The time-left ventricular ejection phase volume curve (LV curve) obtained from a M-mode echocardiogram was best fitted on the quadratic function in the form of the non-linear least square method. New parameters derived from the quadratic analysis were compared among 28 healthy volunteers, 32 patients with ischemic heart disease and 9 with cardiac enlargement. The effects of 0.1 mg β-methyldigoxin, 10 mg nifedipine (sublingual), physical exercise (cycle ergometory) and 20 mg propranolol (administered before physical exercise) on the parameters were analyzed in 19 patients and 8 healthy volunteers. The parameters obtained from the study can be explained as follows:
1) a (cm³/s²): Acceleration factor. β-methyldigoxin increased “a”, while propranolol inhibited the exercise induced increase. “a” was most influenced by cardiac contractility. The average in normal subjects was 883.4 + 281.2 cm³/s².
2) b (cm³/s): Velocity factor. Quadratic analysis showed the velocity was largest at the beginning of systolic ejection. The value was usually negative. (-480.2 + 23.2 cm3, in normal subjects).
3) c (cm³): End diastolic volume. (90.2 + 23.2 cm3, in normal subjects).
4) EFref: This was similar to the ejection fraction (EF), but more characteristic in expressing LV curvature. (0.46 + 0.06, in normal subjects).
5) MNSERref: This was similar to the mean normalized systolic ejection rate (MNSER). Both parameters were characterized by a “Time” factor, but MNSERref was easily detected. (1.89 + 0.23, in normal subjects).
6) MNSEHE (P/(SV·t_l)): This was the most distinctive among the new parameters in this study. P/(SV⋅t_l) was the only parameter which expressed hysteresis of the LV curve. This level was increased by β-methyldigoxin in patients with congestive heart failure. (0.14 + 0.04, in normal subjects).

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Bronchial sensitivity and reactivity in 57 patients with bronchial asthma was measured using Astographs and transcutaneous oxygen tension (PtcO₂) during continuous inhalation of methacholine at incremental concentrations.
Bronchial sensitivity and reactivity could be determined by these 2 methods in 42 of the 57 patients.
The correlation between the minimum dose of methacholine, which was defined as the indicator for bronchial sensitivity, in the Astograph and in PtcO₂ was significantly high (n=42, r=0.89, p<0.001).
The correlation between the slope of increasing rate of respiratory resistance and that of decreasing rate of PtcO₂, which indicated bronchial reactivity, was significantly high (n=42, r=0.85, p<0.001).
Although it was difficult to obtain reliable Astographs in some of the young children because of their marked changes in respiratory resistance, the measurement of PtcO₂ was found to be effective for the evaluation of bronchial sensitivity and reactivity in these cases.

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The purpose of this study is to present the results of a clinical trial of local administration for malignant gliomas based upon anti-cancer agents, mainly on adriamycin.
Ommaya devices, tube and reservoir were prepared, which had been chosen and improved. The following techniques were employed for implantation and local chemo-therapy. (1) Implantation into the remaining tumor cavity at the time of excision. (2) After an interval of one week, when the skin incision adhered, local administration was begun by injecting the agents into reservoir with 27 gauge needle, followed by the injection of 1-2 ml saline for diffusing the agent. Of 136 glioma cases having been experienced for 10 years, 118 cases had been operated, and 79 out of operated cases were implanted at the time of excision. Thereafter, both radiation and whole body chemo-therapy with adriamycin, ACNU, VCR and 5-FU were performed in most patients.
Of 79 cases, 63 cases were locally administered with adriamycin, 5 cases with ADM + BLM, 7 cases with BLM, 4 cases with MTX. According to the pathological classifications, statistics in ADM cases were analized in comparison with the other agents group and 39 cases in which no agent was locally administered.
Survival rates and curves were estimated and drawn by the Kaplan-Meier method and z-test. The ADM group consisted of 63 cases, 6 cases of astrocytoma grade 2, 14 cases of astrocytoma grade 3, 40 cases of astrocytoma grade 4, 1 of epemdymoblastoma and 2 cases of medulloblastoma. In ADM group, survival rate at the time of 36 months was 80% in astrocytoma grade 2, 58% in astrocytoma grade 3, 36% in astrocytoma grade 4. In any of pathological classes, cases with over 75% tumor removal showed longer prognosis than those with under 75% tumor removal. The tendency was conspicuously observed in astrocytoma grade 4.
This method has the following advantages: (1) It is possible to change amounts and interval of local administration for both old or infant cases. (2) It seldom has side-effect on other organs. (3) It is possible to employ local injection of antibiotics on the occasion of local infection, and the removal of the apparatus is easy in contrast with the other procedures of local chemo-therapy.

