The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of non-throwing arm on trunk and throwing arm movements in baseball pitching. Ten right-handed collegiate baseball players were asked to throw baseballs under two conditions, the normal and the restricted conditions. Under the restricted condition, non-throwing arm was fi xed to the trunk by a rubber band. Their motions were analyzed by three-dimensional high-speed motion analysis and compared between two conditions. Under the restricted condition, upper torso rotated more counterclockwise and trunk twist angle decreased, at the instant of stride foot contact on the ground. It might be because the moment of inertia of upper torso and upper extremities along the trunk axis was smaller without non-throwing arm movement. Additionally, the maximum angular velocities of shoulder internal rotation and elbow extension as well as pitched ball velocity were lower under the restricted condition. When trunk twist, which stretches trunk rotator musculature, is small, the energy exerted by the musculature and transferred to throwing arm would decrease. Therefore, non-throwing arm in baseball pitching motion is considered to contribute to enhance pitched ball velocity by controlling the moment of inertia of upper torso and upper extremities along the trunk axis.
Aim: Kamikihito (KKT) is a herbal drug used in traditional Japanese medicine (kampo medicine) to treat psychological symptoms such as insomnia, restlessness, and fear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the combination of KKT extract and donepezil (DPZ) on the cognitive function of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: The effect of this combination therapy (CBT) was analyzed retrospectively using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). AD patients were treated with DPZ (5 mg/day). Those with psychological symptoms, such as insomnia, were also given the KKT extract (7.5 g/day), beginning 3 months after the initiation of DPZ. Results: Medical records of patients who visited the outpatient department for the first time between May 2010 and January 2013 were retrospectively evaluated, and six patients from each group selected as candidates for this study. Changes in total MMSE score for the DPZ and CBT groups were unremarkable until 6 months; at 12 months the scores were markedly, but non-significantly, different: cognitive function was maintained in the CBT group while it deteriorated in the DPZ group. On MMSE subscale analysis, delayed memory recall score in the CBT group was sustained in a statistically significant manner. Conclusion: CBT may prolong the effect of DPZ and, thus, CBT may be more beneficial than monotherapy using DPZ.
Rationale:Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is the most common form of autoinflammatory disease. We report a rare case of FMF with gastrointestinal lesions mimicking Crohn disease.Patient concerns:A 21-year-old Japanese man was referred to our institution, complaining of refractory diarrhea and weight loss of 14 kg during the past two years. He had presented with recurrent fever, abdominal pain, anal fistula and stomatitis. His father and one of his brothers had ulcerative colitis. Colonoscopy revealed longitudinal ulcers in the terminal ileum and aphthous erosions in the colorectum. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed multiple linear erosions in the gastric corpus and circular erosions in the duodenal second portion. Biopsy from these lesions failed to detect epithelioid cell granulomas.Diagnoses:Analysis of the genomic DNA revealed compound heterozygous mutations of E148Q/L110P in exon 2 of MEFV gene, suggesting a diagnosis of FMF.Interventions:The patient was subsequently given 0.5 mg of colchicine per day.Outcomes:Follow-up colonoscopy 6 months later demonstrated that both the longitudinal ulcers in the terminal ileum and aphthous lesions in the colorectum had completely disappeared.Lessons:Our case suggests that patients with FMF possibly manifest gastrointestinal lesions mimicking Crohn disease.
In this study we compared the kinematic features of the throwing motion between young baseball players of different age groups. Forty-four Japanese baseball players aged 6.1 to 12.3 years who regularly played baseball, including pitchers and position players, had their throwing actions analyzed three-dimensionally using high speed videography. Of this sample, 26 players aged above 9 years of age were categorized as the senior group, while the remaining 18 were categorized as the junior group. Senior group throwers had greater height and body mass, and produced a greater ball speed than junior group throwers. The throwing arm movement of senior group throwers was similar to that of adult skilled players. However, in the junior group throwers, the shoulder horizontal adduction angle was larger during the arm acceleration phase, and the maximum angular velocities of elbow extension and shoulder internal rotation occurred later than in senior group throwers. These results indicate that players aged above 9 years can acquire a mature throwing arm movement, while players younger than that will use an immature motion. A possible reason why these differences were shown is that the official baseball is relatively heavy for junior group throwers; they would be better advised to use a lighter ball in throwing practice.
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