study showed that there is an acupuncture-point on the gallbladder meridian to cause the distension of the gallbladder specifically. It suggests the existence of the specificity of acupuncture-point.

Background/Aims: Diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D)-like symptoms frequently occur in patients with quiescent Crohn’s disease (CD). To investigate the factors underlying IBS-D-like symptoms in patients with quiescent CD, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the clinical features and intestinal environment in those patients. Methods: We performed a prospective observational study of 27 patients with quiescent CD (CD activity index [CDAI] ≤ 150; C-reactive protein ≤ 0.3 mg/dL). The presence and severity of IBS-D-like symptoms, health-related quality of life, disease-specific quality of life, andstatus of depression and anxiety were evaluated. The level of intestinal permeability, fecal calprotectin and organic acids and the profiles of gut microbiome were analyzed. Results: Twelve of the 27 patients with quiescent CD (44.4%) had IBS-like symptoms, and these patients showed a significantly higher CDAI, IBS severity index and anxiety score than those without. The inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire score was significantly lower in the patients with IBS-D-like symptoms. There were no significant differences in small intestinal/colonic permeability or the levels of organic acids between the patients with and without IBS-D-like symptoms. Fusicatenibacter was significantly less abundant in the patients with IBS-D-like symptoms whereas their fecal calprotectin level was significantly higher (384.8 ± 310.6 mg/kg) than in patients without (161.0 ± 251.0 mg/kg). The receiver operating characteristic curve constructed to predict IBS-D-like symptoms in patients with quiescent CD using the fecal calprotectin level (cutoff, 125 mg/kg) showed a sensitivity and specificity of 73.3% and 91.7%, respectively. Conclusion Minimal inflammation is closely associated with the development of IBS-D-like symptoms in patients with quiescent CD.