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Although there have been several reports on the prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) in Japanese schoolchildren based on questionnaires, there has been no nation-wide study of the frequency of this condition diagnosed by dermatologists in regular health check-ups of schoolchildren.The objective of this work was to evaluate precisely the prevalence of AD in elementary schoolchildren in Japan based on regular health check-ups by dermatologists.In 2001/2, elementary schoolchildren: first graders (age 6–7 years) and sixth graders (age 11–12 years) were examined by dermatologists in eight prefectures of Japan (Hokkaido, Iwate, Tokyo, Gifu, Osaka, Hiroshima, Kochi and Fukuoka). In each prefecture, public elementary schools were randomly selected from urban and rural districts. We planned to examine about 700 schoolchildren in each of urban first, urban sixth, rural first and rural sixth grades from the eight areas, a total of 22 400 children (700 × 4 × 8). AD was diagnosed by the dermatologists based on the Japanese Dermatological Association criteria for the disease.The point prevalence of AD was 11·2% overall (2664 of 23 719) ranging from 7·4% (Iwate) to 15·0% (Fukuoka) in the eight areas. Seventy-four per cent, 24%, 1·6% and 0·3% of those afflicted were in the mild, moderate, severe and very severe groups, respectively. Overall, the prevalence of first graders was slightly higher than that of sixth graders (11·8% vs. 10·5%,P < 0·01). There was no apparent difference in prevalence between urban and rural districts, or between boys and girls.The prevalence of AD in Japanese elementary schoolchildren was about 10%, three-quarters of those being mildly affected. This is the first nation-wide study made of Japanese elementary schoolchildren examined by dermatologists to evaluate the frequency of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although very late stent thrombosis (VLST) remains an important concern, the underlying etiology and clinical characteristics are not fully elucidated in Japanese patients who undergo intravascular imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) regularly., Methods: We identified 50 VLST lesions (bare-metal stent [BMS] [n = 16], first-generation drug-eluting stent [DES] [n = 14] and newer-generation DES [n = 20]) in patients managed in our institutes. The underlying mechanism of VLST was assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT), and the major etiology of each lesion was determined. The aim of this study was to explore the mechanisms of VLST of BMSs and DESs in Japanese patients., Results: The median duration since stent implantation was 10 years (range: 1-20). The most frequent etiology of VLST was neoatherosclerotic rupture (44%), followed by neointimal erosion (24%). Edge disease (10%) and evagination (10%) were similarly observed. Malapposition (8%) was deemed to be acquired late by looking at intravascular imaging from the index procedure. Uncovered struts (2%) and in-stent calcified nodule (2%) were the least frequent etiologies. Regardless of etiology, signs of neoatherosclerosis were present in most lesions (82%). Most patients received single (68%) or dual (8%) antiplatelet therapy or oral anticoagulation alone (4%), whereas a considerable proportion of patients discontinued medication (20%). Regarding the treatment strategy, drug-coated balloon was the most frequent strategy (56%), followed by implantation of newer DESs (34%)., Conclusions: Various mechanisms have been identified in Japanese patients with VLST. In these patients, biological responses seemed to be more relevant than the index procedure-related factors., (Copyright © 2023 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The King's Parkinson's Disease Pain Scale (KPPS)/King's Parkinson's Disease Pain Questionnaire (KPPQ) was developed as a tool to quantitatively assess pain in patients with Parkinson's disease (PwPD). Here, we conducted a Japanese multicenter validation study to verify the reliability of KPPS/KPPQ in Japanese PwPD., Methods: PwPD, ≥20 years, with unexplained pain were included; those with a definitive primary cause of pain other than PD were excluded. A total of 151 patients who fulfilled the criteria were analyzed, and test-retest reliability was investigated in 25 individuals., Results: The 151 patients included 101 women (66.9 %); mean age 68.3 ± 9.9 years, mean disease duration 9.2 ± 5.2 years. The most frequent pain type in the KPPS classification was musculoskeletal pain (82.8 %). There was a positive correlation between KPPS total score and the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS) total score, NMSS item 27, the Parkinson's disease sleep scale-version 2 (PDSS-2) total score, PDSS-2 item 10, the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-8 (PDQ-8) summary index and PDQ-8 item 7. Cronbach's alpha of KPPS was 0.626 (0.562-0.658) and the intraclass correlation coefficient of test-retest reliability was 0.740. Cronbach's alpha of KPPQ was 0.660 (0.617-0.705) and a test-retest reliability of kappa coefficient was 0.593 (0.0-1.0)., Conclusions: KPPS correlated well with other scales for assessing pain. KPPS correlated well with patients' quality of life, non-motor symptoms, and sleep disturbances. The reproducibility of KPPS/KPPQ makes it suitable for continuous evaluation of the same patient. On the other hand, the internal consistency of KPPS/KPPQ is rather low., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest We received financial support for this study by Eisai Co., Ltd., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Reproductive isolation, including hybrid weakness, plays an important role in the formation of species. Hybrid weakness in Capsicum, the cessation of plant growth, is caused by two complementary dominant genes, A from C. chinense or C. frutescens and B from C. annuum. In the present study, we surveyed whether 94 C. annuum accessions had B or b alleles by crossing with C. chinense having the A allele. Of the 94 C. annuum accessions, five had the B allele, three of which were native to Latin America and two were native to Asia. When combined with previous studies, the percentage of B carriers was 41% in Japan, 13% in Asia excluding Japan, 6% in Latin America, and 0% in Europe and Africa. In addition, 48 accessions of C. annuum from various countries were subjected to SSR analysis. Clades with high percentages of B-carriers were formed in the phylogenetic trees. In the principal coordinate analysis, most B-carriers were localized in a single group, although the group also included b-carriers. Based on these results, we presumed that the B allele was acquired in some C. annuum lines in Latin America, and B-carriers were introduced to the world during the Age of Discovery, as along with the b-carriers., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background and Purpose: This nationwide questionnaire survey was performed to clarify the prevalence of groin pain in unicycle athletes and to reveal the relationship between groin pain and factors such as age or athletic career., Patients and Methods: To evaluate the prevalence of groin pain, the questionnaire was sent to 1304 unicyclists belonging to the Japan Unicycle Association. All subjects aged 6 years or older at the time they answered the questionnaire., Results: Overall, 17% of unicyclists complained of groin pain. Pain was more common in those aged 13-19 years and in those with a career lasting more than 6 years., Conclusion: The incidence of groin pain (17%) among unicyclists is higher than that among athletes participating in other sports. Unicyclists aged between 13 and 19 years old and those with an athletic career of more than 6 years often suffer from groin pain.

