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Volume 53 (1998 - 199･･･
- Issue 4 Pages 572-
- Issue 3 Pages 511-
- Issue 2 Pages 398-
Volume 53, Issue 3
Displaying 1-5 of 5 articles from this issue
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Shinya MATSUDA, Yutaka MOTOHASHI1998 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 511-520
Published: October 15, 1998
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThe French health care system is characterized by its social insurance scheme with universal coverage, freedom of prescription and of location by the doctor, fee-for-service payment by patients, and free choice of doctor by patients, which essentially tends to inflate its health expenditures. Thus, the health expenditures of France has been increasing over the average expenditures of other European countries. Under the principle of autonomy of the social insurance fund, the increase in medical expenditures has been absorbed by a decrease in the reimbursement rate and an increase in the contribution rate of the insured. However, it is no longer possible to cope with this financial crisis by these traditional measures because of the worsening of the unemployment problem. Nowadays, the increase in the contribution rate is regarded as one of the important reasons for the economic stagnation of the French society. In order to cope with this difficult situation, the French government has changed its health policy from the demand side strategy to the supply side strategy. The concrete plan of this policy was presented by Prime Minister Alain Juppé (the Juppé plan). The plan consists of; 1) unification of the medical insurance scheme, 2) establishment of a ceiling on medical expenditures, 3) regionalization of health policy, 4) disclosure of medical information, 5) introduction of medical references, 6) creation of a social protection scheme for the dependent elderly, 7) introduction of an object tax for the social security fund, etc.. These subjects have been materializing step by step after many twists and turn. The most important principles of the plan are the transparency of the medical information and the responsibility of each actor within the health system. The French government has conducted a lot of international comparable studies of health systems. According to the results of a series of active and profound discussions, the French government has conducted various social experiments. It is very meaningful for the Japanese government to analyze this process of health reform occurring in France in order to discuss the health system reforms in Japan.View full abstractDownload PDF (1731K) -
Shigeo MANABE, Hiroko MATSUSHITA1998 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 521-528
Published: October 15, 1998
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSHeterocyclic amines are formed during high temperature cooking of foods such as meat and fish. Although heterocyclic amines are known mutagens and some of them are shown to be carcinogenic to experimental animals, the carcinogenic potential of heterocyclic amines in humans has yet to be established. The most important criteria in determining the relationship between heterocyclic amines and human cancers are the strength and consistency of the association, the presence of a dose-response relationship, and the biological plausibility of heterocyclic amines being human carcinogens. To date, there are too few data to evaluate the strength, consistency, and dose response of this relationship in humans. To investigate cancer risk posed by heterocyclic amines to humans, an accurate estimation of exposure is needed. Validated methods for exposure assessment of heterocyclic amines are not available. At present, without any available long-term biomarkers of heterocyclic amines, it is crucial to improve exposure assessment. Most studies concerning the cancer risk assessment of heterocyclic amines are based on the exposure levels calculated only by information on the consumption of cooked foods and the mean levels of heterocyclic amines in cooked foods. Inaccurate exposure assessment can lead to incorrect cancer risk. This review describes the present and future problems of the exposure assessment and cancer risk assessment of heterocyclic amines.View full abstractDownload PDF (1444K) -
Kazushi OKAMOTO, Kiyoko YAGYU1998 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 529-535
Published: October 15, 1998
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThis study explores the factors associated with longevity in Japan by considering the geographic distribution of centenarians based on the 1990 population census.
The proportion of centenarians was calculated based on the population of those aged 65 years or older. The findings were 11.0 males and 28.2 females per 100, 000 people aged 65 years or older. In this analysis, the rate ratio, RR, was used as an index for fluctuation of centenarians by prefecture. RR is also the proportion of centenarians in a prefecture to that in the nation. When the RR of both sexes is over 100, the region is defined as high proportion and less than this as low proportion. The high proportion regions were located in the western part of Japan i. e. from the Chugoku to the Kyusyu district, the low proportion regions were located in the eastern part of Japan i. e. from the Tohoku to the Kanto district both sexes. The relationship between the geographical distribution of centenarians and environmental factors was analyzed. The correlation coefficient of the proportion of centenarians and the temperature as index of a regional difference was the highest among the factors investigated.
