Diagnosis and treatment of NCA.

Abstract

In Europe and America a high incidence of NCA was found in the battle field in men who were drafted but in Japan there have been no reports on large numbers of NCA neither in the battlefield nor in the home front in the past wars. Although it is believed that the aeroneurosis which occured in the Japanese Air Force during the Pacific War was a chronic anoxia which resulted in NCA. During peace and in war there have been cases of beriberi in the Japanese Army since it is difficult to differentiate between NCA and beriberi. It is believed that there were NCA cases mixed in with those diagnosed as beriberi. To the practitioner a ERG is important for a active diagnosis of NCA. There are many cases of NCA with no pathological findings in the ERG but on the other hand it is possible to see many kinds of abnormal findings. It is of importance to see through the unbalance of the ERG findings and the subjective and objective complaints. When there are changes in the ST-T it is difficult to differentiate between NCA and cardiomyopathia in such cases the leucocyte count, ESR, GOT and GPT are of help and the course must be followed up. In NCA the outstanding point is that there is no specifiic treatment' This is only natural because it is a syndrom which has different causes. In our department we are using Eserine and Trancopal as an aid.