Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related disorder. Both the prevalence and the incidence of AD double approximately every 5 years after the age of 60. This is a particularly serious problem considering that the Korean elderly population is rapidly growing. We present three illustrative cases of AD in mild, moderate, and advanced stages, respectively. Their initial symptoms were memory impairment which was followed by language disturbance and visuospatial dysfunction. Abnormal behaviors such as delusion and aggression occurred in moderate and severe cases. The presence and severity of dementia in these cases were established by history taking, neurological examination, standardized mental status assessment, and neuropsychological test. Laboratory investigations showed no abnormalities that could account for the cognitive deficits. Brain CT or MRI findings of the patients wee not remarkable except for a diffuse atrophy demonstrated by increased ventricular volume, narrowed gyri, and widened sulci, As an addendum, risk factors, clinical symptoms, clinical diagnosis, and natural history of AD were reviewed.
Aged ; Aggression ; Alzheimer Disease* ; Atrophy ; Brain ; Cognition Disorders ; Delusions ; Dementia ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Memory ; Natural History ; Neurologic Examination ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors

Regardless of the any cause leg ulcers are painful and inconvenient to patients and present clinical and economic problems due to their chronicity. Conventional skin grafts, cultured allogenic epidermis, and cultured autologous epidermis have been used for the treatment of leg ulcers. In a twenty-year-old woman with leg ulcers, autologous pure epidermal sheets were obtained from the lower chest by means of suction blisters and grafted to the leg ulcers. All lesions were healed completely in 20 days after grafting. The donor sites showed slight postinflammatory hyperpigmentations without scars. The autologous epidermal graft using suction blisters appears to be a useful method for the treatment of leg ulcers, with no immunologic rejection, no need for cultivation and anesthesia, no desiccation, and no scars on the donor sites.
Anesthesia ; Blister* ; Cicatrix ; Desiccation ; Epidermis ; Female ; Humans ; Leg Ulcer* ; Leg* ; Methods ; Skin ; Suction* ; Thorax ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants*

The influences of adrenal corticosteroid on the development and regression of neurons of dentate and hippocampus were studied by adrenalectomy and steroid overload in neonatal rats. The results obtained were as follows. 1. The cell death occurred naturally in numerous dentate granule cells and hippocampal pyramidal cells. 2. The number of dentate granule cells undergoing cell death decreased by injection of adrenal corticosteroid, but increased in adrenalectomized rat brains. The changes occurred prominently at postnatal day 6. 3. The number of hippocampal pyramidal cells undergoing cell death decreased in CA3 region by injection of adrenal corticosteroid, but was not changed in adrenalectomized rat brains. However, other regions exhibited no change by adrenal corticosteroid and adrenalectomy. 4. The cell death of pyramidal cells of CA3 region occurred in close relationship with the cell death of dentate granule cells, which was different from other CA regions. In summary, the cell death of dentate and hippocampal neurons occurred naturally but seemed to be influenced by other factors as well as adrenal corticosteroid.
Adrenalectomy ; Animals ; Brain ; Cell Death ; Hippocampus* ; Neurons* ; Pyramidal Cells ; Rats*

Promoting women's health lifestyles are important due to their connection to family health. The purpose of this study was to analyse women's health lifestyles(HLP) and their effects on women's life-cycle, so in order to develop a program in a women's health care center. The subjects included were 1080 women over 18 years old living in Wonju city, and were selected by stratified and purposive sampling. The data were collected through a questionnaire and interview. The Cronbach alpha, %, mean, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and regression in SPSS PC Win. package was used to analyze the data. The sample was sepernted into three groups premarital group 20.2%(premarital women between 18 and 40 years old), delivery and children rearing group 49.9%(marital women between 18 and 40 years old), over middle agedelderly group 29.9%(women over 41 years old). Significant difference were found in the HPL according to group. Also, relating variables, such as self-efficacy, family functions, health locus of control and gender role perception that were considered relating variables to HPL significantly differed among the tree groups. HLP significantly correlated with self-efficacy, family functions, HLOC and gender role perception in all participants and at all groups. The regression analysis of HPL was interpreted 40.6% with relating variables, self-efficacy, health attention, family functions, and internal locus of control, health perception, power other locus of control and chance locus of control in all participant. Self-efficacy, family functions, health attention were considered important variables in premarital group, self-efficacy, family functions, internal locus of control, health attention, health perception and power of control were important in delivery-rearing group. Self-efficacy, health attention, internal locus of control, family functions and health perception were important in middle aged-elderly group. As a result, we found the differences HPL scores and relating variables according to life-cycle groups. Therefore, we should prepare health promoting education programs for women according to women's life cycles. Also we suggest that women's health care centers based on communities was needed for proper management of women's health.
Adolescent ; Child ; Education ; Family Health ; Female ; Gangwon-do ; Gender Identity ; Humans ; Internal-External Control ; Life Cycle Stages ; Life Style* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Women's Health

