No abstract available.
Blood Pressure* ; Cadmium* ; Plasma* ; Renin*

The relationship between mercury level of hair and mental retardation was investigated. The 297 subjects with mental retardation were drawn from two schools providing special educational services, one, consisted of children living in an orphan home, another, children with parents. The 117 control subjects were drawn from whom had got average or above average academic achievement in a regular elementary school. Hair sample were taken from the nape of the neck and the mercury analysis was carried out on an atomic absorption spectrophotometer(IL 551). There was no relationship between mercury contents and age, and there was a statistically significant difference in mercury contents between male and female in the mentally retarded children living with parents. Children in the retarded group had significantly higher mercury contents compared with control group except the female group with parents. Also, the mercury levels in the retarded group living in an orphan home were significantly higher than that of the retarded group with parents. The concomitant diseases were Down's syndrome, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and autism. There were statistically significant differences in hair mercury levels in the cases of accompanying Down's syndrome and cerebral palsy in male and Down's syndrome and autism in female compared with the control group of the same sex. The most accompanying handicap was speech disturbance(40.7%) and the others were crippled, emotional disturbance etc. The percentages of double handicap were 66.7% among 6 persons exceeding 6ppm of their hair mercury contents, 10.4% among 3~6 ppm and 15.7% among the group of 3ppm or less. The findings of this study suggest that the more opportunities of exposure to mercury in mentally retarded children may have occurred, so it can not be excluded the possibility of mercury as a contributing factor to mental retardation. Therefore, the causal relationship between mercury levels and mental retardation should be established through the examinations about their living environments, dietary pattern, eating habit etc.
Absorption ; Affective Symptoms ; Autistic Disorder ; Cerebral Palsy ; Child* ; Child, Orphaned ; Down Syndrome ; Eating ; Epilepsy ; Female ; Hair* ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; Male ; Mentally Disabled Persons* ; Neck ; Parents

PURPOSE: New electrocardiographic criteria to predict the culprit coronary artery in acute inferior myocardial infarction have been developed. We tested the effectiveness of these criteria by verifying their diagnostic accuracy. METHODS: The seven electrocardiographic criteria are STsegment depressions (1) in leads I > 0.5 mm, (2) in aVL > 1 mm, and (3) in V6 under the isoelectric line; higher ST-segment elevations (4) in lead III than in lead II, (5) in V1 than in V6, (6) in the sum of V(1 + 2 + 3) > or = V(4 + 5 + 6); and (7) ST-segment elevation > 1 mm in V1, and were analyzed by comparing the ST-segment deviation with the location of the infarcted coronary artery in 43 patients with acute inferior myocardial infarction. RESULTS: The culprit coronary artery consisted of the right coronary artery in 72.1% of the cases, the left circumflex artery in 23.3% of the cases, and the left anterior descending artery in 4.6% of the cases. There was a significant correlation between the criteria and the culprit coronary artery, except for two criteria, ST-segment depression in lead I > 0.5 mm and elevation in lead V1 > 1 mm (p=0.00 to 0.02). Criteria such as ST-segment depressions in lead aVL > 1 mm and V6 under the isoelectric line and a higher ST-segment elevation in the sum of V(1 + 2 + 3) > or = V(4 + 5 + 6) had relatively high specificities (80%, 100%), but a low sensitivities (51.6%, 67.7%). Criteria such as higher ST-segment elevations in lead III than in II and in V1 than in V6 had not only high sensitivities (80.6%, 100%) and specificities (70%, 90%) but also relatively high diagnostic accuracies (95.1%, 82.9%). CONCLUSION: Higher ST-segment elevations in lead III than in II and in V1 than in V6 are sensitive & specific criteria for correctly predicting the culprit coronary artery in acute inferior myocardial infarction.
Arteries ; Coronary Vessels* ; Depression ; Electrocardiography* ; Humans ; Inferior Wall Myocardial Infarction* ; Myocardial Infarction

