Successful treatment of restless legs syndrome accompanied by headaches for 30 years with herbal prescriptions containing Paeoniae Radix: A case report.

Background: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder that causes unpleasant symptoms in the legs when resting, which are relieved by movement. Pharmacotherapy is the standard treatment. However, current treatment provides only symptomatic relief and may result in adverse effects with long-term use.

Repeated standing back extension exercise: Influence on muscle shear modulus change after lumbodorsal muscle fatigue.

Background: In low back pain, multifidus muscle fibers reportedly exhibit increased stiffness. Low back pain was associated with lumbodorsal muscle fatigue. There is no report of using shear modulus to verify the mechanism of an immediate effect of exercise on low back pain.

[Factors Resulting Correlation and Differences in Renal Function Evaluation Index Using the Serum Cystatin C and Creatinine as Measured by an Enzymatic Method].

We previously reported the association of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) calculated from the serum creatinine level (S-Cr) measured using the Jaffe method with the GFR (eGFR) estimated from the serum cystatin C level (CysC). However, few studies have compared the eGFR using the enzymatic method with the eGFR. It is unclear whether there are differences in the results of renal function assessment.

Reproducibility of elastic modulus measurement of the multifidus using the shear wave elastography function of an ultrasound diagnostic device.

[Purpose] This study aimed to obtain evidence of the musculo-physiological involvement in the effect of physiotherapy on low back pain by examining the reproducibility of elasticity measurements of the multifidus muscle at different trunk angles via the shear wave elastography function of an ultrasound diagnostic device. [Participants and Methods] This study included 11 healthy adults. Measurements were conducted with participants in the prone position, and the elasticity of the superficial and deeper layers of the multifidus muscle was measured under the following 3 conditions: trunk at neutral position, trunk flexed at 40°, and trunk extended at 20°.

Change in the circulation and activity of the lower erector spinae muscles after repeated trunk extension movement.

Background: The optimum repetition number of standing back-extension exercise (SBEE) effective for the prevention and improvement of low back pain (LBP) is unknown.

Objective: To determine the effect of physiotherapy on LBP by investigating the optimum repetition number of SBEE via optical analysis and electromyographic (EMG) examination of the multifidus muscles.

Methods: Hemodynamics and multifidus muscle activity were examined in 16 healthy adult men using near-infrared spectroscopy and surface EMG after performing repetitive SBEE.

Essential and Non-essential Elements in Scalp Hair of Diabetics: Correlations with Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c).

Essential elements (Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu, Fe, Cr, Mn and V) and non-essential elements (As, Cd, Hg and Pb) were measured in scalp hair samples of 45 diabetic subjects and 59 control subjects in Japan using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. All diabetic subjects took insulin and/or antidiabetic agents, with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ranging between 6.2 and 14.

Correlations between mercury concentration, and stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen of amino acids in scalp hair from whale meat eaters and heavy fish eaters.

Rationale: As mercury (Hg) accumulation in marine animals generally increases with increased trophic level (δ N values) through the food web, predators accumulate higher levels of Hg. The main source of human Hg intake is the consumption of fish and other marine animals, and Hg concentration in scalp hair is the preferred marker for evaluating consumption of marine animals. Difference in δ N values between trophic and source amino acids of human consumers could enable us to estimate the trophic level of the consumer without knowing the bulk δ N value of their prey.

Optimal regimens of sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim for chemoprophylaxis of Pneumocystis pneumonia in patients with systemic rheumatic diseases: results from a non-blinded, randomized controlled trial.

Background: Sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (SMX/TMP) is a standard drug for the prophylaxis of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PJP) in immunosuppressed patients with systemic rheumatic diseases, but is sometimes discontinued due to adverse events (AEs). The objective of this non-blinded, randomized, 52-week non-inferiority trial was to quest an effective chemoprophylaxis regimen for PJP with a low drug discontinuation rate. Results at week 24 were reported.

Nutritional assessment using stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen in the scalp hair of geriatric patients who received enteral and parenteral nutrition formulas.

Background & Aims: The δC and δN values in the scalp hair of geriatric patients in Japan who received the enteral or parenteral nutrition formula were measured to assess nutritional status.

Methods: The relations among δC, δN, calorie intake, BMI, albumin concentration, total cholesterol (T-CHO) and geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) in the patients were investigated. Furthermore, the enrichment of δC and δN from the nutrients to the hair was investigated.

Measuring seated hip extensor strength using a handheld dynamometer: an examination of the reliability and validity of the protocol.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of measurements of hip extensor muscle strength using a handheld dynamometer (HHD) with subjects in a sitting position. In doing so, we also aimed to establish a modified method of measurement for patients with flexion contractures in the trunk and lower extremities. [Subjects and Methods] In 20 healthy males, hip extensor muscle strength was measured using a handheld dynamometer in sitting, prone, and standing positions by contracting the hip extensor muscle isometrically with the knee flexed at 90 degrees.

Blood stasis syndrome in Japan and its molecular biological analysis.

Blood stasis syndrome is one of the pathological concepts of Oriental traditional medicine. In Oriental traditional medicine, blood is thought of as not only blood but also as a living component of the body. In fact, blood stasis syndrome is related to not just circulation disorders but dermatological and gynecological and other diseases.

Current research and future directions in pattern identification: Results of an international symposium.

A symposium on pattern identification (PI) was held at the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM) on October 2, 2013, in Daejeon, South Korea. This symposium was convened to provide information on the current research in PI as well as suggest future research directions. The participants discussed the nature of PI, possible research questions, strategies and future international collaborations in pattern research.

The long-term effects of a kampo medicine, juzentaihoto, on maintenance of antibody titer in elderly people after influenza vaccination.

We have performed a broad-ranging analysis of the adjuvant effect of a Kampo medicine, juzentaihoto (JTT), on influenza vaccination in a multicenter randomized controlled trial. In this study, the enhancing effect of JTT on antibody titer after influenza vaccination was studied for 28 weeks in elderly people who were in the high-risk group for influenza infection. In total, 91 subjects over 65 years old were recruited from four long-term-care facilities located in Chiba, Gunma, and Toyama prefectures in Japan.

[Clinical pathway for long term home cares].

New tools of clinical pathway for long term home cares (care pathway) and new anamnesis charts on admission were introduced. These tools were based on Takeuchi's assessment methods. I describe that these tools make possible to develop collaborative works (team care) of co-medical staffs and promote a safe and rapid discharge from hospital.

Extraperitoneal bladder rupture secondary to rectal impalement.

Impalement injury to both the urinary bladder and the rectum is a rare occurrence. A 45-year-old man was referred to our hospital because he had been stabbed through the internal femoral skin by a steel bar. Retrograde cystography and computed tomography failed to demonstrate bladder rupture.

A case of neuroleptic malignant syndrome in a patient with hemodialysis.

A 63-year-old man with chronic renal failure who had received hemodialysis three times per week for 4 years developed neuroleptic malignant syndrome 10 days after taking amoxapine. His condition was characterized by muscle rigidity, elevation of body temperature and altered consciousness. Although he was treated with dantrolen and supportive care as well as discontinuation of amoxapine, his condition rapidly deteriorated, resulting in death.