No abstract available.
Parturition* ; Seasons* ; Sex Characteristics*

OBJECTIVES: Daytime drowsiness or sedation and changes in night sleep are commonly seen in patients treated with clozapine. There is, however, very limited informatio on their degree and nature during the course of treatment. The purpose of this study was to understand the sleep patterns in chronic schizophrenic patients with clozapine treatment over a period of 24 weeks. METHOD: The sleep pattern was evaluated using a set of 5-point scale questionnaire, to record subjective impressions of the night sleep induction, maintenance and quality, and daytime drowsiness and fatigue. In addition, unusual experiences associated with night sleep were recorded. The sleep questionnaire was repeatedly administered at baseline and at 1, 2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 weeks of drug treatment. At present, data on 12 patients has been collected. RESULTS: All the components of night sleep were significantly improved in th 1st through the 12 th week after treatment with clozapine. Daytime drowsiness was significantly higher in the 1st to the 2nd week after the treatment and fatigue was also significantly higher in the 1st to the 4th week after the treatment. Eight patients experienced noticeable increases in salivation during night sleep, and of these, one also reported frequent nocturnal urination and even enuresis. However, all these adverse factors did not affect the major sleep patterns. CONCLUSIONS: These finding suggest that the beneficial effects of clozapine on night sleep might last much longer than the undesirable effect of daytime drowsiness and fatigue. In other words, tolerance of the hypnotic action of clozapine might develop late and tolerance of the daytime drowsiness and fatigue might be evident earlier.
Clozapine* ; Enuresis ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Salivation ; Sleep Stages ; Urination

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluated the effects of alcohol on neurocognitive function, psychomotor performance and subjective response in healthy Korean adults with different ALDH2 genotypes. METHOD: A total of 24 males, half with active ALDH2*1/2*1 and the other with inactive ALDH2*1/2*1, was selected through genotyping using restriction fragment length polymorphism. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over design, each subject consumed 0.5g/kg dose of alcohol, given as a mixture of 40% vodka and orange juice, and placebo(orange juice) on two separate occasions on an average of weekly intervals. The blood alcohol concentrations(BACs) were measured using a breath analyzer at baseline and at 30, 60 minutes after drinking. P300s were measured at baseline and at 30 minutes after alcohol and placebo intake. Vital signs and psychomotor performance[Critical Flicker Fusion Threshold(CFFT), Choice Reaction Time(CRT), Digit Symbol Substitution(DSS)] were measured at baseline and at 60 minutes after alcohol and placebo intake. Subjective responses were measured at the end of the study. The statistical analysis focused on whether there were any differences between groups with different ALDH2 genotypes. RESULTS: The major results are as follows. 1) BACs in inactive group were overall equivalent to those in the active group. Only in terms of time, BACs were significantly higher overall at 30 minutes than at 60 minutes after alcohol intake. 2) Pulse rates were significantly increased after alcohol intake compared with placebo, and the increase was greater in the inactive than in the active group. 3) P300 latencies in leads Fz(frontal), Cz(cental) and Pz(parietal) were significantly increased after alcohol intake compared to placebo, and the increase was greater in the inactive than in the active group. P300 amplitudes in leads Cz and Pz were significantly decreased overall after alcohol intake compared to placebo. 4) Compared with placebo, alcohol produced significant effect on the psychomotor performance : impairment in the inactive group, improvement in the active group. 5) Compared with placebo, alcohol significantly induced a negative or an intense effect on the subjective responses in the inactive group, but little negative and even a somewhat positive effect in the active group. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that ALDH isozyme variance might be an important factor to determine the effects of acute dose of alcohol on the various psychobehavioural functions and also to determine the alcohol use pattern and to predict the future development of alcohol overuse and/or abuse.
Adult ; Citrus sinensis ; Cross-Over Studies ; Drinking ; Flicker Fusion ; Genotype* ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Male ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Psychomotor Performance* ; Vital Signs