PURPOSE: Span of Control defines the scope of the managers' responsibilities to manage nursing staff. This study was done to measure span of control of front-line nurse managers (FLNMs) in Korea hospitals resulting in improvement in their work efficiency. METHODS: A sample of 203 FLNMs from five tertiary hospitals was recruited and completed the questionnaires. Data were analyzed using χ²-test, Fisher's exact test, independent t-test, ANOVA, Scheffé, and Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS: FLNMs had ‘narrow’ (n=8, 4.3%), ‘appropriate’ (n=161, 87.0%), and ‘wide’ (n=16, 8.6%) span of control. Span of control had significant correlations with the number of nurses (r=.63, p<.001), the number of non-nurses (r=.53, p<.001), units (r=.52, p<.001), staff (r=.83, p<.001), and programs (r=.67, p<.001). CONCLUSION: The research findings indicate that attention should be given to unit complexity, program diversity, total staff, and skills. Moreover, administrators of hospital and nursing departments need to provide systematic support in accordance with FLNMs’ wide span of control.
Administrative Personnel ; Humans ; Korea ; Nurse Administrators* ; Nursing ; Nursing Staff ; Personnel Management ; Tertiary Care Centers

BACKGROUND: Various molecular methods such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA hybridization have been introduced to diagnose the hepatitis B more accurately. Recently, Hybrid Capture Assay (HCA) was developed, which uses the signal amplification solution hybridization capture assay with chemiluminescent detector. So we evaluated the sensitivity and clinical utility of the HCA and PCRs for the detection of hepatitis B virus DNA (HBV DNA) and compared these results with serologic markers. METHODS: We analysed the 50 samples from the hepatitis B patients using enzyme immunoassay, HCA and nested PCRs with two different primer sets. The primers of PCR I and PCR II were targeted to pol and core region respectively. RESULTS: In 18 cases, HBV DNA were detected by HCA in which the positive rates by PCR I and PCR II were 55.6%, and 88.9%, respectively. And in 32 cases in which HBV DNA by HCA was negative, the positive rates by PCR I and PCR II were 6.2% and 31.3%, respectively. In 44 cases which were positive for HBsAg, the positive rates for HBV DNA were 38.6% by HCA, 27.3% by PCR I, and 56.8% by PCR II. In cases positive for HBeAg, the positive rates were 93.3% by HCA, 60.0% by PCR I and 80.0% by PCR II. In cases positive for anti-HBe and negative for HBeAg, the positive rates were 10.3% by HCA, 10.3% by PCR I, and 44.8% by PCR II. CONCLUSIONS: Both HCA and PCR compensated each other yet as to the accurate investigation of the viral replication in patients with hepatitis B and the sensitivity was better in HBV PCR with primers to core region than to pol region.
DNA ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus* ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Polymerase Chain Reaction*

