OBJECTIVE: Soft tissue changes due to orthodontic treatment has large individual variation. Therefore continuous evaluation during treatment is required. Patients with fixed orthodontic appliances often wonder if their lip positions will change after the removal of brackets, but only a few studies exist on this topic. The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes of the lips and perioral soft tissue after bracket removal. METHODS: The sample used in this study was 19 males and 33 females. Cephalometric X-rays were taken at 3 stages - T1 (before debonding), T2 (just after debonding), T3 (1.5 months after debonding). RESULTS: The lower lip was retruded immediately after debonding (T2-T1), and 1.5 months after debonding (T3-T2). The mean amounts of retrusion from the vertical reference plane (sG perpendicular line) were about 0.38 mm for the upper lip and 0.88 mm for the lower lip. Immediately after debonding, lip retrusion of females was greater than that of males. During the post-debonding period, lower lip of males was retruded more than that of females. CONCLUSION: Lips are retruded after bracket removal, and there is no gender difference 1.5 months after debonding.
Female ; Humans ; Lip* ; Male ; Orthodontic Appliances

OBJECTIVE: Miniscrew-assisted rapid palatal expansion (MARPE) is a means for expanding the basal bone without surgical intervention in young adults. Here, we assessed the differences in dental, alveolar, and skeletal measurements taken before (T0), immediately after (T1), and 1 year after (T2) MARPE. METHODS: Twenty-four patients (mean age, 21.6 years) who had undergone MARPE and cone-beam computed tomography at T0, T1, and T2 were included. Changes in the following parameters were compared using paired t-tests: intercusp, interapex, alveolar, nasal floor, and nasal cavity widths; inclination of the first molar (M1) and its alveolus; and thickness and height of the alveolar bone. A linear mixed-effects model was used to determine variables that affected periodontal changes in the M1. RESULTS: MARPE produced significant increases in most measurements during T0–T2, despite relapse of some measurements during T1–T2. The alveolar thickness decreased on the buccal side, but increased on the palatal side. The alveolar crest level at the first premolar moved apically. Changes in the thickness and height of the alveolar bone were affected by the corresponding initial values. CONCLUSIONS: MARPE can be used as an effective tool for correcting maxillomandibular transverse discrepancy, showing stable outcomes 1 year after expansion.
Bicuspid ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Humans ; Molar ; Nasal Cavity ; Recurrence ; Young Adult

Objective: Variable treatment strategies and protocols have been applied to reduce time durations in the process of acute stroke management. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of our intra-arterial thrombectomy (IAT) protocol for decreasing door-to-recanalization time duration and improve successful recanalization. Methods: A systemic and endovascular protocol included door-to-image, image-to-puncture and puncture-to-recanalization. We retrospectively analyzed the patients of pre- (Sep 2012–Apr 2014) and post-IAT protocol (May 2014–Jul 2018). Univariate analysis was used for the statistical significance according to variable factors (age, gender, the location of occluded vessel, successful recanalization TICI 2b-3). Independent t-test was used to compare the time duration. Results: Among all 267 patients with acute stroke of anterior circulation, there were 50 and 217 patients with pre- and post-IAT protocol. Age, gender, and the location of occluded vessel have no statistical significance (p＞0.05). In pre- and post-IAT group, successful recanalization was 39 of 50 (78.0%) and 185/217 (85.3%), respectively (p＜0.05). Post-IAT (48.8%, 106/217) group had a higher tendency of good outcome than pre-IAT group (36.0%, 18/50) (p＞0.05). Pre- and post-IAT group showed 61.7±21.4 vs. 25±16.0 (p＜0.05), 102.0±29.8 vs. 82.7±30.4 (min) (p＜0.05), and 79.1±47.5 vs. 58.4±75.3 (p＜0.05) in three steps, respectively. Conclusions We suggest that the application of systemic and endovascular IAT protocols showed a significant time reduction for faster recanalization in patients with LVO. To build-up the well-designed IAT protocol through puncture-to-recanalization can be needed to decrease time duration and improve clinical outcome in recanalization therapy in acute stroke patients.

