Although skeletal muscle mass decreases with aging, its decrease rate may differ among parts of the body. There have been few studies examining the differences in the muscle mass decrease rate between proximal and distal parts of the limbs or between the left and right legs in a large population. Bioelectrical impedance (BI) index, calculated as the ratio of the square of segment length to impedance, is linearly correlated with the muscle mass calculated by MRI (r=0.902-0.976, p<0.05, Miyatani et al., 2001) in the limb segments. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the decrease rate of muscle mass between the proximal and distal parts of the limbs and between the upper and lower limbs in healthy Japanese. The BI index was measured in the bilateral thighs, lower legs, upper arms, and forearms of 1006 healthy Japanese men and women (aged 15-97 years). While the BI index decreased with aging in all examined parts of the body, the decrease rate was larger in the lower limb than in the upper limb, and in the thigh than in the lower leg. The percentage of people who showed a difference of more than 10 % in the BI index between the left and right lower limbs was significantly higher in the elderly than in young subjects. These differences in the decrease rate of muscle mass between limbs may be associated with decreases in physical functions in the elderly.

A 62-year-old man was referred to us because of acute aortic dissection (Stanford type A). He had had liver cirrhosis (Child-Pugh class B) and hepatic cell carcinoma in the left lateral lobe, which had been resected 3 years ago. On admission he was drowsy and was in shock. CT showed dissection from the ascending aorta to the abdominal aorta. Echocardiography revealed severe aortic regurgitation. An emergency operation was indicated although it was a very high risk procedure. Under cardiopulmonary bypass with moderate hypothermia, the aortic root was replaced with a Freestyle valve (23mm). Then the ascending aorta was replaced with a woven Dacron graft (28mm) under cardiac arrest and isolated cerebral perfusion. Postoperatively, he had cardiac tamponade and cerebral infarction (perhaps due to the preoperative events). However, he was successfully discharged on the 34th postoperative day.

A 73-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for angina pectoris due to triple-vessel-disease. She underwent off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting ×3 (RITA-LAD, LITA-OM, SV-PDA). Her vital signs were stable during the operation and the postoperative status was steady in the ICU. However, on the next day, she suddenly had severe back pain with markedly elevated blood pressure. Urine output immediately shut down and respiratory failure progressed with time. An enhanced CT scan revealed aortic dissection (DeBakey type I and Stanford type A). An emergency operation was performed via re-sternotomy. Cardiopulmonary bypass was initiated and the body was cooled down to 20°C. Under circulatory arrest with isolated cerebral perfusion, the ascending aorta was replaced using a one-branched Hemashield graft (26mm in diameter). The entry of the dissection was located at the proximal anastomosis site of the vein graft. The postoperative course was uneventful and she was discharged on the 24th postoperative day.

A 68-year-old man was referred to our hospital with an abnormal shadow on chest X-ray film. Enhanced chest CT scan revealed intrathoracic left subclavian artery aneurysm (maximum diameter 4cm) just above the aortic arch. Surgery was indicated considering the risks of aneurysm rupture and distal embolism, although he was asymptomatic. Under left 4th posterolateral thoracotomy, the aneurysm was exposed. Cardiopulmonary bypass was initiated with cannulation of the left femoral artery and vein (to the right atrium). Circulatory arrest and isolated cerebral perfusion were achieved at 25°C core-temperature. The distal arch was replaced using a 26mm Hemashield graft and the left subclavian artery was reconstructed interposing an 8mm graft. The postoperative course was uneventful: he was extubated at 8h and was sent to the ward the next day. He was given an ambulatory discharge on the 13th postoperative day.

A 92-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with lower abdominal pain and lumbago. Her vital signs were stable at an emergency outpatient-clinic. An enhanced CT scan showed a sealed rupture of a right internal iliac artery aneurysm (85×73mm in diameter). An emergency operation was performed via median laparotomy. As predicted pre-operatively, a large hematoma was found in the retroperitoneal space and mesenterium surrounding the right internal iliac artery aneurysm (sealed rupture). Y-grafting was performed using a 16×8mm Intergard: proximal and distal ends of the graft were the abdominal aorta and bilateral femoral arteries, respectively. Left common iliac artery, right external iliac artery and right internal arterial aneurysm were suture-closed. The postoperative course was uneventful and she was discharged on the 13th postoperative day on foot.

