BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There are no reported studies of olfactory function of Korean children, and the existing tests of olfactory function for Korean adults may not be suitable for very young children. This study assessed the applicability of the Butanol Threshold Test (BTT) and Cross-Cultural Smell Identification Test (CC-SIT) to children. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: A total of 79 children were included in the study: they were between 6-12 years of age, and had visited University Hospital Health Care Center between January 2012 and December 2013. All children were administered the BTT and CC-SIT. RESULTS: Using BTT, 69.62% of the sample was classified as moderate hyposmia. On the other hand, when CC-SIT was used, 45.57% of the sample was classified as moderate and 43.04% as mild hyposmia. CC-SIT and BTT scores were not correlated. Although gender and age were not taken into account in the test results, the CC-SIT could measure age-specific olfactory development. CONCLUSION: Our study provides fundamental data on the clinical use of the CC-SIT and BTT in healthy Korean children.
Adult ; Child* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Hand ; Humans ; Smell*

PURPOSE: To Investigate the patterns and to document the clinical and technical significances of the leg injuries of drivers of short-fronted vehicles in frontal collision accidents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve cases of jammed leg injury were chosen from hospitals in the Chungcheong Province area and investigated in terms of nature of the accident, distribution of injuries, methods and duration of treatment and final sequelae. RESULTS: The patients had multiple injuries on the lower extremities, such as, fractures of the femoral shaft, tibial shaft, foot and ankle and soft tissue injuries, requiring an average 8.3 surgical procedures and 7 months admission, and from which permanent sequlae resulted, though associated injuries of the head, chest, abdomen were not significant. CONCLUSION: "Jammed leg injury" seemed to be related with the design of short-fronted vehicles. As these injuries can cause considerable functional and socioeconomic loss with long treatment periods and permanent residual sequelae. Preventive measures appear to be necessary, possibly involving vehicle design modification.
Abdomen ; Ankle ; Foot ; Head ; Humans ; Leg ; Leg Injuries ; Lower Extremity ; Multiple Trauma ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; Thorax

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Organized inpatient stroke care is one of the most effective therapies for improving patient outcomes. Many stroke centers have been established to meet this need, however, there are limited data on the effectiveness of these organized comprehensive stroke center (CSC) in the real-world setting. Our aim is to determine whether inpatient care following the establishment of CSC lowers mortality of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). METHODS: Based on a prospective stroke registry, we identified AIS patients hospitalized before and after the establishment of a CSC. We observed all-cause mortality within 30 days from time of admission. Logistic regression was used to determine whether the establishment of the CSC affects independently the 30-day all-cause mortality. RESULTS: A total of 3,117 consecutive patients with AIS were admitted within seven days after the onset of the symptoms. Unadjusted 30-day mortality was lower for patients admitted to our hospital after the establishment of the CSC than before (5.9% vs. 8.2%, P=0.012). Advanced age, female gender, previous coronary artery disease, non-smoking, stroke subtype, admission on a holiday, referral from other hospitals, high NIHSS on admission, and admission before the establishment of CSC were associated with increased 30-day stroke case fatality. After adjustment for these factors, stroke inpatient care subsequent to the establishment of the CSC was independently associated with lower 30-day mortality (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.412-0.795). CONCLUSIONS: Patients treated after the establishment of a CSC had lower 30-mortality rates than ever before, even adjusting for the differences in the baseline characteristics. The present study reveals that organized stroke care in a CSC might improve the outcome after AIS.
Coronary Artery Disease ; Female ; Holidays ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Logistic Models ; Prospective Studies ; Referral and Consultation ; Stroke

Hepatic steatosis is common in obese individuals with hyperinsulinemia and is an important hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. Sterol regulatory binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) is a master regulator of lipogenic gene expression in the liver. Hyperinsulinemia induces transcription of SREBP-1c via activation of liver X receptor (LXR) and specificity protein 1 (Sp1). Cilostazol is an antiplatelet agent that prevents atherosclerosis and decreases serum triglyceride levels. However, little is known about the effects of cilostazol on hepatic lipogenesis. Here, we examined the role of cilostazol in the regulation of SREBP-1c transcription in the liver. The effects of cilostazol on the expression of SREBP-1c and its target genes in response to insulin or an LXR agonist (T0901317) were examined using real-time RT-PCR and western blot analysis on cultured hepatocytes. To investigate the effect of cilostazol on SREBP-1c at the transcriptional level, transient transfection reporter assays and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) were performed. Cilostazol inhibited insulin-induced and LXR-agonist-induced expression of SREBP-1c and its downstream targets, acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthase, in cultured hepatocytes. Cilostazol also inhibited activation of the SREBP-1c promoter by insulin, T0901317 and Sp1 in a luciferase reporter assay. EMSA analysis showed that cilostazol inhibits SREBP-1c expression by repressing the binding of LXR and Sp1 to the promoter region. These results indicate that cilostazol inhibits insulin-induced hepatic SREBP-1c expression via the inhibition of LXR and Sp1 activity and that cilostazol is a negative regulator of hepatic lipogenesis.
Animals ; Cells, Cultured ; Hep G2 Cells ; Hepatocytes/drug effects/*metabolism ; Humans ; Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated/pharmacology ; Insulin/pharmacology ; Lipogenesis ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Orphan Nuclear Receptors/agonists/*metabolism ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Protein Binding ; Rats ; Sp1 Transcription Factor/*metabolism ; Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein 1/genetics/*metabolism ; Sulfonamides/pharmacology ; Tetrazoles/*pharmacology