No abstract available.
Umbilical Arteries*

BACKGROUND: AG60 is a complex of acriflavine and guanosine. Our previous study revealed that AG60 had not only in vitro antitumor activities in several human cancer cell lines, but also strong antitumor effects in animal experiments using p388 or S180 cells-implanted mice. METHODS: Antitumor effects of AG60 were compared with those of Adriamycin, acriflavine, guanosine or control group. Body weight, tumor weight change, and survival time were measured in Ehrlich carcinoma cells implanted ICR mice. RESULTS: Body weights in AG60, acriflavine, or Adriamycin treated groups were significantly lower than those in control group during 30 day observation period(p<0.05). The percent tumor growth inhibition of AG60, Adriamycin, acriflavine, or guanosine two weeks after last treatment was respectively 86% (T/C%=14), 83% (T/C%=17), 68%(T/C%=32), 41% (T/C%=59). According to above data, tumor growth inhibition in AG60 treated group was significantly stronger than that in control, acriflavine or guanosine treated group(p<0.01), but there was no significant difference between AG60 and Adriamycin treated group. Mean survival time in control, AG60, Adriamycin, acriflavine, or guanosine treated group was respectively 33+/-3.9 days, 68+/-4.2 days, 54+/-5.8 days, 36+/-3.8 days, 50+/-8.1 days. CONCLUSIONS: The anti-tumor effect of AG60 against Ehrlich tumor was significantly stronger than that of control, acriflavine or guanosine, and comparable with Adriamycin. Mean survival time in AG60 treated group was significantly longer than that in control, acrifavine, guanosine or Adriamysin treated group.
Acriflavine ; Animal Experimentation ; Animals ; Body Weight ; Cell Line ; Doxorubicin ; Guanosine ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Survival Rate ; Tumor Burden

No abstract available.
Helicobacter pylori* ; Helicobacter* ; Stomach Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: Neonatal immune hemolytic jaundice due to blood group incompatibility is important to treat properly because of an early rise and a high peak of serum bilirubin level and a risk of kernicterus. The conventional therapeutic modalities for neonatal immune hemolytic jaundice due to blood group incompatibility are phototherapy and exchange transfusion. We evaluated the effect of intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) therapy on hyperbilirubinemia due to ABO incompatibility. METHODS: This study included 6 infants with hyperbilirubinemia due to ABO incompatibility who were admitted to the nursery of Eulji Medical Center, Nowon Hospital, from January 2000 to February 2001. All 6 infants had a positive direct Coombs test. Their serum bilirubin levels were above 12 mg/dl within 24hours of age and above 20 mg/dl after 24hours of age. They were treated with intensive phototherapy and IVIG. RESULTS: We classified the effective group when a decline in serum bilirubin level was more than 2 mg/dl in 3-4 hours after IVIG therapy, and the ineffective group when there was a decline in serum bilirubin level less than 2 mg/dl, a re-rise after the initial response to IVIG, or a decline after the combined therapy with intensive phototherapy and IVIG equal or less than that after intensive phototherapy alone. In the effective group (n=2), the average decline in serum bilirebin level was 4.1 mg/dl in 3-4 hours and 8.1 mg/dl in 12-16 hours after IVIG therapy, while in the ineffective group (n=4), the average decline was 1.9 mg/dl and 2.7 mg/dl, respectively. Five among 6 infants were treated with IVIG therapy and 1 infant was treated with exchange transfusion. No serious side effect was detected during and after IVIG therapy. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated the effectiveness of IVIG therapy in 2 infants out of six who were treated with intensive phototherapy and IVIG for hyperbilirubinemia due to ABO incompatibility. IVIG therapy could be considered if hyperbilirubinemia due to ABO incompatibility does not respond to intensive phototherapy alone. Further prospective and randomized studies would be needed.
Bilirubin ; Blood Group Incompatibility ; Coombs Test ; Humans ; Hyperbilirubinemia ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous* ; Infant ; Jaundice* ; Kernicterus ; Nurseries ; Phototherapy

