In order to know the present state of mass survey for large-bowel cancer in rural areas, we gathered the results of colorectal screening in 1989 from 45 hospitals or cancer detection center related to agricultural cooperatives of all over Japan.
In all of the 45 institutions, method of screening was fecal occult blood test, and in most of them, the stool study was immunological, of one day, and without meal restriction. Methods of further precise examination such as barium enema, total colonoscopy, sigmiodoscopy, or proctoscopy, solely or combined, were employed depending to the facilities.
The total number of examinees were 194, 834, and 8, 523 (4.4%) had a positive reaction for occult blood. Further precise examinations were performed in 4, 351 (59.7%) examinees, and 148 cases of large-bowel cancer were detected. The detective rate of cancer in total examinees was 0.08%. Among these 148 cases of colorectal cancer, 43 cases (51.8%) were in early stage. Examinees in their fifties were the most in number, and both the rate of positive reaction and the rate of cancer detection were increased as the age gets older.

Although the efficacy of acupuncture in treatment of various diseases has been empirically established, systematic demonstration of this point has been rarely made. Our animal experiments designed to prove the efficacy of acupuncture on a scientific basis are reviewed here.
Each of the following experiments was carried out on two to five groups of mice. Mice in acupuncture group (A-animals) were acupunctured at four to seventeen points on every second or third day beginning with the first experimental day.
Exp. I. The preventive effect of acupuncture on acute poisoning by carbon tetrachloride-With carbon tetrachloride (4.16g/kg body weight) injected in the abdominal cavity on the 18th exp. day, all the non-acupunctured mice (N-animals) died in 72 hours after the administration, while 16% of the A-animals survived.
Exp. II. The curative effect of acupuncture on subacute liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride. -Carbon tetrachloride (3.47g/kg b. w.) was administered on the 17th exp. day in the same manner as Exp. I. Levallorphan tartrate (antagonist to narcotics) was given to half of the A-animals (L+A-animals) and control animals (L-animals) before each session of acupuncture. Electron microscopic examination revealed severely injured liver cells in the N-animals and very little changes in the A-animals. The liver of L+A-animals was injured to some extent. Since the explanation of toxicity of levallorphan was refuted by the L-animals, this result suggests that some narcotic substances play a role in the process.
Exp. III. The effect of acupuncture on alloxan diabetes. -Alloxan (6mg) was administered on the 8th exp. day, and the animals were sacrificed on the 30th or 46th exp. day for examination. The N-animals showed extremely high blood sugar, though the A-animals did not. Ultrastructural study revealed that characteristic changes of alloxan diabetes in the pancreas had almost disappeared from the A-animals.
Exp. IV. The effect of acupuncture on renal injury induced by mercuric chloride. -With mercuric chloride (0.2mg/100g b. w.) administered three times a week, 10% of the N-animals and none of the A-animals died during the three-month period. Fairly heavy proteinuria (30-100mg/ml) was detected in the N-animals, though uria of A-animals was almost normal. After a one-month period, the N-animals showed a significant weight loss compared to the A-animals. Through the use of the electron microscope, severe injuries were seen in the epithelium of the renal tubules of the N-animals, and healed injuries in that of the A-animals.
Ultrastructural evidence has been presented that acupuncture is effective in (1) preventing and curing liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride, (2) curing alloxan diabetes, (3) curing nephritis induced by mercuric chloride. Our hypothesis suggesting the possible mechanism that underlies these effects produced by acupuncture has been briefly explained.

A number of studies have shown that sleep disordered breathing (SDB) has a strong relation with obesity. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a short-term weight-loss program in obese men with SDB. In our 14-week weight-loss program, forty-one obese men (mean±SD, age ; 49.6±10.8 yr, body mass index ; 27.9±2.5 kg/m²) were assigned to 2 subgroups : diet only (DO ; n=19) and diet plus aerobic exercise (DE ; n=22). 2%, 3%, and 4% oxygen desaturation index (ODI) were measured by pulse oximetry before and after the weight-loss program. Weight and %fat significantly (p<0.05) decreased in the total subject pool consisting of DO plus DE (weight ; -8.4±3.5 kg, %fat ; -7.5±3.5%). 2%, 3%, and 4% ODI significantly decreased by -3.46±5.01 event/hour, -2.37±3.57 event/hour, and -1.99±2.84 event/hour, respectively. Significant correlations were found between 2%, 3%, and 4% ODI at baseline and changes of 2%, 3%, and 4% ODI during the weight-loss program (2% ODI ; r=0.48, 3% ODI ; r=0.51, 4% ODI ; r=0.67). Weight loss and %fat loss did not differ significantly between DO and DE (DO : -7.6±3.2 kg, -6.8±3.2%, DE : -9.2±3.7 kg, -8.1±3.7%). The increase in maximal oxygen uptake was slightly larger for DE (4.7±4.6 ml/kg/min) compared to DO (2.5±3.3 ml/kg/min), but there was no significant interaction. Changes of 2%, 3%, and 4% ODI did not differ significantly between groups. These results suggest that for obese men with SDB, the weight-loss program is an effective method, leading to improvement in SDB, although the combination of aerobic exercise to diet may not produce additional effects to SDB, compared with the diet only.

A Valsalva aneurysm filled with thrombi can be difficult to diagnose, because it mimics a cardiac tumor. Both cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) were performed on a patient who showed a low-echoic mass located between the atrial septum and the non-coronary sinus. Based on MRI findings allowing tissue characterization and the accurate location of the mass and the TEE findings of an irregular surface of the mass and a partial defect in the edge of the non-coronary sinus, we diagnosed the mass as a thrombosed Valsalva aneurysm that had perforated the inter-atrial septum. The operative findings coincided with the preoperative diagnosis. Both MRI and TEE are useful for diagnosing this condition.
Aneurysm ; Atrial Septum ; Echocardiography ; Heart Neoplasms ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Sinus of Valsalva