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The effects of food ingredients on iron absorption were investigated by means of long and short term experiments after ⁵⁹Fe material administration through stomach tubes to male Wistar rats of 200 to 300 grams body weight. The ingredients tested were casein, poultry meat, fish meat and soy protein isolate (SPI) which were contained by 24% in the synthetic food as the protein source. In the former experiment, the amounts of ⁵⁹Fe incorporation into the blood after 7 days and also ⁵⁹Fe excreted in feces during the same period were determined, whereas in the latter experiment ⁵⁹Fe contained in the blood and scraped intestinal mucosa was measured after 3 hours.
The following results were obtained. Although iron deficient rats showed a higher absorption rate than the iron adequate rats on a comparable diet, there was no difference in the rate of iron absorption, irrespective of diet in experiments for iron deficient rats. On the contrary, iron absorption by iron adequate rats depended on the diets tested. The rat group which received poultry meat or fish meat as the protein source showed a high rate of absorption, while the group which received SPI showed markedly low absorption. The effect of the SPI diet was also found in the low ⁵⁹Fe activity in the scraped mucosa and liver ferritin.
The inhibitory effect of the SPI diet on iron absorption was significantly recovered by adding galactose (8%) which binds specifically with soy bean lectin or by heating the SPI at 200°C for 1 hour before use. Galactose had no effect on the absorption of ⁵⁹Fe from the casein diet. Ascorbic acid significantly increased iron absorption on the casein diet but did not increase the absorption on the SPI diet. Additionally, the extract of SPI showed hemagglutinating activity by the serial dilution method carried out with rat erythrocytes.
These results show that the lectin in SPI may be one of inhibitory factors on iron absorption.

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Normal values of echocardiography are measured by the M-mode method. However, there is an error in measurements when M-mode beam is not vertical against the left ventricular long axis. The variance of angles between M-mode beam direction recommended by the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) and vertical line against left ventricular long axis which was located in a two-dimensional parasternal long axis echogram at end-diastole was studied in thirty four normal adult subjects. Two-dimensional echocardiographic measurements were performed to assess the normal values in sixty seven normal adult subjects. The parameters of measurements at end-diastole numbered five as follows: O outside dimension of left ventricle (ODLV), (1) left ventricular dimension (LVD), (3) interventricular septal wall thickness (IVST), (4) posterior left ventricular wall thickness (PWT), (5) aortic root dimension (AoD). The correlation between these five twodimensional echocardiographic parameters and the subjects' body constitution (body height, body weight, BSA, square root of BSA, cube root of BSA) was studied.
The conclusions of this study are: (1) There is a wide variance in the angles between M-mode beam direction and vertical line against left ventricular long axis. In this result, it is suggested that ODLV, LVD, IVST, and PWT are randomly overestimated by the M-mode method. (2) Two-dimensional echocardiographic normal ranges of ODLV, LVD, IVST, PWT, AoD at end-diastole are 55-70 mm, 34-50 mm, 7-13 mm, 7-13 mm, 24-36 mm (-2SD-+2SD) respectively. (3) Correlations between three parameters of body constitution (body height, body weight, BSA) and five echocardiographic parameters were as follows. In ODLV, significant correlation was found against all three parameters of body constitution. The highest parameter was body weight (r=0.47 p<0.001). In LVD, significant and higher correlation was found in body weight (r=0.32 p<0.01) than in BSA (r=0.30 p<0.01). In IVST and PWT, no significant correlation against body constitution was found. In AoD, significant correlation was found against all three parameters of body constitution. The highest parameter was body height (r=0.56 p<0.001). As for ODLV, LVD and AoD, the correlations between these parameters and square root of BSA as well as cube root of BSA were significant. However, these correlations were not higher than direct BSA. It is estimated that ODLV and LVD corrected for body weight and AoD corrected for body height are not only clinically easier but also better than corrected for BSA.

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The author and colleagues have previously reported the decrease in the amplitude-ratio of P₁₀₀ of visual evoked potentials (VEP) after overloading mental tasks in unmedicated patients with endogenous depression and the increase in the amplitude-ratio after the tasks during treatment with tricyclic anti-depressants. In the present study the relationships between this amplitude-ratio increase and the dose, the severity of the illness and factors relating to the time course during the treatment of imipramine were investigated in 20 patients with endogenous depression.
VEP was recorded 3-5 times before the treatment and every week during the treatment. The severity of the illness was estimated by the Hamilton Rating Scale at each time point of VEP recording. As overloading mental tasks a modification of Kadobayashi's addition task method was used.
The results were as follows:
1) There was no significant correlation between the time course of the treatment and the increase of the amplitude-ratio of VEP during the treatment.
2) The amplitude-ratio increase depended on the dose of imipramine. On a dose of more than 75 mg/day a significant increase in the amplitude-ratio was observed compared with that in doses below 75 mg/day (p<0.01).
3) No correlations were seen between the amplitude-ratio or the amplitude-ratio change and the severity of the illness before and during the treatment.
From these results it might be concluded that the increase in the amplitude-ratio of P₁₀₀ of VEP after the mental tasks was not brought about by the changes in the severity of the illness or factors relating to the time course of the treatment, but by the direct effect of imipramine to the patient's brain or the physiological changes caused by the drug.

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The present study was performed in order to clarify the characteristics and etiological factors of the maternity blues syndrome. This syndrome was diagnosed by means of a questionnaire and interviews on the fifth day postpartum. This syndrome was investigated in terms of psychological, obstetrical, environmental, and endocrinical background.
The results obtained were as follows:
1) About 8% of the women in our study experienced this syndrome in the first five days after childbirth. As most of the blues subjects had felt much better within a month after birth, the syndrome was considered to be of a temporary nature.
2) As for the symptoms themselves, not only psychological complaints, but somatic complaints were characteristic.
3) This syndrome was associated etiologically with a tendency toward neurosis, a cluster of obstetrical variables including older delivery age, primipara, evidence of pregnancy complications, an abnormal mode of delivery and the nuclear family.
4) Multiple regression analysis showed that psychological and obstetrical factors accounted for at least 15% in depression scores following childbirth.
5) It was suggested that self-limiting components played an important role in its onset.
6) As to the endocrinical aspect, in the blues subjects that were both younger than twenty-five years old and primiparous, the serum DHEA-S level on the fifth day postpartum showed a significant increase compared with the control. Therefore, it was suggested that DHEA-S dynamics played a major part in the occurrence of this syndrome.

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The subjects of this study were 140 epileptic patients (80 men and 60 women) who had been observed for over two years, and had satisfied the following requirements for discontinuation of their anticonvulsants medication: (1) no clinical seizures for 3 or more years due to therapeutic administrations of anticonvulsants; and, (2) EEG recordings, at 6-month intervals, that showed no recurrence of epileptiorm discharges when either awake or asleep.
These patients were administered anticonvulsants which were reduced to a dose amounting to one-fourth their previous therapeutic level every two months until complete discontinuation of medication at 6 months. They were examined with regard to this course and their clinical background factors. Additionally, EEGs of 106 of these subjects were examined for 3 consecutive days during a suspension of medication, so as to evaluate the EEG findings and to determine whether EEG findings would enable us to form a prognosis of their condition.
The results obtained were as follows.
1) The incidence of clinical seizures and abnormal EEGs after discontinuation of anticonvulsants was 5%. Excluding the involvement of seizure-inducing factors, the rate of relapse was 1.4%.
2) All cases of relapse after discontinuing anticonvulsants occurred within a year.
3) Adolescence was not necessarily a risk factor in discontinuing anticonvulsants.
4) After discontinuation of anticonvulsants, factors indicating a good prognosis included: (1) the successful control of clinical seizures in less than a year after the start of anticonvulsant therapy; (2) the elimination of epileptiform discharges in less than 3 years after the start of anticonvulsant therapy; (3) an interval of less than 2 years between the suppression of clinical seizures and the elimination of epileptic discharges after the start of anticonvulsant therapy.
5) There was no relapse of clinical seizures in any subject during the 3-day period when medication was suspended. The EEG findings recorded during this period served, to a degree, as an index for the relapse of clinical seizures, and for the incidence of abnormal EEG findings after reinstitution of anticonvulsants.
Thus, when no specific seizure-inducing factors were involved, a relapse of clinical seizures and abnormal EEG findings were extremely rare in those patients who had satisfied our initial requirements and from whom medication was withdrawn in this 6-months program of gradual dose reduction.

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