Dexamethasone is a widely used anti-inflammatory agent for a broad spectrum of diseases. The effectiveness of this agent is thought to be due to the capacity to modulate cytokine production in inflammatory cells. We examined the effects of dexamethasone on expressions of interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin 4 (IL-4) by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in response to interleukin 12 (IL-12). Dexamethasone (10-5 M) inhibited IFN-gamma secretion, through direct suppression of IFN-gamma, IL-12 receptor (IL-12R) -beta1, and -beta2 expressions. Conversely dexamethasone increased IL-4 secretion as well as IL-4 expressions by PBMCs in response to IL-12. In addition, dexamethasone increased expression of suppressor of cytokine signalling (SOCS)-1, which inhibits JAK-STAT pathway of IL-12R signalling. The result of our study suggested that dexamethasone directly inhibited IFN-gamma expression, through suppression of IL-12 signalling and indirectly increases IL-4 expression, through suppression of IFN-gamma expression.
Dexamethasone* ; Humans ; Interferons ; Interleukin-12* ; Interleukin-4* ; Receptors, Interleukin-12

Ovarian fibroma is one of the sex cord-stromal tumor, and accounts for about 5 percent of all ovarian tumors surgically removed. This tumor is almost always unilateral and appears to affect the left ovary more often (75%) than the right. Calcification is one of the secondary changes that can take place in a fibroma of ovary. The occurrence of ossification in these calcified fibromas is rare. We experienced a case of an ovarian calcified fibroma with ossification occurring in a 19 year old, unmarried woman with a brief review of literature.
Female ; Fibroma* ; Humans ; Osteoma* ; Ovary ; Sex Cord-Gonadal Stromal Tumors ; Single Person ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyze the shapes of lingual polished surfaces in lower complete dentures formed by polished surface impressions and to provide reference data for use when manufacturing edentulous trays and lower complete dentures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-six patients with mandibular edentulism were studied. After lower wax dentures were fabricated, wax was removed from the lingual side of the wax denture and a lingual polished surface impression was obtained with tissue conditioner. The definitive denture was scanned with a three-dimensional scanner, and scanned images were obtained. At the cross-sections of the lingual frenum, lateral incisors, first premolars, first molars, and anterior border of the retromolar pads, three points were marked and eight measurements were taken. The Kruskal-Wallis test and a post hoc analysis with the Mann-Whitney test were performed. RESULTS: Each patient showed similar values for the same areas on the left and right sides without a statistically significant difference. The height of the contour of the lingual polished surface at the lingual frenum was halfway between the occlusal plane and lingual border, it moved gradually in a downward direction. The angle from the occlusal plane to the height of the contour of the lingual polished surface was increased as it progressed from the lingual frenum towards the retromolar pads. CONCLUSION: The shape of the mandibular lingual polished surface was convex at the lingual frenum, lateral incisors and gradually flattened towards the first molars and retromolar pads.
Bicuspid ; Dental Occlusion ; Denture, Complete* ; Dentures ; Humans ; Incisor ; Lingual Frenum ; Molar

BACKGROUND: The aim of this in vitro study was to determine the effect of zoledronate, which is frequently used to treat osteoporosis, on osteoarthritis by analyzing zoledronate-induced expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) in chondrocytes and synovial cells. METHODS: After chondrocytes and synovial cells were separated and cultured, zoledronate was added, and VEGF-A and pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) expression were quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the expression of VEGF-A mRNA in chondrocytes between the zoledronate group and the control group on the 8th day of culture. The expression of both VEGF-A and PEDF mRNA in synovial cells was significantly decreased in the zoledronate group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Zoledronate decreases the expression of VEGF-A in synovial cells and may affect the development and progression of osteoarthritis.
Blotting, Western ; Chondrocytes* ; Osteoarthritis ; Osteoporosis ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A*