BACKGROUND: Epidermolysis bullosa is a group of inherited disorcier characterized by blistering of the skin as a result of minor trauma. OBJECTIVE: There exist very little epidemiologic data for most of the major and minor subsets of inherited epidermolysis bullosa in Korea. We look forward to obtaining basic data for the pathogenesis and treatment of epidermolysis bullosa. METHOD: We performed 1st and 2nd trial of survey with the help of 28 dermatologic Departments snd 28 pediatric departments of medical colleges and 14 dermatologic dipartments of general hospitals. RESULTS: 68 cases were collected and classified by disease type, sex distribution, age distribution, and regional distribution. In disease type, 42 cases of EB simplex(62%), 8 cases of junctional type(12%), 10 cases of dominant dystrophic type(15%), 8 cases of recessive dytrcphic type(12%) were reported. In most cases males predominnted, but in dominant dystrophic type both sexes were equivalent. EB simplex, junctional type, RDEB were mostly developed in the 1st decade of life, dominant dystrophic type in the 2nd decade of life. In regional distribution, the number of pi tients was outstanding in large cities such as Seoul, Pusan, Taegu, Kwanju. CONCLUSION: Due to many limitations and shortage of techniques, this epidemiologic study may be notgood enough for the total estimated number of epidermolysis bullos. patients, prevalence rate, and therapeutic modalities. Furthe evaluation should be necessary next time.
Age Distribution ; Blister ; Busan ; Daegu ; Epidemiologic Studies* ; Epidermolysis Bullosa* ; Gwangju ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Korea* ; Male ; Prevalence ; Seoul ; Sex Distribution ; Skin

No abstract available.
Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous* ; Child* ; Colon* ; Humans ; Mucins*

The purpose of this study was to develop and test the validity of standardized Korean nomenclature of the Home Health Care Classification(HHCC), developed by Saba at the University of Georgetown. The four phases of the study were : (1) Two professors and 15 graduate students, who were taking a nursing intervention course, translated the HHCC into Korean. (2)12 nurses with various clinical backgrounds reviewed each nomenclature taking into consideration of the definition and activities, and the Delphi method was used to determine the best appropriate nomenclature for each term; (3)20 academic and clinical experts in nursing were given a questionnaire to rate the validity of each Korean nomenclature using a 5 point Likert scale ranging from very inappropriate to very appropriate; (4) Five members of the Korean Nurses Association Research Committee reviewed the survey results and determined the most appropriate Korean nomenclature for each term of the HHCC. Most of the nomenclatures had a score of more than 4.0, but several terms had a score lower than 4.0. They are Ambulation therapy(3.1.1), Anticipatory grieving(3.11), Sexual patterns alteration(3.17), Nursing care coordination(3. 22), Physical therapist service(3.22), Regular diet(3.33), and Instrumental activities of daily living(3.44). These research results will be included in the nursing vocabulary dictionary to be published by the Korean Nurses Association.
Classification* ; Delivery of Health Care* ; Humans ; Nursing ; Nursing Care ; Physical Therapists ; Vocabulary ; Walking ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Nursing Diagnosis has evolved in the guest to define nursing and its functions. But for the application to clinical practice an unified system of terminology that help nurses to assess selected data and identify potential or actual client problems is required. Consistent terminology that captures the real meanings of the nursing diagnosis makes oral and written communication more accurate and efficient. Already we had performed to deliver a Korean -translated version of the 98 nursing diagnoses through the process of content validity tests and translations, and additionally performed to deliver a Korean-translated version of another 17 nursing diagnoses. The list of 17 nursing diagnoses were reviewed by our research team and two linguists, one specialized in Korean and the other in English. 17 diagnoses were mailed to 719 subjects to test content validity from December 10, 1997 to January 24, 1998, Among 719 questionnaires, 185 were used for analysis. Total mean score of the diagnoses was 3.72 on the 5 point likert scale. The diagnoses that acquired less than 3.50 were 'Risk for altered parent/infant/child attachment'(3.28), 'Potential for enhanced organized infant behavior'(3.40), 'Potential for enhanced community coping' & 'Risk for disorganized infant behavior'(3.49). We suggest to conduct tests for validation of related factors and characteristics of these 17 Nursing Diagnosis.
Diagnosis ; Humans ; Infant ; Nursing Diagnosis* ; Nursing* ; Postal Service ; Translations ; Surveys and Questionnaires