Five type II diabetic patients (2 males and 3 females, 61-74 years of age) were immersed in cold-spring water (13°C) for 15min, twice or 3 times a day for consecutive 12 days at Kan-no-Jigoku spa in Japan.
In all of the patients, both systolic and diastolic blood pressures rose, and pulse rate increased during the acute cold exposure. This circulatory response to cold-water immersion tended to decrease after 12 days' serial immersions. After each immersion, blood glucose levels are lowered in all of the patients, suggesting the enhanced uptake of glucose by the tissue. After the 12 days' cure, 2 patients with relatively lower severity of diabetes showed improved glucose tolerance estimated by 50g oral glucose tolerance tests. No significant improvement of insulin secretion was observed in 25g intravenous glucose tolerance tests in the present study. Among 3 patients whose urinary output of glucose was measured daily, 2 patients showed gradually decreased urinary glucose and one showed almost no glucosuria throughout the 12 days' cure.
These results indicate that cold-water immersion stimulates the utilization of glucose as seen in exercise and that repeated cold-water immersions, if performed carefully, could be a regimen for diabetic patients.

抄録全体を表示

The effects of acupuncture on vascular permeability in mice were investigated. The edema of a footpad induced by the administration of serotonin was remarkably reduced by acupuncturing the point at Kyoku-sen (Chu-chuan) mimicked the point of human either on serotonin-administered or non-administered leg for a period of 60, 45, 30, 20, 10, 5 minutes before its administration. Reduction of the edema was most remarkable when the acupuncture was performed on the administered leg for a period of 5 minutes before administration of serotonin.
The degree of reduction of edema of a footpad by acupuncturing was enhanced by dexamethasone. Actinomycin D, a potent inhibitor RNA synthesis and known to inhibit the anti-inflammatory action of dexamethasone, demonstrated no inhibitory action on acupuncturing which suggested that the acupuncture is effective by the mechanism other than that of dexamethasone which inhibits the increase vascular permeability by serotonin.

抄録全体を表示

Bub-KAO tablet (50g) consisting of equimolar bicarbonate salt and succinate made it possible to use easily CO₂ bath at home. Since the obtained CO₂ concentration was not so high, we studied the circulatory effects of usual concentration of Bub-KAO bath in normal and hypertensive men.
Seven Bub-KAO tablets (KAO Co., Tokyo, Japan) were put into 350 l of 41°C simple hot spring bath (CO₂ conc. ≈300ppm). Eight normotensive subjects (32.2±4.2yrs) and 13 hypertensive patients (67.8±11.3yrs) took this artificial CO₂ bath for 10min. As a control, 12 normotensives (38.1±8.8yrs) and 12 hypertensives (51.0±8.2yrs) were immersed in 41°C simple hot spring bath for 10min. Hemodynamic functions and blood gas were followed before and after bathing for 30min in the supine position.
In normotensives, blood pressure (BP) was unchanged either by Bub-KAO or simple bath. The increase in heart rate (HR) and cardiac output (CO) and the decrease in total peripheral resistance (TPRi) after Bub-KAO bath were slightly but significantly greater than those of simple bath. In hypertensives, BP was significantly decrased after Bub-KAO bath (-17.2±6.4/-6.8±2.1mmHg) compared to simple bath. Although the increase in HR and CO (+0.55±0.22l/min) after Bub-KAO bath were not so remarkable, decrease in TPRi (-9.3±3.6 unit) was significantly greater than simple bath. Venous blood obtained 10min after Bub-KAO bath became fresh red showing a significant increase in pO₂ and pH (alkalosis) and significant decrease in pCO₂. In arterial blood, although pO₂ was unchanged, slight decrease in pCO₂ and increase in pH were also observed.
These results indicated that artificial CO₂ bath made by usual amounts of Bub-KAO tablets significantly reduced BP of the hypertensives due to vasodilating effect. Vasodilation by CO₂ bath was considered to be derived from the peripheral action of CO₂ as blood pCO₂ was rather reduced. As a basic mechanism of vasodilation by CO₂, we proposed the inhibitory effect on tissue enerqy metabolism of CO₂ as a product inhibtor of TCA cycle and subsequently, the onset of vascular autoregulation mechanism.

抄録全体を表示