BACKGROUND: Hair growth is spontaneously activated from quiescent bulge stem cells or is activated from precocious anagen. Upon spontaneous activation of hair growth or activation induced by nuclear factor of activated T cells c1 (NFATc1) inhibitors, NFATc1 expression is lost and cyclin dependent kinase (CDK4) repression is relieved. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanisms of cyclosporine as a hair cycle regulator in the treatment of Alopecia areata (AA). METHODS: In this study, we planned to investigate the hair growing properties of cyclosporine in vitro conditions. Briefly, the effects of different concentrations of cyclosporine (200, 500, 1,000, 2,000 mmol) on the growth of cultured hair follicles were examined through the expression of NFATc1 and CDK4. RESULTS: NFATc1 was downregulated and CDK4 expression was upregulated especially in the bulge areas, outer root sheath and hair bulb matrix cells as the concentration of cyclosporine increased. CONCLUSION: Cyclosporine induces CDK4 expression by NFATc1 suppression, which acts to relieve repressed CDK4, resulting in hair growth. In conclusion, cyclosporine is one of the candidates as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of hair loss.
Alopecia Areata ; Cyclins ; Cyclosporine* ; Hair Follicle ; Hair* ; Phosphotransferases ; Repression, Psychology ; Stem Cells ; T-Lymphocytes

PURPOSE: This study was performed to investigate the present condition of drug abuse and its association with depression, self-rated health and health behaviors by job status in Korean adults. METHODS: Data were derived from the study on four addiction problem and suicide in 2014. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze patterns of drug abuse according to depression, self-rated health and health behaviors. RESULTS: The prevalence of drug abuse during the past year was 17.1% of the 4,018 subjects. About 3.3 times risk for drug abuse was found among individuals who had high depression scores. The risk of drug abuse was higher among those who were smoking (OR:1.46, 95% CI:1.17~1.83), drinking more frequently (OR:1.30, 95% CI:1.07~1.58), sleeping insufficiently (OR:1.31, 95% CI:1.03~1.67), eating irregularly (OR:1.45, 95% CI:1.19~1.76). Drug abuse problem was detected more seriously among employed than unemployed adults. CONCLUSION: Health-related behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, sleeping, eating should be considered simultaneously when designing strategies to deal with drug abuse problem, and it is important to understand the interaction between drug abuse and mental health. Furthermore, workplace based intervention can be effective in solving drug abuse problem.
Adult ; Depression* ; Drinking ; Eating ; Health Behavior* ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Mental Health ; Prevalence ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Substance-Related Disorders* ; Suicide