Purpose: We sought to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of patient-specific ocular prostheses produced by three-dimensional (3D) printing and the sublimation technique. A comparison with prostheses produced using manual manufacturing methods was then performed. Methods: To confirm the biological and physiochemical safety, cytotoxicity, systemic acute toxicity, intradermal reaction, and skin sensitization tests were conducted according to the International Organization for Standardization guidelines. The compressive strength of the prostheses was also tested. Further, a case series of three patients who wore the 3D printed prostheses for more than eight hours daily for 4 weeks was executed. Self-assessments by these individuals using a questionnaire and safety evaluations focusing on the occurrence of conjunctival inflammation or allergic reactions according to the Cornea and Contact Lens Research Unit criteria by slit-lamp examination and similarity assessment were completed. Results: The 3D printed ocular prostheses met the necessary qualifications per the biological and physiochemical safety tests, showing the absence of cytotoxicity, acute systemic toxicity, intradermal reactivity, and skin-sensitizing potency. Also, there was no difference in strength test results between previous ocular prostheses and the 3D printed ones. Self-assessment by the patients yielded satisfactory results, with no significant difference in the level of satisfaction reported for the 3D printed and previous handmade ocular prostheses. The 3D printed prosthesis did not trigger any side effects in the conjunctival sac and showed similar objective findings with respect to the color of the iris, sclera, and vessel patterns. Conclusions Our study confirms the biologic and physiochemical safety of 3D-printed ocular prostheses created using computer-aided design technology and a sublimation technique. The patients’ questionnaires and the judgment of the ophthalmologists/ocularists showed that the 3D printed ocular prosthesis was acceptable in function and appearance through a case series report.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A prospective study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of low dose administration of cisplatin (CDDP) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) by repeated arterial infusion via a percutaneously implantable port system (PIPS) for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (phase II trial). METHODS: Ten patients with hepatocellular carcinoma belonging to TNM stage IV, but without extrahepatic spread, were enrolled. Nine patients had main portal vein thrombosis. All the patients were positive for HBsAg. Patients were repeatedly treated with an arterial infusion of CDDP and 5-FU (10 mg and 250 mg, respectively, for 5 hours on days 1-5) via a PIPS at four week intervals. The response was assessed by dynamic CT after two courses of chemotherapy. RESULTS: Insertion of PIPS was successful in 8 of 10 patients. Two patients could not receive a second course of chemotherapy because one died of progressive hepatic failure and the other developed local infection and pseudoaneurysm formation. All the remaining 6 patients exhibited tumor progression after two courses of chemotherapy. The median survival time was 89 days (range, 59-204). The causes of death were progressive hepatic failure in one patient and uncontrolled esophageal variceal bleeding in one patient. CONCLUSIONS: Arterial infusion chemotherapy with CDDP and 5-FU via a PIPS was not an effective treatment for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.
Aneurysm, False ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Cause of Death ; Cisplatin* ; Drug Therapy ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices ; Fluorouracil* ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Humans ; Liver Failure ; Prospective Studies ; Venous Thrombosis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Gastric variceal bleeding is a severe complication of liver cirrhosis with a high mortality. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in patients with gastric variceal bleedings and predictive factors for survival. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 30 consecutive patients with gastric variceal bleedings from January 1998 to March 2001. The causes of cirrhosis were viral hepatitis in 17, alcohol in 12, and biliary cirrhosis in 1. Eighteen patients were in Child-Pugh class B and 9 in class C at the time of TIPS. The median follow-up period was 403 days (3-1,215 days). RESULTS: TIPS insertion was successful in all 30 patients. The portal pressure gradient (PPG) was significantly reduced from 23+/-8 mmHg to 11+/-5 mmHg (p<0.05). Hepatic encephalopathy, which developed in 3 patients and was aggravated in 1, was improved with medical therapy. Patients with non-alcoholic etiology experienced deterioration of liver function after TIPS. Those with alcoholic etiology did not. The 6-month and 1-year rebleeding rates were 22% and 41%, respectively. 56% of bleeding episodes were associated with stent dysfunction. The degree of PPG reduction and the development of stent dysfunction were independent predictive factors for rebleeding. The 6-month and 1-year survival rates were 83% and 79%. The causes of death were hepatic failure in 3 (37.5%), recurrent variceal bleeding in 3, and others in 2. Child-Pugh class C was the only prognostic factor for survival. CONCLUSIONS: TIPS was effective in acute hemostasis and the prevention of rebleeding in patients with gastric variceal bleeding. Especially, it can be safely applied to patients with alcoholic etiology and in Child-Pugh class A or B.
Adult ; English Abstract ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices/complications/*surgery ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/*etiology ; Human ; Liver Cirrhosis/complications ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Portasystemic Shunt, Transjugular Intrahepatic ; Recurrence