Women Physicians in Academic Medicine of Japan.

Japan is a well-qualified country in promoting scientific advancement, but female scientists are too few in academic medicine positions. The government of Japan announced that the share of women in leadership positions accounted to at least 30% by 2020 in all fields in society. The number of female students also increased, but it was not much higher than other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Women students always have higher passing frequencies in national examination for medical practitioners in Japan. The potential gap between physician gender and academic advancement is mentioned in any medical fields. Women physicians in academic medicine position are still few. For women physicians, medical and familial situations are inversely affected by the coronavirus disease 2019. We propose the recommendations to support women physicians' right in academic medicine, accordingly to patients' benefit. Women may be stepping up and leading efforts without titles or positions in ways that are significant and meaningful for their group or organization.

Novel PKD2 Missense Mutation p.Ile424Ser in an Individual with Multiple Hepatic Cysts: A Case Report.

We report a novel missense mutation, p.Ile424Ser, in the PKD2 gene of an autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) patient with multiple liver cysts. A 57-year-old woman presented to our university hospital with abdominal fullness, decreasing appetite, and dyspnea for three months. A percutaneous drainage of hepatic cysts was performed with no significant symptomatic relief. A computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a hepatic cyst in the lateral portion of the liver with appreciable compression of the stomach. Prior to this admission, the patient had undergone three drainage procedures with serial CT-based follow-up of the cysts over the past 37 years. With a presumptive diagnosis of extrarenal manifestation of ADPKD, we performed both a hepatic cystectomy and a hepatectomy. Because the patient reported a family history of hepatic cysts, we conducted a postoperative genetic analysis. A novel missense mutation, p.Ile424Ser, was detected in the PKD2 gene. Mutations in either the PKD1 or PKD2 genes account for most cases of ADPKD. To the extent of our knowledge, this point mutation has not been reported in the general population. Our in-silico analysis suggests a hereditary likely pathogenic mutation.

Neuroinflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Neurogenesis in a Mouse Model of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and the Treatment with Kampo Medicine.

The diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is mainly symptom-based, and the etiology is still unclear. Here, we evaluated the pathological changes in the brain of a mouse model of CFS and studied the effects of Kampo medicine. A mouse model of CFS was established through six repeated injections of Brucella abortus (BA) every two weeks for a period of 12 weeks. Neuroinflammation was measured by estimating interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and oxidative stress by nitrotyrosine (3-NT) and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) 6 weeks after the last injection. Hippocampal neurogenesis was evaluated through Ki-67, doublecortin (DCX), and 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) assays. The effects of Kampo medicines (Hochuekkito (TJ-41) and Hachimijiogan (TJ-7)) on neuroinflammation during CFS were studied. The wheel-running activity of mice was decreased by about 50% compared to baseline at 6 weeks after the last BA injection. The levels of IL-1ß, IL-6, 3-NT, and 4-HNE were increased in both the cortex and the hippocampus of CFS mice at 6 weeks after the last BA injection. Hippocampal neurogenesis was unchanged in CFS mice. Treatment with TJ-41 and TJ-7 reduced the expressions of IL-1ß, IL-6, and IFN-γ in the hippocampus but not in the cortex. The results of the present study indicate that neuroinflammation and oxidative stress play important roles in the pathogenesis of CFS. The data further suggest that treatment with TJ-41 and TJ-7 could help reduce the inflammation associated with CFS in the hippocampus, but failed to improve the symptoms in CFS mice.

Induction Murine Models of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by Brucella abortus Antigen Injections: Is Anemia Induced or Not?

To investigate whether Brucella abortus (BA) antigen injections lead to anemia, and to establish an appropriate Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) animal model by BA injections, 6 repeated injections of BA antigen were fulfilled every 2 weeks. At a high dose of 1∗10(10) particles/mouse, anemia was induced within 2 weeks and then recovered a lot at the end of the research, while at a moderate dose of 1∗10(8) (3 injections) shifting to 1∗10(9)/mouse (3 injections) anemia was absent. In both groups running wheel activity remained very low even 6 weeks after the last injection.

Role of Kampo medicine in integrative cancer therapy.

Clinical trials to date demonstrate that standard cancer treatments are currently the most efficient treatments for large numbers of cancer patients. Cancer treatments will increasingly require approaches that allow patients to live with cancer, by increasing their natural healing power and tumor immunity, as well as attenuating the progression of their cancers, instead of only attacking the cancer cells directly. Complementary and alternative medicine, including Kampo medicine, compensates for the drawbacks of western medicine by increasing patients' self-defense mechanisms. In Japan, clinicians who have studied both western medicine and Kampo treat cancer patients by fusing the two medical systems into a unitary one. The goal of the system is to assist the functional maintenance and recovery of the living body complex with the physical, mental, social, and spiritual balance, rather than addressing direct antitumor effects. In this review, we describe the usefulness of Kampo medicine, especially juzentaihoto, and outline the reports on evidence, in addition to the report on an attitudinal survey about the use of Kampo medicine in cancer treatment in Japan.

Significance of Kampo, traditional Japanese medicine, in supportive care of cancer patients.

The current standard treatment for cancer is a multidisciplinary therapy whereby various types of treatment are properly combined. Chemotherapy with multiple anticancer drugs is now common, and traditional, complementary, and alternative therapies are adopted as supportive measures. Medical care in Japan is distinguished by the ability for patients to access both Western and Kampo medical cares at the same time. There is a high degree of trust in the safety of Kampo therapies because they are practiced by medical doctors who are educated with fundamental diagnosis of Western medicine. Highly reliable clinical studies are being published, demonstrating that palliative or supportive care for cancer patients using Kampo preparations alleviates adverse effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. This paper reports the circumstances around cancer care in Japan where traditional therapeutic Kampo formulas are used for patients undergoing cancer treatment with cutting-edge chemotherapy, specifically to alleviate adverse effects of anticancer drugs.