Hochu-ekki-to (HET) is a traditional Japanese herbal (Kampo) medicine for the treatment of severe weakness, loss of appetite, and indigestion in elderly patients and for the prevention of opportunistic infections. The impact of HET on patients with chronic wounds refractory to conventional therapies was investigated in a prospective, randomized trial, including 18 patients divided into medication (7.5 g oral HET per day, n = 9) and control (n = 9) groups. Wound healing during the 12-week study period was scored based on depth, exudate, size, inflammation/infection, granulation tissue, necrotic tissue, and pocket size. At 12 weeks, wound healing progressed in all nine patients in the medication group, whereas wound healing progressed in only three patients in the control group (significant difference, p < 0.01; relative risk: 3.00). In the medication group, the total score decreased significantly at 8 weeks and later. To the best of our knowledge, this study was the first to show that HET promoted the healing of chronic wounds resistant to conventional treatments. HET may be a choice as an adjunctive therapy for chronic wounds, particularly for patients with malnutrition. This trial was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000031620)., (© 2019 by the Wound Healing Society.)

The wavelength of natural sunlight reaching the Earth's surface was detected to be above 300 nm using a multichannel spectrodetector and the ratio of UV to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) of sunlight in Japan (137 degrees E/35 degrees 11' N, altitude; 50 m) in early summer was estimated to be 0.07:1 (i.e., 7%). On the basis of this UV/PAR ratio, Chlorella ellipsoidea (IAM-27) cells were cultured in flasks under various conditions of UV irradiation in growth chambers. The growth (cell division) of these cells without near-UV radiation was inferior to that with near-UV radiation. Growth at a UV/PAR ratio of 7% (natural conditions), determined tentatively using our detector in the present study, was maximal similar to those at 14% and 28%; whereas that at 0.7% was somewhat less and that at 70% was considerably less. Growth was linked with the activities of stress enzymes. NAD(P)H-dependent oxidase [NAD(P)-DH] and xanthine oxidase (XOD), extracted from Chlorella exposed to near-UV radiation demonstrated lower activities than those from Chlorella not exposed to near-UV radiation. On the other hand, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APOD) extracted from Chlorella exposed to near-UV radiation have higher activities than those from unexposed Chlorella. Near-UV radiation clearly acted as an important factor for growth (cell division), at least at UV/PAR ratios of up to 0.28:1.