A 73-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with a feeling of chest compression. Coronary angiography revealed a giant coronary artery aneurysm, located in the middle of a coronarypulmonary artery fistula originating at the left anterior descending artery. Also another fistula was shown between the right coronary artery and the pulmonary artery. Surgical correction was indicated due to the risks of the aneurysm rupture and coronary events. Under cardiopulmonary bypass, suture-closure of the coronary artery aneurysm and ligation of the fistulae were carried out with success. Transesophageal echocardiography was useful to confirm disappearance of the abnormal shunts after the operative procedures. The postoperative course was uneventful. Postoperative coronary angiography showed no aneurysm or fistula. She was discharged on the 11th postoperative day on foot.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence of gastrointestinal complications and intestinal stasis after a videofluoroscopic examination of swallowing. Of 121 inpatients who underwent videofluoroscopic examinations from October 2008 to March 2009 and September to October 2009, we analyzed 33 patients who underwent abdominal X-ray four days after their videofluoroscopic examination. Six of 33 patients (18.2%) suffered gastrointestinal symptoms. Three patients had diarrhea, two had vomiting, and one had abdominal distention. The incidence of gastrointestinal complications after videofluoroscopic examination was estimated to be two of 33 patients (6.1%) because we assumed that two of the six patients' condition was related to their videofluoroscopic examination and that the other four were related to other factors. One of two patients with a poor general condition developed pneumonia after vomiting. There was no relationship between the incidence of gastrointestinal complications and the patient's background. Intestinal stasis as detected by X-ray was identified in 25 of 33 patients (75.8%). There was more barium sulfate intake in the patients who had intestinal stasis than the patients who had no intestinal stasis. There was no relationship between intestinal stasis and the incidence of gastrointestinal complications. Our findings suggest that the risk of gastrointestinal complications after videofluoroscopic examination is low except in patients with a poor general condition.

[Objective]In recent years, communication skills have been recognized as an essential competence for acupuncturists. This study proposes to develop a scale for measuring the medical communication skills of acupuncturists.
[Materials and Methods]A questionnaire of 20 items was used to measure medical communication skills. These items were adopted from a concept analysis conducted in a previous study.
Cronbach's alpha was used to examine the scale's reliability. The scale's validity was examined by correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis comparisons with normal communication skills subscale scores (ENDCOREs, Encode, Decode, Control, Regulate) and a Japanese version of characteristic trait anxiety scores (STAI, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory).
[Results]Factor analysis, using a principal extraction method and promax rotation, was conducted on responses from 443students and therapists. As a result, the original 20 items were reduced to 16, and the following three factors were extracted:I. Acceptance of patients and self-control;II. Appropriate explanation to patients;and III. Understanding of patient's feelings. These three factors had high degrees of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha =.872 -.892).
The scores of the three factors correlated significantly with the scores of the six factors of ENDCORE, and with the anxiety scores. Although the results of multiple regression analysis showed that each factor of ENDCORE explained the three factors, the anxiety scores did not influence medical communication skills. The scores for the three factors correlated significantly with self-evaluation scores of medical interview skill. In addition, these three factors were affected by the degree of clinical experience.
[Conclusion]These results suggest that this scale may be a reliable instrument for assessing medical communication skills among Japanese acupuncturists.

Local anesthetics often are used in rotator cuff tears as therapeutic tools, although some cases have reported that they have detrimental effects. Neurotropin (NTP) is used widely in Japan as a treatment for various chronic pain conditions and is shown to have protective effects on cartilage and nerve cells. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of NTP against lidocaine-induced cytotoxicity. Methods: Tenocytes from rotator cuff tendons were incubated with lidocaine, NTP, lidocaine with NTP, and a control medium. Cell viability was evaluated using the WST-8 assay. Cell apoptosis was detected via annexin V staining using flow cytometry. The expression of BCL-2 and cytochrome c, which are involved in the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis, was evaluated via Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining. Results: In the cell viability assay, lidocaine decreased cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, and NTP did not affect cell viability. Moreover, NTP significantly inhibited the cytotoxic effect of lidocaine. The flow cytometry analysis showed that lidocaine significantly induced apoptosis in tenocytes, and NTP considerably inhibited this lidocaine-induced apoptosis. Western blotting experiments showed that lidocaine decreased the protein expression of BCL-2, and that NTP conserved the expression of BCL-2, even when used with lidocaine. Immunohistochemical staining for cytochrome c showed that 0.1% lidocaine increased cytochrome c-positive cells, and NTP suppressed lidocaine-induced cytochrome c expression. Conclusions: NTP suppresses lidocaine-induced apoptosis of tenocytes by inhibiting the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Intra-articular/ bursal injection of NTP with lidocaine could protect tenocytes in rotator cuff tendons against lidocaine-induced apoptosis.

  In Japan, few health care professionals have a basic understanding（core competency）of the design of clinical research and statistical analysis. We developed a blended distance–learning program comprising face–to–face lectures with e–learning for busy health care professionals who work in the clinical settings to achieve core competency in clinical research. The purpose of this study was to examine the educational effects of this program.
1）Four months after the end of the program, 64％ of the participants had started to conduct clinical research.
2）This program may increase the number of research colleagues that can discuss clinical research.
3）This program could enhance the confidence（self–efficacy）of health care professionals in clinical research.