The past history of infection and vaccination, and serum antibodies against rubella, measles, chickenpox, and mumps were investigated, before vaccine was inoculated in the susceptible nursing students. The subjects were 221 nursing students (208 women, 13 men, the average age 18.4 +/- 1.8 years old) who entered Nagasaki University from 2001 to 2003. The positive rates of the past history of rubella, measles, chickenpox, and mumps were 49.8%, 28.1%, 86.4%, 50.7%, and that of previous vaccination were 31.7%, 69.2%, 10.9%, 5.3%, respectively. The serum antibody was measured with HI assay for rubella, or with EIA assay for measles, chickenpox, and mumps. The positive rates for the antibodies against rubella, measles, chickenpox, and mumps were 92.8%, 90.0%, 82.3%, and 85.0%, respectively. The rates for vaccine inoculation to the students without antibody were 92.8% in rubella, 100.0% in measles, 66.7% in chickenpox, 85.0% in mumps, and that to the low titer antibody (2.0 < or = EIA-IgG < 4.0) students were 70.6% in measles, 48.0% in chickenpox, 93.8% in mumps, respectively. Susceptible nursing students, as well as the medical stuff, should be vaccinated in order to prevent hospital infection of rubella, measles, chickenpox, and mumps.

Abstract. Sustained and/or episodic hypotension during hemodialysis (HD) is an important clinical issue. Plasma adrenomedullin (AM) is increased in HD patients with sustained hypotension, but little is known about its implications for episodic hypotension. Ghrelin may also contribute to the pathophysiology of hypotension in HD patients. We evaluated plasma levels of AM and total ghrelin in sustained hypotensive (SH; n = 23), episodic hypotensive (EH; n = 30) and normotensive (NT; n = 23) HD patients. In the EH group, the relationship between low blood pressure during HD and circulating levels of AM and ghrelin was also evaluated. Plasma levels of AM were significantly higher in SH (34.3 ± 8.3 fmol/ml, p<0.01) than in NT patients (27.6 ± 5.2 fmol/ml), but not in EH patients (30.8 ± 6.1 fmol/ml). There was no significant difference of plasma total ghrelin in SH (548.1 ± 426.5 fmol/ml) and in EH patients (544.6 ± 174.3 fmol/ml), compared with NT patients (400.0 ± 219.7 fmol/ml). On the other hand, in EH patients, the "suppressed blood pressure ratio" during HD significantly correlated with plasma AM (r = 0.77, p<0.001) and with total ghrelin levels (r = 0.44, p<0.05). Our results suggest that ghrelin, as well as AM, may play an important role as vasodilator local hormones and regulation of blood pressure during HD, especially the occurrence of EH. Further studies are necessary to clarify the implication of these hormones in the control of hypotension during HD.Key words: Adrenomedullin, Chronic hypotension, Episodic hypotension, Ghrelin, Hemodialysis, Sustained hypotension (Endocrine Journal 52: 23-28, 2005) SIGNIFICANT hypotension is a major cardiovascular complication in patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing hemodialysis (HD). Two types of hypotension are recognizable in the setting of maintenance HD: episodic hypotension (EH) during HD is the most common manifestation of hemodynamic instability, and occurs in around 30-40% of the dialysis population [1]. A second form is sustained hypotension (SH), characterized by a systolic blood pressure (SBP) lower than 100 mmHg, during the interdialysis period and is present in approximately 5-10% of patients [2,3]. Both groups of patients require a substantial amount of medical and nursing care during and after HD to control hypotension-related symptoms. Although several clinical factors, such as autonomic dysfunction, reduced pressor response to vasopressor agents and cardiac dysfunction, have been shown to be responsible for the occurrence of EH and SH [1], the pathophysiology of chronic hypotension in dialysis patients has yet to be fully clarified.

The tuberculin skin test (TST) was conducted in 1,087 employees of Nagasaki University Hospital. The size of erythema (T1) was 27.3 +/- 17.0 mm, and 8.6% of all participants showed < = 9 mm, 49.9% showed 10-29 mm, 41.5% showed > = 30 mm. Laboratory technologists showed significantly larger reactions than other groups. Doctors and nurses working on the tuberculosis ward showed larger reactions than those working on the non-tuberculosis wards. Reactions tended to be larger with aging, and the younger employees in their 20s showed significantly smaller reactions than those in their 40s. The second TST was carried out in 253 employees whose T1 was below 30 mm. The size of erythema enlarged from 16.1 +/- 6.6 mm (T1) to 26.4 +/- 15.4 mm (T2), with the difference (booster phenomenon) of 10.2 +/- 14.4 mm. T2 and T2-T1 were larger in nurses working on the tuberculosis ward than those on the non-tuberculosis wards. It was suggested that laboratory technologists, nurses and doctors especially working on the tuberculosis ward are at risk of tuberculosis infection, and the two-step TST was an essential means to know the baseline reactivity, and to determine recent tuberculosis infection.