After adjusting for mean temperature, the mean value of factors associated with a high quality of welfare work and of medical service, and that of having leisure time were significantly higher in high proportion regions than in low proportion regions.View full abstractDownload PDF (1095K) -
Takuya KOIE, Katsuhiko SUZUKI, Satoru KUDO, Mutsuo YAMADA, Qiang LIU, ...1998 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 536-544
Published: October 15, 1998
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThis study was done to determine if the production and metabolism of reactive oxygen species from human neutrophils were modulated by the treatment of interferon-α (IFN-α).
Luminol-dependent Chemiluminescence (LmCL) responses were inhibited by a high concentration of IFN-α (more than 1×104IU/ml) when opsonized zymosan (OZ) and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) were used as stimulants. However, these responses were increased by 1×103IU/ml of IFN-α with Ca2+ -ionophore A23187 stimulation. Lucigenin-dependent Chemiluminescence (LgCL) responses were inhibited by all concentrations. These findinds suggest the possibility that IFN-α inhibits activation of protein kinase C (PKC), whereas the resultig effect might be due to the inhibition of myeloperoxidese (MPO) degranulation.
Preincubation of human neutrophils with IFN-α for 30, 60 or 120 minutes and subsequent stimulation with OZ, PMA and Ca2+ -ionophore A23187 caused an increase LgCL responses, while inhibiting LmCL responses. These findings suggest that preincubation of human neutrophils with a high concentration of IFN-α might enhance the NADPH-oxidase activity, although a relative increase of LgCL was due to the inhibition MPO degranulation.View full abstractDownload PDF (1035K) -
Part 1. Changes in the level of exposure to cadmium after soil replacement of polluted paddy fields and the related effects on the prognosis of renal tubular dysfunctionJianJun FAN, Keiko AOSHIMA, Terutaka KATOH, Hidetoyo TERANISHI, Minoru ...1998 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 545-557
Published: October 15, 1998
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSA follow-up study on renal tubular dysfunction was carried out on 193 female inhabitants of the cadmium (Cd)-polluted Jinzu River basin and 40 reference subjects living in an adjacent area in 1994-95. They were 54 to 70 years old when the initial examination was conducted in 1983-84. In the Cd-polluted Jinzu River basin, extensive reclamation of polluted rice fields has been conducted since 1979; as a result, the average Cd concentrations in polished rice consumed by the subjects in the 1994-95 study (0.12ppm in 1994, 0.14ppm in 1995) were significantly lower than those in the 1983-84 study (0.26ppm in 1983, 0.29ppm in 1984). The average Cd levels in urine in the follow-up study (7.5μg/g Cr. in 1994, 7.7μg/g Cr. in 1995) were also significantly lower than those in the initial study (13.5μg/g Cr. in 1983, 13.3μg/g Cr. in 1984). However, the mean values for urinary excretion of β2-microglobulin (β2-m) (3.9mg/g Cr. in 1994, 3.7mg/g Cr. in 1995) and glucose (203mg/g Cr. in 1994, 251mg/g Cr. in 1995) in the follow-up study were significantly higher than those obtained at the initial examination (2.0mg/g Cr. and 125mg/g Cr. in 1983 and 1.1mg/g Cr. and 78mg/g Cr. in 1984 for β2-m and glucose excretion, respectively). The magnitude of increase in urinary excretion of β2-m and glucose in inhabitants of the Cd-polluted area was significantly higher than that of the inhabitants of the reference area. Moreover, an increase was observed in the prevalence of renal tubular dysfunction determined by urinary β2-m exceeding 10mg/g creatinine and urinary glucose exceeding 150mg/g creatinine only among inhabitants of the Cd-polluted area; it is noteworthy that 31 new cases of renal tubular dysfunction were observed in the follow-up study. These results indicate that renal tubular dysfunction among inbabitants of the Cd-polluted Jinzu River basin is irreversible and progressive, and many new cases of renal tubular dysfunction were also noted over a period of 11 years, despite the fact that Cd exposure had decreased over the past 11 years.View full abstractDownload PDF (2292K)
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