Report on Disaster Medical Operations with Acupuncture/Massage Therapy After the Great East Japan Earthquake

The Great East Japan Earthquake inflicted immense damage over a wide area of eastern Japan with the consequent tsunami. Department of Traditional Asian Medicine, Tohoku University, started providing medical assistance to the disaster-stricken regions mainly employing traditional Asian therapies

Short-Term Effects of Acupuncture on Open-Angle Glaucoma in Retrobulbar Circulation: Additional Therapy to Standard Medication

Background. The relation between glaucoma and retrobulbar circulation in the prognosis has been indicated. Purpose. To investigate the effects of acupuncture on retrobulbar circulation in open-angle glaucoma (OAG) patients. Methods. Eleven OAG patients (20 eyes with OAG) who were treated by topical antiglaucoma medications for at least 3 months were enrolled. Acupuncture was performed once at acupoints BL2, M-HN9, ST2, ST36, SP6, KI3, LR3, GB20, BL18, and BL23 bilaterally. Retrobulbar circulation was measured with color Doppler imaging, and intraocular pressure (IOP) was also measured at rest and one hour after rest or before and after acupuncture. Results. The Δ value of the resistive index in the short posterior ciliary artery (P < .01) and the Δ value of IOP (P < .01) were decreased significantly by acupuncture compared with no acupuncture treatment. Conclusions. Acupuncture can improve the retrobulbar circulation and IOP, which may indicate the efficacy of acupuncture for OAG

Cleaved PGAM5 is released from mitochondria depending on proteasome-mediated rupture of the outer mitochondrial membrane during mitophagy

PGAM5 is a unique type of protein phosphatase that exists in mitochondria. It has been shown to exist in the inner mitochondrial membrane through its transmembrane domain and to be cleaved within the transmembrane domain upon mitochondrial dysfunction. However, its submitochondrial localization remains controversial; many researchers claim that PGAM5 localizes to the outer mitochondrial membrane based on the findings that PGAM5 associates with many cytoplasmic proteins. Here, we found that cleaved PGAM5 was released from mitochondria during mitophagy, a selective form of autophagy specific for mitochondria,and that the release was inhibited by proteasome inhibitors in HeLa cells stably expressing the E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin.However, treatment of parental HeLa cells lacking Parkin with mitophagy-inducing agents caused PGAM5 cleavage but did not cause its release from mitochondria. Thus, cleaved PGAM5 appears to be released from mitochondria depending on proteasome-mediated rupture of the outer membrane during mitophagy, which has been previously shown to precede autophagy-mediated degradation of whole mitochondria. This study suggests that PGAM5 senses mitochondrial dysfunction in the inner mitochondrial membrane and serves as a signalling intermediate that regulates the cellular response to mitochondrial stress upon its cleavage and release from mitochondria

A Prospective Observational Study on Effect of Short-Term Periodic Steroid Premedication on Bone Metabolism in Gastrointestinal Cancer (ESPRESSO-01)

Background. A multicenter prospective observational study evaluated the effect of gastrointestinal cancer chemotherapy with short‐term periodic steroid premedication on bone metabolism. Patients and Methods. Seventy‐four patients undergoing chemotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer were studied. The primary endpoints were changes in bone mineral densities (BMDs) and metabolic bone turnover 16 weeks after initiation of chemotherapy. BMDs, measured by dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry, and serum cross‐linked N‐telopeptides of type I collagen (sNTX), and bone alkaline phosphatase (sBAP) were assessed for evaluation of bone resorption and formation, respectively. Results. In 74.3% (55/74) of the patients, BMDs were significantly reduced at 16 weeks relative to baseline. The percent changes of BMD were -1.89% (95% confidence interval [CI], -2.67% to -1.11%: p < .0001) in the lumbar spine, -2.24% (95% CI, -3.59% to -0.89%: p = .002) in the total hip, and -2.05% (95% CI, -3.11% to -0.99%: p < .0001) in the femoral neck. Although there was no significant difference in sNTX levels during 16 weeks (p = .136), there was a significant increase in sBAP levels (p = .010). Decreased BMD was significantly linked to number of chemotherapy cycles (p = .02). There were no significant correlations between changes in BMDs and the primary site of malignancy, chemotherapy regimens, total cumulative steroid dose, steroid dose intensity, and additive steroid usage. Conclusion. Gastrointestinal cancer chemotherapy with periodic glucocorticoid premedication was associated with reduced BMD and increased sBAP levels, which were linked to number of chemotherapy cycles but independent of primary site, chemotherapy regimen, duration, and additive steroid usage