INTRODUCTION: Identifying menton (Me) on posteroanterior cephalograms and three-dimensional (3D) cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images is difficult, because the midpoint of the symphyseal area is not identifiable after the mandibular symphysis fuses at an early age. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of the identification of the genial tubercle (GT) in patients with mandibular asymmetry and to compare it with that of the traditional landmark, Me. METHODS: The samples comprised 20 CBCT images of adults with mandibular asymmetry. Two examiners performed the identifications and measurements. Me and GT were marked, and the anteroposterior, vertical, and transverse distances to the three reference planes were measured on 3D-reconstructed CBCT images. The intra- and inter-examiner reliability of landmark identification of Me and GT were assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman plots. RESULTS: The Me and GT landmarks showed excellent reliability (ICC ≥ 0.993) three-dimensionally. In the transverse evaluation, the ICC values of the GT (range, 0.997–0.999) tended to be slightly higher than those of Me (range, 0.993–0.996). In the Bland-Altman plots for the two separate assessments, Me showed a maximum error of 1.76 mm in the transverse direction, whereas the GT showed a maximum error of 0.96 mm in the 95% limit. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that both Me and GT are clinically reliable and equally useful landmarks for the evaluation of mandibular asymmetry on CBCT images.
Adult ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Diagnosis* ; Humans ; Prospective Studies*

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of the 3-dimensional (3D) superimposition method of digital models in patients who received treatment with rapid maxillary expansion (RME) and maxillary protraction headgear. METHODS: The material consisted of pre- and post-treatment maxillary dental casts and lateral cephalograms of 30 patients, who underwent RME and maxillary protraction headgear treatment. Digital models were superimposed using the palate as a reference area. The movement of the maxillary central incisor and the first molar was measured on superimposed cephalograms and 3D digital models. To determine whether any difference existed between the 2 measuring techniques, intra-class correlation (ICC) and Bland-Altman plots were analyzed. RESULTS: The measurements on the 3D digital models and cephalograms showed a very high correlation in the antero-posterior direction (ICC, 0.956 for central incisor and 0.941 for first molar) and a moderate correlation in the vertical direction (ICC, 0.748 for central incisor and 0.717 for first molar). CONCLUSIONS: The 3D model superimposition method using the palate as a reference area is as clinically reliable for assessing antero-posterior tooth movement as cephalometric superimposition, even in cases treated with orthopedic appliances, such as RME and maxillary protraction headgear.
Humans ; Incisor ; Molar ; Orthopedics ; Palatal Expansion Technique ; Palate ; Tooth Movement

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the condylar position in relation to the glenoid fossa before and after orthodontic-orthognathic surgical treatment and to investigate the relationship with skeletal relapse. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Lateral cephalograms and temporomandibular joint tomograms from 19 patients with mandibular prognathism who received orthodontic-orthognathic surgery were included in this study. Samples were divided into two groups based on skeletal change during the retention period. The relapse group consisted of 7 patients (3 females and 4 males; mean age, 21.9 years) whose pogonion or menton displaced more than 1 mm during the retention period and the stable group consisted of 12 patients (5 females and 7 males; mean age, 21.7 years). Anterior joint space, posterior joint space, superior joint space, and anteroposterior index were measured on tomograms at pretreatment and posttreatment timepoints. Condyle position and frequency of the positional change were compared between both groups. RESULTS: In the relapse group and stable group, 42.9% and 45.8% of the condyles, respectively, showed forward or backward displacement at posttreatment. However, the changes were small and the mean anterior, posterior, superior joint spaces and frequencies of the positional changes did not differ statistically between both groups. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that small positional changes of the condyle, which may occur after orthodontic-orthognathic surgery treatment, may not be related to skeletal relapse after removal of the orthodontic appliances.
Female ; Humans ; Joints ; Male ; Malocclusion ; Mandibular Condyle ; Orthodontic Appliances ; Orthognathic Surgery ; Prognathism ; Recurrence* ; Temporomandibular Joint

An 8-years old boy with facial asymmetry and unilateral posterior crossbite on the left side received orthopedic and orthodontic treatment. During the first phase of treatment, the narrow maxillary arch was expanded using an acrylic plate. Then, the acrylic plate was used as a bite block with occlusal indentations from the construction bite that was obtained with the incisors in a coincident dental midline. After the position of the mandible was stabilized, the second phase of orthodontic treatment was initiated using fixed appliances for detailing of the occlusion. Skeletal symmetry, ideal occlusion, and coincident dental midlines were thus achieved. Functionally, occlusal force balance and masticatory muscle activity were improved, and the chewing patterns were normalized.
Bite Force ; Electromyography ; Facial Asymmetry* ; Humans ; Incisor ; Male ; Malocclusion* ; Mandible ; Mastication ; Masticatory Muscles ; Orthopedics* ; Palatal Expansion Technique

PURPOSE: Tooth injuries are common complaints presenting at emergency departments, so emergency physicians (EP) should play an important role in the initial care of dental trauma. However, there has been little interest in and research on this subject. Examining the various clinical factors helpful for the emergency physician's care of tooth injuries, we attempted to acquire basic data for establishing treatment guideline. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was done by reviewing the dental charts of 214 patients who presented to the emergency departments of one secondary hospital and one tertiary hospital following tooth injuries during a 1-year period (Oct. 2000-Sept. 2001). The following variables were extracted and examined: age, mechanism of injury, number and location of injured teeth, radiograph performance, diagnosis, type of treatment. RESULTS: With the 1992-WHO classification, 9 types of tooth injuries were found (multiple response): in adults, concussion (23.5% of cases), subluxation (16.7%), pulp-exposed crown fracture (16.7%), avulsion (10.8%), and non-pulpexposed crown fracture(15.7%); in children, subluxation (20.2%), luxation (17.2%), avulsion (17.2%), and concussion (11.1%), Seven types of treatment were performed based on single most difficult treatment recorded per patient: 91 conservative cares (42.5% of cases), 9 pulp cappings (4.2%), 49 splints (22.9%), 7 replantations (3.3%), 17 pulpectomies (7.9%), 30 extractions (14.0%), and 10 others. CONCLUSION: Considering that the most prevalent treatments were splints and conservative cares, we think emergency medicine could play a wide role in the initial management of tooth injuries and suggest a further co-study with a dentist.
Adult ; Child ; Classification ; Crowns ; Dental Pulp Capping ; Dentists ; Diagnosis ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Medicine ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Humans ; Pulpectomy ; Replantation ; Retrospective Studies ; Splints ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Tooth Injuries* ; Tooth*

PURPOSE: This retrospective study was performed to investigate the prevalence of the idiopathic osteosclerosis (IO) in Korean malocclusion patients according to age, sex, and the Angle's classification of malocclusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study consisted of 2,001 randomly selected patients from the Department of Orthodontics at the Gangneung-Wonju National University Dental Hospital, Korea. The prevalence of IO in Korean malocclusion patients was recorded using their panoramic radiographs, and the following parameters were surveyed; age, sex, and the Angle's classification of malocclusion. The chi-square test was analyzed to determine the statistical significance of differences in the prevalence of IO between age, sex, and the Angle's classification of malocclusion. RESULTS: The prevalence of IO in the jaws was 6.7% in a total of 2,001 examined orthodontic patients. The majority of IO was found in the mandible (96.58%). The 30-39 age group showed the highest prevalence of IO (9.60%). There was a higher prevalence in females (6.89%) than in males (6.45%). The prevalence of IO in Angle Class I group (7.07%) was the most frequent, followed by Angle Class II group (6.72%), and Angle Class III group (6.40%). However, there was no statistical significance in sex and Angle's classification of malocclusion. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of IO in malocclusion patients showed the differences between various age groups and most of them were found in the mandibular posterior area. However, sex and the type of malocclusion are not to be considered as a contributing factor of IO.
Female ; Humans ; Jaw ; Korea ; Male ; Malocclusion ; Malocclusion, Angle Class I ; Malocclusion, Angle Class II ; Malocclusion, Angle Class III ; Mandible ; Orthodontics ; Osteosclerosis ; Prevalence ; Radiography, Panoramic ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: Irregular antibodies are antibodies that are not regularly present in the serum of particular blood groups and its presence results in many problems including HDN (hemolytic disease of newborn) in transfusion medicine. Column agglutination test was recently introduced and has been widely used for advantages of standardized working procedures, standard reactions, stable reactions for hours and Coombs test without washing steps. We tested irregular antibodies in cord blood by column agglutination test and investigated its incidence and relation with HDN. METHODS: We tested the cord blood collected during delivery from 200 pregnant women. Column agglutination test was done on DiaMed ID MicroTyping System (DiaMed, Switzerland) and both LISS/Coombs and NaCl/Enzyme ID-cards were used. The antibody screening test was done first and antibody identification test was done to positive cases in same way. The cell typing and Rh phenotyping for cord blood of positive cases were also done. RESULTS: 2 cases of 200 samples (1%) were positive in the antibody screening test and each was identified as anti-D and anti-E antibody. CONCLUSIONS: Irregular antibody screening in cord blood by column agglutination test is thought to be helpful in early diagnosis and treatment of HDN.
Agglutination Tests* ; Agglutination* ; Antibodies ; Blood Group Antigens ; Coombs Test ; Early Diagnosis ; Erythroblastosis, Fetal ; Female ; Fetal Blood* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Mass Screening* ; Pregnant Women ; Transfusion Medicine