Japan

CONTEXT: Many Japanese cases of adverse events after acupuncture are not listed in medical databases such as Medline. Therefore, they are not easily accessible to researchers outside Japan. OBJECTIVE: To complement existing reviews of adverse events after acupuncture in the West and to provide more detailed discussion and analysis. DATA SOURCES: Literature search using 'Igaku Chuo Zasshi (Japana Centra Revuo Medicina) CD-ROM version' covering the period of 1987-1999.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a complete system of healing that developed in China about 3000 years ago, and includes herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion and massage, etc. In recent decades the use of TCM has become more popular in China and throughout the world. Traditional Japanese medicine has been used for 1500 years and includes Kampo-yaku (herbal medicine), acupuncture and acupressure. Kampo is now widely practised in Japan and is fully integrated into the modern health-care system. Kampo is based on TCM but has been adapted to Japanese culture.

BACKGROUND: In Japan, studies on acupuncture therapy for respiratory disease have rarely been reported. Additionally, most of the reports are difficult for overseas researchers to access because they are written in Japanese and cannot be located using Medline. PURPOSE: To review studies on acupuncture and moxibustion therapy for respiratory disease conducted in Japan. DATA SOURCES: The results of a literature search using "Igaku Chuo Zasshi Web" and the Medical Online Library, both of which are Japanese databases, covering the period between 1979 and 2006.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a complete system of healing that developed in China about 3000 years ago, and includes herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion and massage, etc. In recent decades the use of TCM has become more popular in China and throughout the world. Traditional Japanese medicine has been used for 1500 years and includes Kampo-yaku (herbal medicine), acupuncture and acupressure. Kampo is now widely practised in Japan and is fully integrated into the modern health-care system. Kampo is based on TCM but has been adapted to Japanese culture.

BACKGROUND: In Japan, studies on acupuncture therapy for respiratory disease have rarely been reported. Additionally, most of the reports are difficult for overseas researchers to access because they are written in Japanese and cannot be located using Medline. PURPOSE: To review studies on acupuncture and moxibustion therapy for respiratory disease conducted in Japan. DATA SOURCES: The results of a literature search using "Igaku Chuo Zasshi Web" and the Medical Online Library, both of which are Japanese databases, covering the period between 1979 and 2006.

"Mimi-bukuro" is a book written by Moriyasu Negishi in the Edo period. M. Negishi (1737-1815) was a magistrate in the town of Edo. He was very much interested in listening and recording many kinds of stories, which were told by the various kinds of people, such as public officers, samurais, merchants, doctors, etc. Among the stories of this book, some stories were found concerning folk medicine, medicinal substance and charms. In this report, I studied the medicines which were used in these stories. The medicines originated from zoological, botanical and mineral substances.

We applied the Weibull distribution to the life-table and age-patterns of diseases in Japan. The life-table follows a composite Weibull distribution composed of initial failure and two stage wear-out failure periods. The extension of lifespan during the past century is manifested as increases in the scale parameters in all three periods and the shape parameters in the wear-out periods with female predominancy. The shape parameters of diseases show time-independent sex-dependent specific values.

Caloric (or dietary) restriction (CR) extends lifespan and lowers risk for age associated diseases in a phylogenetically diverse group of species. Whether prolonged CR increases average or maximum lifespan or promotes a more youthful physiology in humans at advanced ages is not yet known. However, available epidemiological evidence indicates that CR may already have contributed to an extension of average and maximum life span in one human population and appears to have lowered risk for age associated chronic diseases in other human populations.

Calcium deficiency is a constant menace to land-abiding animals, including mammals. Humans enjoying exceptional longevity on earth are especially susceptible to calcium deficiency in old age.

Okinawans, who have a different ethnicity and food cultural history to other Japanese nationals, and an exceptional longevity have been studied at home and as migrant groups in Hawaii and Brazil. Biomarkers for fish and soy intake and intervention studies indicate that these foods, along with seaweed and green vegetables are candidates for chronic non-communicable disease prevention.