Data from: Incidence of cancer-associated thromboembolism in Japanese gastric and colorectal cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: a single-institutional retrospective cohort analysis (Sapporo CAT study)

Objective: Few data regarding the incidence of cancer-associated thromboembolism (TE) are available for Asian populations. We investigated the incidence of TE (TEi) and its risk factors among gastric and colorectal cancer (GCC) patients who received chemotherapy in a daily practice setting. Design: A retrospective cohort study. Setting: A single institutional study that used data from Sapporo City General Hospital, Japan, on patients treated between January 2008 and May 2015. Participants: Five hundred Japanese GCC patients who started chemotherapy from January 2008 to May 2015. Primary and secondary outcome measures: TE was diagnosed by reviewing all the reports of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) performed during the follow-up period. All types of thrombosis detected by CT or additional imaging tests, such as venous TE, arterial TE, and cerebral infarction, were defined as TE. Medical records of all identified patients were reviewed and potential risk factors for TE including clinicopathological backgrounds were collected. We defined the following patients as ‘active cancer’; patients with unresectable advanced GCC, cancer recurrence during or after completing adjuvant (Adj) chemotherapy, and/or presence of other malignant tumours. Results: Of the 500 patients, 70 patients (14.0%) developed TE during the follow-up period. TEi was 9.2% and 17.3% in gastric and colorectal cancer patients, 18.1% and 3.5% in active and non-active cancer patients, and 24.0% and 12.9% in multiple and single primary, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR], 2.371; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.328 to 4.233), active cancer (OR 7.593; 95% CI 2.950 to 19.543), and multiple primary (OR 2.527; 95% CI 1.189 to 5.370) were independently associated with TEi. Conclusion: TEi was 14.0% among Japanese GCC patients received chemotherapy, and was significantly higher among patients with colorectal cancer, active cancer, and multiple primary than among those with gastric cancer, non-active cancer, and single primary, respectively

Incidence of cancer-associated thromboembolism in Japanese gastric and colorectal cancer patients receiving chemotherapy : a single-institutional retrospective cohort analysis (Sapporo CAT study)

Objective Few data regarding the incidence of cancer-associated thromboembolism (TE) are available for Asian populations. We investigated the incidence of TE (TEi) and its risk factors among gastric and colorectal cancer (GCC) patients received chemotherapy in a daily practice setting. Design A retrospective cohort study. Setting A single-institutional study that used data from Sapporo City General Hospital, Japan, on patients treated between January 2008 and May 2015. Participants Five hundred Japanese GCC patients who started chemotherapy from January 2008 to May 2015. Primary and secondary outcome measures TE was diagnosed by reviewing all the reports of contrast-enhanced CT performed during the follow-up period. All types of thrombosis detected by CT or additional imaging tests, such as venous TE, arterial TE and cerebral infarction, were defined as TE. Medical records of all identified patients were reviewed and potential risk factors for TE, including clinicopathological backgrounds, were collected. We defined the following patients as 'active cancer'; patients with unresectable advanced GCC, cancer recurrence during or after completing adjuvant chemotherapy and/or presence of other malignant tumours. Results Of the 500 patients, 70 patients (14.0%) developed TE during the follow-up period. TEi was 9.2% and 17.3% in GCC patients, 18.1% and 3.5% in active and non-active cancer patients, and 24.0% and 12.9% in multiple and single primary, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that colorectal cancer (CRC) (OR 2.371; 95% CI 1.328 to 4.233), active cancer (OR 7.593; 95%CI 2.950 to 19.543) and multiple primary (OR 2.527; 95%CI 1.189 to 5.370) were independently associated with TEi. Conclusion TEi was 14.0% among Japanese GCC patients received chemotherapy, and was significantly higher among patients with CRC, active cancer and multiple primary than among those with gastric cancer, non-active cancer and single primary, respectively. Trial registration number UMIN000018912

Sapporo CAT study

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Radiation Control Report

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