This is a cross-sectional study to evaluate the serum lipid levels of children living in Pusan in 1996. The distribution of age is from 2 years old to 12 years old. In female children mean total cholesterol is 171.4+/-26.2mg/dl, triglyceride is 104.7+/-50.6mg/dl, HDL-cholesterol is 54.4+/-14.8mg/dl, and LDL-cholesterol is 95.4+/-32.9mg/dl. In male children mean total cholesterol is 167.9+/-25.2mg/dl, triglyceride is 90.6+/-45.5mg/dl, HDL-cholesterol is 55.4+/-11.7mg/dll, and LDL-cholesterol is 94.4+/-23.6mg/dl. The percentile of serum lipid levels is measured in children. The 95th percentile of serum total cholesterol is 210mg/dl in male children, and 214mg/dl in female children. And, the 95th percentile of serum triglyceride is 184mg/dl in male children, and 191mg/dl in female children. And, the 95th percentile of LDL-cholesterol is 133mg/dl in male children, and 135mg/dl in female children. Serum total cholesterol is positively related to age(r=0.18), height(r=0.08), weight(r=0.17), obesity index(r=0.12), and negatively related to father's education level(r=-0.13), mother's education level(r=-0.13). Serum triglyceride is positively related to weight(r=0.23), age(r=0.31) and negatively related to father's education level(r=-0.12), mother's education level(r=-0.18). Serum HDL-C was positively related to mother's education level(r=0.07) and negatively related to height(r=-0.12), weight(r=-0.09). Conclusively, the serum lipid levels of children living in Pusan is generally so high that the family and school must try to control the serum lipid levels.
Busan* ; Child* ; Child, Preschool ; Cholesterol ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Obesity ; Triglycerides

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our study is to investigate the feasibility of the laparoscopy and compare perioperative outcomes between laparoscopy and laparotomy in pregnant women with non-malignant ovarian tumor. METHODS: Retrospective comparative analysis of 56 pregnant women who underwent laparoscopy or laparotomy due to non-malignant ovarian tumors at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, between October 1994 and December 2010 were performed. RESULTS: Among 56 patients, 22 and 34 pregnant women underwent laparotomy and laparoscopy, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups about general characteristics including age, gestational age, torsion, surgeon type, pain at diagnosis and clinical outcomes including tocolytics use, operation type, operation time, the ratio of normal full-term vaginal delivery, Apgar score. However, pathological longest tumor size was larger in laparotomy group than laparoscopy group (9.0 cm vs. 5.8 cm; p=0.001) and laparoscopy was related with significantly less estimated blood loss (200 vs. 50 mL; p=0.001) and short hospital days (7 vs. 4 days; p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Laparoscopy for the treatment of non-malignant ovarian tumors in pregnant women is feasible and has benefits such as less estimated blood loss during the surgery and hospital stays when compared with laparotomy. However, laparoscopic adnexal surgery for large tumor size may be still challenging in pregnant women.
Apgar Score ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Korea ; Laparoscopy ; Laparotomy ; Length of Stay ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Retrospective Studies ; Tocolytic Agents

Esophageal candidiasis is the most common disease among all candida infections of the gastrointestinal tract, and generally develops in immunocompromised patients. The prevalence of esophageal candidiasis has increased in patients undergoing antibiotic therapy, diabetes, adrenal dysfunction, alcohol intoxication, old age, esophageal injury, esophageal stasis, gastric surgery, and acid suppressive therapy. However, the overall prevalence is not higher than that of immunocompromised patients. Gastric candidiasis is uncommon because of the strong acidity of the gastric juices. The most common clinical setting for gastric candidiasis is in patients with neoplastic disease. However, there are some case reports suggesting an increase in the prevalence of gastric candidiasis after gastric ulcer therapy with surgery or acid suppressive agents. Delayed gastric emptying, increased intragastric pH, and reflux of the duodenal contents into the stomach are factors indicative of the pathophysiology of gastric candidiasis after gastric surgery. We encountered a case of aggravated esophageal candidiasis and the formation of a gastric yeast bezoar following a gastric outlet obstruction due to a duodenal stenosis. We herein report this case along with an overview of the relevant literature.
Bezoars* ; Candida ; Candidiasis* ; Constriction, Pathologic* ; Gastric Emptying ; Gastric Juice ; Gastric Outlet Obstruction* ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Gastroparesis ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Immunocompromised Host ; Prevalence ; Stomach ; Stomach Ulcer ; Yeasts*

