著者

椿 忠雄 近藤 喜代太郎

出版者

日本熱帯医学会

雑誌

熱帯医学会報 (ISSN:21861773)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.5, no.1, pp.66-69, 1964-05-20 (Released:2011-05-20)

参考文献数

12

---

Our study of neurological disorders in Amami-Oshima Island in Eastern Chinese Sea is introduced and some neurological problems in tropical Asian-Oceanian regions are briefly reviewed in this symposium.1) Neurological study in Amami-OshimaWe studied all the inhabitants in a part of Amami-Oshima situated 129° E & 28° N, to find neurologic cases. 104 male and 98 female patients with various neurologic disorders were found among 15, 406 in habitants by means of information survey. The prevalence rate per 100, 000 were estimated 447.8 for hemiplegic state secondary to cerebrovascular accidents, 90.9 for epileptic seizure, 375.0 for mental deteriorations, 64.9 for cerebral infantile palsy, 45.4 for the Parkinsonism, suggesting no significant difference compared with those in the other parts of the world.Then we tried to find cases residing in the whole island with either primary muscle diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or diseases of recent neuroepidemiologic interest. We viewed all the in-and outpatient records for past five years at the Medical Departments in Kagoshima University and Oshima Prefectural Hospital. We confirmed 2 cases of chronic polymyositis, 4 of progressive muscular dystrophy and 1 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Their prevalence rates are identical with those in the other parts. Besides, we encountered 10 cases of peculiar progressive muscular atrophy of neural origin affecting especially lower limbs. Though they show some similarity to Charcot-Marie's disease, they could be attributed to some endemic nutritional or toxic etiology.2) Recent neurological studies in tropical Asian-Oceanian regions.a) Multiple sclerosis is more prevalent in northerncountries in Europe and America than in southern. This parallelity is confirmed in Australia. Though MS has been believed to be quite rare in Japan, its prevalence rate is recently estimated to be 2-3 per 100, 000, far less than that in European countries. Devic's disease is found in 12.5 % of MS in Japan and in 1 % or less in Europe, suggesting racial factor as well as climatic in this demyelinating disease. MS is more common among white people than the natives in New Zealand and Fiji Islands.b) Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and the remarkable nervous disease called Dementia-Parkinsonism-Complex are astonishingly numerous among Chamor rosin Guamanian Islands. Their correlation is subject to many studies. Neurofibrillary change and granulovacuolar degeneration are found in a similar fashiort in both condition besides their own histological changes.c) Kuru is the unique heredodegenerative disease solely encountered in Fore tribes in the Western Highland of New Guinea. It is a sample of race specific disease of nervous system and studied from various points.d) A variety of neurological studies is now getting on in many of Asian countries. The vast reservoir of neurological diseases in the tropical regions is just beginning to be tapped, and it is likely to yield a wealth of information. On February, 1963, the Commission of Tropical Neurology in the World Federation of Neurology, had reported on the activities in Asia. It is studied neurolues in Ceylon, tuberculoma, lepra, cysticercosis and other neurological infections, postvaccinal demyelinating disease outbursted in South-Eastern Asia, Pellagra, Mn intoxication, multiple sclerosis, Wilson's disease and cerebrovascular disorders in India. It is also reported that nutritional neuropathies are studied in Malaya, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, postvaccinal demyelination in Philippines, various neurological infections in Thailand and Taiwan.