Background: The Japanese Society for Psoriasis Research has conducted an annual survey of psoriasis patients in Japan from 1982 to 2001., Objective: To perform the epidemiological study about a survey of psoriasis patients conducted in Japan for twenty years., Methods: A sample of 28628 cases was collected from 148 dermatology centers throughout Japan. The reports from each center were analyzed., Results: Males (65.8%) were predominant over females (34.2%) in number. The vast majority of cases (86.0%) had plaque-form of psoriasis vulgaris, and 812 cases (2.8%) showed guttate psoriasis. Psoriatic erythroderma (0.8%), generalized pustular psoriasis (0.9%), and localized pustular psoriasis (0.5%) were rare. Three hundred of the patients (1.0%) manifested psoriatic arthritis. Local corticosteroids (67.8%) were the most used modalities, whereas local vitamin D(3) preparations (2.4%) were rarely used. For photo-therapeutic treatments, topical (12.1%) and systemic (7.5%) PUVA were predominant over UVB therapy (0.5%). In systemic treatments, drugs from the herbal medicine was the first (14.2%), followed by etretinate (7.6%), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (4.4%), oral corticosteroids (4.1%), methotrexate (2.8%), cyclosporine (1.6%), and anti-cancer drugs (1.4%)., Conclusion: This survey was the first epidemiological study throughout Japan.

Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) and tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) are the staple enzymes in the metabolism of serotonin (5-HT). The genetic polymorphisms of these two enzymes might individually alter the production, release, reuptake or degradation of 5-HT during the treatment of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), leading to the individual differences in the antidepressant effects of SSRIs. The authors investigated whether a functional polymorphism in the MAOA gene promoter (MAOA-VNTR) and a TPH gene polymorphism in intron 7 (TPH-A218C) were associated with the antidepressant response to fluvoxamine in 66 Japanese patients with major depressive disorder during a 6-week study with a specific dosage plan. Fifty-four patients completed the study. The present study fails to demonstrate that the genetic polymorphisms of MAOA-VNTR and TPH-A218C affect the antidepressant effect of fluvoxamine in Japanese patients with major depressive disorder.

Whitening effects of cosmetics have been evaluated with change of skin reflectance of the colorimeter. However, skin color implies Hue (H) and Saturation (S) as well as skin reflectance (Value). We have developed a new evaluation method of change of skin color using computer analysis of the video-captured digital image. We have also investigated whitening effects of a new whitening cosmetic essence, 'Concentre anti-tache nuit' (CAN; Parfums Christian Dior, France), which contained 3% magnesium l-ascorbyl 2-phosphate, on skin color of the face in 15 healthy Japanese females. Measurement was performed after 6 weeks application. Whitening effects were also evaluated with the combination of observation and photographs. CAN showed significant improvement in Saturation of the forehead and left cheek and Value of the forehead. CAN showed greater whitening effects both on the forehead and left cheek in eight (53%) of 15 subjects with the combination of observation and photographs. These results indicated that CAN may have a whitening effect on skin of the face after 6 weeks application. This method may be useful to evaluate the whitening effect of cosmetics and color change of cutaneous disorders.

The presence of the long (l) variant of the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine: 5-HT) transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) is reported to be associated with a more favorable and faster antidepressant effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in Caucasians. The frequency of the l allele is lower in Japanese than in Caucasians; therefore, the antidepressant effect of fluvoxamine can be not as good in Japanese as in Caucasians. The authors investigated whether 5-HTTLPR was associated with the antidepressant response to fluvoxamine in 66 Japanese patients with major depressive disorder in a protocolized-dosing 6-week study. The short (s) allele frequency was significantly higher in the responsive individuals than in the nonresponsive ones (P = .010). The present study suggests that fluvoxamine is not less effective in depressive patients carrying the s allele than in the ones carrying the l allele and it is not less effective in Japanese than in Caucasians.

Genetic polymorphism of the serotonin 5-HT(2A) receptor seems to be associated with therapeutic response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The present study investigated whether a novel -1438G/A polymorphism in the promoter region of the 5-HT(2A )receptor gene is associated with therapeutic response to fluvoxamine (an SSRI) in 66 Japanese patients with major depressive disorder. Fluvoxamine (50 to 200 mg) was administered twice daily for 6 weeks. Fifty-four patients completed this study. The genotype distribution and the allele frequencies showed no significant difference between responders and non-responders. The time-course of the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale scores showed no significant difference among -1438G/G, -1438G/A, and -1438A/A genotype groups. The results demonstrated that the -1438G/A promoter polymorphism in the 5-HT(2A) receptor gene was unlikely to have a major role in therapeutic response to fluvoxamine in Japanese patients with major depressive disorder., (Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel)