Visual acuity refers to the spatial limit of visual discrimination. It is surely the single most significant measure of functional integrity of the eye. Normal visual acuity can be represented in hyperopia of less than 2 diopters or astigmatism of less than 1 diopter. The purpose of this study was to observe the prevalence, type and degree of of refractive errors in 338 eyes of 40-69 years of age with normal visual acuity(20/20 or more). The results were as follows: 1. In objective manifest refraction, 246 eyes(72.8%) had refractive error such as hyperopia(110 eyes), simple hyperopic astgmatism(61 eyes),compound hyperopic astigmatism(57 eyes) and simple myopic astigmatism(18 eyes). 2. In subjective manifest refraction, 132 eyes(39.1%) had refractive error such as hyperopia(51 eyes), simple hyperopic astigmatism(44 eyes), simple myopic astigmatism(24 eyes) and compound hyperopic astigmatism(13 eyes). 3. As to the type of astigmatism, 71 of 81 astigmatism were "against the rule" and the rest(10 eyes) "with the rule". Degree of astigmatism was less than 1.00 diopter. 4. A verage degree of refractive errors was 0.43 diopter.
Adult* ; Astigmatism ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Humans ; Hyperopia ; Prevalence ; Refractive Errors ; Visual Acuity*

To date no consensus has been reached regarding the suitability of surgical treatment for spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage, especially in deep seated cases. With the recent introduction of an alternative to conservative therapy, craniotomy or stereotactic aspiration, it has become even more difficult to determine which therapeutic approaches should be used. We used stereotactic aspiration technique under a local anesthesia instead of craniotomy to treat 48 patients, because we believe that better therapeutic results could be obtained by minimal invasion to the brain. In present study, we analysed the level of consciousness and clinical outcome, location and volume of hematoma, interval of operation from ictus, and rate of hematoma removal. Our series consist of 18 males and 30 females. The most prevalent age group of intracerebral hemorrhage patients were the 6th decades. The hematoma were located at basal ganglia in 75%, thalamus in 15%, pons in 8%, and lobar 2%. The prognosis was favorable in patients with good neurological grade at admission, but was unfavorable in those with large volume although the statistical difference was not significant. Rate of hematoma removal was high in the cases where operations performed after 4 days. The statistical difference between the time interval from hemorrhage to operation and prognosis was not significant. The overall mortality rate was 17%. These results seem to indicate that stereotactic aspiration may play a comparable indices in the treatment of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.
Anesthesia, Local ; Basal Ganglia ; Brain ; Cerebral Hemorrhage* ; Consciousness ; Consensus ; Craniotomy ; Female ; Hematoma ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Male ; Mortality ; Pons ; Prognosis ; Thalamus

The etiology of the postoperative discitis is not fully known, but most likely, the cause seems to be of a low grade infection and chemical and mechanical injuries. The incidence of these complication is from 0.12% to 2.6% of all cases. The characteristics of this disease are recurrence of severe lower back and gluteal pain, spasm of lumbar paravertebral muscle and elevated E.S.R. following the asymptomatic post-operative period, a roentgenogram showed an early destructive change in the adjacent vertebra, the narrowing of the intervertebral disc space, sclerotic changes in the vertebral bone and occasional fusion of the spine, and relatively good prognosis. We present a case of recurrent postoperative discitis with E.S.R. change and roentgenographic change.
Discitis* ; Incidence ; Intervertebral Disc ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Spasm ; Spine

No abstract available.
Heart Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: A telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutation was identified in thyroid cancer. This TERT promoter mutation is thought to be a prognostic molecular marker, because its association with tumor aggressiveness, persistence/recurrence, and disease-specific mortality in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has been reported. In this study, we attempted to determine whether the impact of the TERT promoter mutation on PTC persistence/recurrence is independent of clinicopathological parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using propensity score matching, 39 patients with PTC persistence or recurrence were matched with 35 patients without persistence or recurrence, with a similar age, sex, tumor size, multifocality, bilaterality, extrathyroidal extension, and lymph node metastasis. The TERT promoter and the BRAF V600E mutations were identified from PTC samples. RESULTS: The TERT promoter mutation was detected in 18% of PTC patients (13/74). No significant difference in the frequency of the TERT promoter mutation was observed between the persistence/recurrence group and the non-recurrence group. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the prognostic implications of the TERT promoter mutation are dependent on clinicopathological parameters.
Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Mortality ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Propensity Score ; Recurrence ; Telomerase ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a combination therapy with PDE5 inhibitor and testosterone replacement therapy in erectile dysfunction patients with testosterone deficiency syndrome (TDS) after failure of PDE5 inhibitor mono-therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From March 2004 to July 2008, we evaluated 38 men (aged 38 to 69 years) who showed no response to PDE5 inhibitor therapy at the maximal recommended dose and they had testosterone levels less than 350ng/dL. Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) was subsequently started with injectable testosterone undecanoate (NEBIDO(R)) or transdermal testosterone (Testogel(R)) in those patients. They received TRT during an 18-week period. After 14 weeks of TRT alone, PDE5 inhibitor was added to the TRT for an additional 4 weeks. After treatment, we evaluated the patients' sexual function, which was primarily based on the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), and the serum testosterone levels. RESULTS: All patients showed elevated serum testosterone levels after TRT (range: 212 to 662ng/dl, mean level: 362.19 ng/dl). At week 18, almost all of the men reported improved potency with combination therapy. After treatment, the mean total IIEF score and each sub-domain score were increased significantly compared to the baseline score. CONCLUSIONS: Testosterone replacement therapy combined with PDE5 inhibitor may be beneficial in improving the erectile function in testosterone deficiency syndrome patients with erectile dysfunction and who are unresponsive to PDE5 inhibitor alone.
Erectile Dysfunction ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; Male ; Testosterone

Choroid plexus papilloma is a very rare disease in children. The manifestations of the disease differ according to the tumor size and the location. Increased CSF production by the tumor, hydrocephalus and symptoms of increased ICP are the main symptoms. The first line of treatment is surgical excision, but sometimes excision itself is very difficult due to the site and the size of the mass. Adjunctive radiation therapy or chemotherapy is not recommended. Since gross total resection without adjunctive therapy offers highest likelihood of success. Significant prognostic factors are sex, age, time of diagnosis, the duration between the appearance of symptoms and diagnosis, tumor volume, tumor site and the extent of surgery. We report a case of choroid plexus papilloma, in a child with anorexia and failure to thrive.
Anorexia* ; Child* ; Choroid Plexus* ; Choroid* ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Failure to Thrive* ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Papilloma, Choroid Plexus* ; Rare Diseases ; Tumor Burden

Objective: To investigate the suitability of citrus-press cakes, by-products of the juice industry as a source for the whitening agents for cosmetic industry.
Methods:Ethylacetate extracts of citrus-press cakes (CCE) were examined for their anti-melanogenic potentials in terms of the inhibition of melanin production and mechanisim of melanogenesis by using Western Blot analysis with tyrosinese, tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), TRP2, and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) proteins. To apply the topical agents, citrus-press cakes was investigated the safety in human skin cell line. Finally flavonoid analysis of CCE was also determined by HPLC analysis.
Results: Results indicated that CCE were shown to down-regulate melanin content in a dose-dependent pattern. The CCE inhibited tyrosinase, TRP-2, and MITF expressions in a dose-dependent manner. To test the applicability of CCE to human skin, we used MTT assay to assess the cytotoxic effects of CCE on human keratinocyte HaCaT cells. The CCE exhibited low cytotoxicity at 50 μg/mL. Characterization of the citrus-press cakes for flavonoid contents using HPLC showed varied quantity of rutin, narirutin, and hesperidin.
Conclusions:Considering the anti-melanogenic activity and human safety, CCE is considered as a potential anti-melanogenic agent and may be effective for topical application for treating hyperpigmentation disorders.

OBJECTIVE: 1) To investigate the relationship between NrCAM polymorphisms and methamphetamine abuse in an ethnically homogenous Korean population. 2) To further support our findings by investigating the association among NrCAM gene variants, certain personality traits, and addictive symptoms of methamphetamine abusers. METHODS: Thirty-seven male methamphetamine abusers (age=43.3+/-7.8) and30 non-users (16 men, 14 women; age=59.8+/-10.4) were recruited. Ten single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the NrCAM gene were assayed to compare genotype distributions between the 2 groups. Personality characteristics were measured using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and the NEO Personality Inventory, Revised (NEO PI-R). Addictive symptoms were assessed using the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (DIGS) and reviews of the subject's medical records. RESULTS: Among the 10 SNPs in the NrCAM gene, the frequency of the TA genotype at rs1990162 was significantly lower in methamphetamine abusers compared to non-users (p=0.042). In the 3 NrCAM gene SNPs (rs381318, rs2072546, and rs6954366), the distribution of genotypes and alleles were significantly associated with some traits in the TCI and NEO PI-R. Genotypes and alleles at 5 gene SNPs (rs2142325, rs381318, rs1269621, rs1269634, and rs1990162) were associated with certain addictive symptom dimensions in the patients. CONCLUSION: These findings support the idea that NrCAM is associated with genetic susceptibility of methamphetamine abuse and is also associated with certain personality characteristics that may increase disturbed addictive behavior.
Alleles ; Behavior, Addictive ; Cell Adhesion ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Methamphetamine ; Neurons ; Personality Inventory ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Temperament

A seven months old, tiger shovelnose catfish was referred to the veterinary medical teaching hospital of the college of veterinary medicine, Konkuk university because of suspecting a foreign body in the stomach. By physical and radiologic examinations, the catfish revealed abdominal enlargement, vomiting, inactivity and radiopaque foreign bodies in the stomach. Under general anesthesia with dilute isoflurane solution, celiotomy was performed. Stomach was atonic, and three foreign bodies were palpated in the stomach. In this process, three stones came out through mouth. Abdominal muscles were closed with a simple continuous suture pattern, and skin was closed with a simple mattress suture pattern. Sutured site was covered with glue and mucous taken from allogenic skin. On the second day after surgery, the patient recovered to normal condition, showing increased appetite and activity.
Animals ; Catfishes/*surgery ; Foreign Bodies/pathology/*surgery ; Gastroscopy/veterinary ; Stomach/*surgery