For the preservation of health in rural areas, this paper reports on the variation of human serum lipids by intaking lentinus edodes.
Serum lipids levels showed no significant change by intaking lentinus edodes that amounts of 20, 40 and 60g per day each for 5 days. From data of correlationship between serum lipid levels and nutrition intake of experimental diet, it was recognized that high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol level was directly proportional to carbohydrate-fat ratio significantly (p< 0.02), and was inversely proportional to fat intake, fat-protein ratio and carbohydrate-protein ratio significantly (p< 0.05), respectively. Triglycerides level was inversely proportional to protein intake significantly (p< 0.05).
These results concluded that the decrease of serum cholesterol level by intaking of lentinus edodes in healthy young men whose serum cholesterol levels were in normal range was not recognized.

Hybrid techniques to enable endovascular treatment of complex aortic pathology have been previously described. A staged endograft repair of a complex, chronic Stanford type B aortic dissection with atherosclerotic occlusion of bilateral iliac arteries is reported in a 66-year-old man. The patient also had chronic obstructive lung disease as well as chronic renal dysfunction. The aneurysmal portion of the dissection extended from the distal arch to the entire thoracic aorta. Bilateral femoral arteries were bypassed from the abdominal aorta using open techniques. Then, total arch replacement with a frozen elephant trunk was performed through median sternotomy. Finally, the aneurysmal portion was completely covered with an endograft from the frozen elephant trunk to the upper abdominal aorta, just proximal to the celiac trunk. The patient had no neurologic complications. This case report illustrates the feasibility of the hybrid technique in selected high-risk patients when confronted with complex aortic pathology.

[Objective] We performed a multi-center randomized controlled trial using sham acupuncture as a control in the 11 institutions of Aichi and Shizuoka prefecture at which we practice our original acupuncture method.
[Design · Methods] Patients were randomly allocated to four groups : A group, “Taikyoku-Ryoho” (whole body acupuncture method) pole treatment combined with low frequency electroacupuncture; B group, “TaikyokuRyoho” pole treatment; C group, low frequency electroacupuncture; D group, sham acupuncture. Therapeutic effectiveness was evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and criteria of the Japanese Orthopedic Association for low back pain (JOA score). After these evaluations, patients in B group received low frequency electroacupuncture and patients in C group received “Taikyoku-Ryoho” pole treatment. Patients in D group received both therapies. Thus, all patients eventually received the entire series of therapies. [Results] Significant improvement (P<0.05) in VAS and JOA scores was recognized after one acupuncture treatment in A, B and C groups, but not in D group. There were no differences in terms of the effectiveness among A, B and C groups.
[Conclusion] Our original acupuncture method of “Taikyoku-Ryoho” combined with low frequency electroacupuncture was superior to sham acupuncture. However, the definition of sham acupuncture needs to be more clearly defined in future research.

Methods: This study enrolled 60 patients who underwent corrective surgery and were followed up for >2 years postoperatively. AdIS was defined as adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in patients who had no history of corrective surgery, had a primary thoracolumbar/lumbar (TL/L) curve, and were ≥30 years old at the time of surgery. Results: The AdIS (n=23; mean age, 53.1 years) and de novo (n=37; mean age, 70.0 years) groups were significantly different in terms of the main thoracic and TL/L curves, sagittal vertical axis, thoracic kyphosis, and thoracolumbar kyphosis preoperatively. The scores in the self-image domain of the SRS-22r (before surgery/2 years after surgery [PO2Y]) were 2.2/4.4 and 2.3/3.7 in the AdIS and de novo groups, respectively, and PO2Y was significantly different between the two groups (p<0.001). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that AdIS was an independent factor associated with self-image at PO2Y (p=0.039). Conclusions AdIS, a spinal deformity pathology, was identified as a significant factor associated with the self-image domain of SRS-22r in patients who underwent corrective surgery. AdIS is not solely classified based on pathology but also differs in terms of the clinical aspect of self-image improvement following corrective surgery.

We introduce a method combining two oncoplastic techniques for breast-conserving reconstruction. The procedure is as follows: first, an extended glandular flap is made by undermining the breast from both the skin and the pectoralis fascia to the upper edge of the breast at the subclavicular area. After modeling the breast mound with the extended glandular flap, an inframammary adipofascial flap is made. The flap is reflected back to the breast area remodeled using the extended glandular flap. After reshaping the breast, the inframammary line is then re-shaped. This method is indicated for patients with breast cancer in the outer portion of the breast, who have small dense breasts, and have undergone a large excision of about 40% of their breast volume. We treated four patients, all of whom had either excellent or good cosmetic results with no fat necrosis.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Cosmetics ; Fascia ; Fat Necrosis ; Female ; Humans ; Mammaplasty ; Mastectomy, Segmental ; Skin