PURPOSE: To analyze and compare the clinical and radiologic results of treatments in unstable intertrochanteric fractures of the femur with proximal femoral nail antirotation (PFNA) and compression hip screw with trochanter stabilizing plate (CHS with TSP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the results of 66 cases of unstable intertrochanteric fractures of the femur treated with PFNA (Group I) and CHS with TSP (Group II) which could be followed up for minimum a year. We evaluated several comparative factors such as operation time, blood loss, time to bone union, changes in neck-shaft angle, sliding of screw (or blade), complications, postoperative pain, social-function score of Jensen, and mobility score of Parker and Palmer. RESULTS: Group I showed shorter operation time and less blood loss with significance than group II (p<0.05), but there were no differences between the groups in the mean time to bone union, changes in neck-shaft angle, sliding of screw (or blade), complications, postoperative pain, and social-function score of Jensen (p>0.05). Two cases of cutting out of the blade through the femoral head were found in group I. One case of cutting out of the screw, one case of the breakage of the plate, and loosening of the plate were found in group II as complications. CONCLUSION: We think that there were no significant differences between PFNA and CHS with TSP in view point of radiologic and clinical outcomes in unstable intertrochanteric fractures of the femur, but PFNA is less invasive device than CHS with TSP, therefore it may be useful device in elderly patients.
Aged ; Femur ; Head ; Hip ; Hip Fractures ; Humans ; Nails ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: Although there are growing evidences linking Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection to myocardial infarction, it remains controversial. The authors intended to assess whether C. pneumoniae infection is associated with myocardial infarction. METHODS: Sera and peripheral mononuclear cells (PMNCs) were collected from 54 cases of acute myocardial infarction (MI), 33 cases of old MI, and 60 normal controls. Anti-C.pneumoniae IgG and IgM antibodies were measured using a microimmunofluorescence (mIF) method, and C.pneumoniae DNA was detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: Seropositivity of anti-C.pneumoniae IgM antibody by mIF was shown 5.0% in control group, 29.6% (OR=8.00) in the acute MI and 6.1% (OR=1.23) in old MI group. Seropositivity of anti C.pneumoniae IgG antibody were 60.0 % in control group, 92.6% (OR=8.33) in the acute MI and 87.9% (OR= 4.83) in old MI group. The antibody titers in the acute MI and old MI group tended to be higher compared to those in control group. No C.pneumoniae DNA was detected in any case by PCR. CONCLUSION: The seropositivity and antibody titers were significantly higher in the acute MI and old MI group than in control group, suggesting that C.pneumoniae infection may be a risk factor for myocardial infarction.
Antibodies ; Chlamydial Pneumonia* ; Chlamydophila pneumoniae* ; Chlamydophila* ; DNA ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Pneumonia ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to develop a common health information exchange (HIE) platform that can provide integrated services for implementing the HIE infrastructure in addition to guidelines for participating in an HIE network in South Korea. METHODS: By exploiting the Health Level 7 (HL7) Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) and Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) Cross-enterprise Document Sharing-b (XDS.b) profile, we defined the architectural model, exchanging data items and their standardization, messaging standards, and privacy and security guidelines, for a secure, nationwide, interoperable HIE. We then developed a service-oriented common HIE platform to minimize the effort and difficulty of fulfilling the standard requirements for participating in the HIE network. The common platform supports open application program interfaces (APIs) for implementing a document registry, a document repository, a document consumer, and a master patient index. It could also be used for testing environments for the implementation of standard requirements. RESULTS: As the initial phase of implementing a nationwide HIE network in South Korea, we built a regional network for workers' compensation (WC) hospitals and their collaborating clinics to share referral and care record summaries to ensure the continuity of care for industrially injured workers, using the common HIE platform and verifying the feasibility of our technologies. CONCLUSIONS: We expect to expand the HIE network on a national scale with rapid support for implementing HL7 and IHE standards in South Korea.
Computer Security ; Computer Systems ; Continuity of Patient Care ; Delivery of Health Care ; Electronic Health Records ; Health Level Seven ; Humans ; Information Services* ; Korea ; Privacy ; Referral and Consultation ; Workers' Compensation

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the pronator quadrates muscle in patients who underwent internal fixation with a volar locking plate for unstable distal radius fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients who underwent internal fixation with a volar locking plate for unstable distal radius fracture were enrolled. We evaluated the clinical results according to the Mayo wrist score, the wrist range of motion, and the grip strength at the last follow-up. Using ultrasonography, muscle thickness of the pronator quadrates was compared between injured and uninjured arm. RESULTS: Bone union was achieved in all cases. The mean Mayo wrist score was 82.79 points. The grip strength of the injured arm was decreased to 89.1% of the uninjured side. The decrease of pronation range of the injured wrist motions was significant (82.3degrees, p=0.004). There was significant atrophy of the pronator quadrates muscle on the injured side (injured side: 3.19 mm, uninjured side: 4.72 mm, p=0.001); and the decrement of muscle thickness in pronator quadrates showed an association with the Mayo wrist score (r=-0.35, p=0.042). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that continuity of the muscle is maintained after use of the volar locking plating for unstable distal radius fractures with repair of pronator quadrates; however, there is atrophy of pronator quadrates muscle and limitation of pronation in the injured wrist.
Arm ; Atrophy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Pronation ; Radius Fractures* ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Ultrasonography ; Wrist