BACKGROUND: It is a trend that the average life span is prolonged in proportion to the advance of socio-economy and medical science. Consequently, the number of elderly patients with skin diseases is increasing. OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to see the change of patterns of skin diseases in elderly patients. METHODS: One thousand four hundred and twenty elderly patients, over the age of 65, who visited the departments of dermatology and in five hospitals, from January 1, 1997 to December 31, 1997 were selected. We surveyed the frequeney of skin disease by types and the distributions by month, season and age.
Aged* ; Dermatology ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Humans ; Seasons ; Skin Diseases* ; Skin*

OBJECTIVE: Paclitaxel, ifosfamide, and cisplatin have moderate single-agent activity in patients with metastatic or recurrent cancer of the uterine cervix. We administered a combination of these three agents (TIP) to patients with recurrent cervical carcinoma to evaluate its activity. METHODS: Forty-three patients were treated with ifosfamide (I) 1500 mg/m2 intravenously over 3 hours on Days 1-3, paclitaxel (T) 135 mg/m2 as a 3-hour intravenous infusion and cisplatin (P) 50 mg/m2 intravenously over 30 min on Day 1. The chemotherapy was repeated every 3 weeks. RESULTS: Thirty-five patients received at least three courses of treatment and were evaluable for response. Eighteen patients (51.4%) achieved an objective response, including 5.7% complete and 45.7% partial responses. The median time to progression and overall survival for all patients were 8.0 and 16.0 months, respectively. The site of recurrence relative to prior radiation field and histopathology (squamous vs other pathology) did not affect the response rate and survival. Patients treated with another chemotherapy regimen before the initiation of TIP regimen showed lower response rate (28.6% vs 66.6%, p=0.027) and shorter survival (14 month vs 25 month, p=0.028). Grade 3 or 4 toxicity included granulocytopenia in 13% of patients, anemia in 8%, thrombocytopenia in 5%. CONCLUSION: The TIP regimen is relatively well tolerated and moderately active in patients with recurrent carcinoma of the uterine cervix. Patients more likely to benefit are those who received TIP regimen for the first time after recurrence.
Agranulocytosis ; Anemia ; Cervix Uteri* ; Cisplatin* ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Ifosfamide* ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Paclitaxel* ; Recurrence ; Thrombocytopenia ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

Struma Ovarii is a teratoma with thyroid tissue as the predominant (>50%) constituent. It is rare, representing about 2% of all teratomas, and its malignant transformation, less than 5% of struma ovarii. Presenting symptoms are not specific, therefore pre-operative diagnosis of malignant struma ovarii is difficult and most diagnosis of malignant struma ovaii is determined by post-operative histologic findings. Because of the rarity of malignant struma ovarii, there is considerable confusion concerning diagnosis and management. A postmenopausal woman presented with pelvic mass and lower abdominal pain and explo-laparotomy was performed. Then, pathologic report was identified as malignant struma ovarii. We report a case of malignant struma ovarii with brief review of literature
Abdominal Pain ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Struma Ovarii* ; Teratoma ; Thyroid Gland

OBJECTIVE: Galectin-3, a member of the beta-galactoside-binding proteins, is an intracellular and extracellular lectin that interacts with intracellular glycoproteins, cell surface molecules and extracellular matrix proteins. Galectin-3 is expressed widely in epithelial and immune cells and the level of expression varies in many cancer cells relative to the normal tissues from which they arise. We investigated whether the expression of galectin-3 is associated with the progression of cervical neoplasia. METHODS: The galectin-3 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 90 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded cervical tissues: 10 normal cervical specimens, 20 low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSILs), 20 high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs), and 40 invasive squamous cell carcinomas (ISCCs). RESULTS: The immunohistochemical staining showed that the expression of galectin-3 was strong in all normal cervical squamous epithelia. Staining gradually decreased in accordance with the histopathologic grades from an LSIL to an HSIL and an ISCC (P<0.001). In particular, the expression of galectin-3 was significantly decreased in HSILs (P=0.001) and this down-regulation was more pronounced in ISCCs than normal tissues (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: These data constitute the first observation that the expression of galectin-3 is down-regulated in cervical cancer tissues and suggest the decreased expression of this galactoside-binding lectin is associated with the progression of cervical neoplasia.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; Down-Regulation ; Extracellular Matrix Proteins ; Galectin 3* ; Immunohistochemistry ; Membrane Glycoproteins ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms