PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among family support, stress and quality of life according to the phases of illness in breast cancer patients. METHODS: A descriptive correlational study was employed with 121 breast cancer patients. The data was collected by using self reported questionnaire. Self reported data was collected by using the Family support scale, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and EORTC QLQ-BR23. Phases of illness consisted 1st phase, 2nd phase, 3rd phase. RESULTS: The score of family supporting, stress and quality of life showed a statically differences according to the phase of illness. Family supporting and stress had negative relation in the first, second and third phase. Family supporting and quality of life in function area had positive relation in the first, second phase. There was no relation between family supporting and quality of life in symptom area. Stress, quality of life in symptom area and quality of life in function area had correlation in the first, third phase. CONCLUSION: This study suggest that the new nursing implementation should be considered according to the phase of illness in order to improve the family supporting and quality of life and reduce the stress in breast cancer patients through this study results.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Humans ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Self Report

BACKGROUND: Job holders are groups that have suffered from chronic stressful condition. Nowadays, occupational stress are increasing due to Korean economic crisis. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the stress scores of several kinds of jobs, the relationship between the amount of stress and mental health status, factors associated with stress. METHODS: Among workers who had visited a medical college hospital, Taejeon, Korea, for regular health evaluation from April 1 to June 30 1998, we selected 50 clerks, 50 industrial workers, 50 professionals, 50 service or salesmen and 50 public servants in the survey. A total of 159 workers were evaluated as subjects excluding those who had answered in adequately to the questionnaire. Stress scores were measured by Korean-translated BEPSI(Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument) and Bae Jong Myun's 30-items SRRQ(Social Readjustment Rating Questionnaire). Mental health status were checked by Korean-translated SCL-90-R(Symptom checklist-90-Revision). RESULTS: The average BEPSI score of workers was 2.07+/-0.72. The mean score of female workers was 2.27+/-.70 and it was obviously higher than male worker's score of 1.85+/-.66. 20-29 year age group and over 40 year age group's amount of stress were obviously higher than 30-39 year age group. The low education level group had higher stress score than those with high education level but the amount of stress showed no significant difference in the monthly income, job tenure, number of family members to support, hobby and religion. According to occupation, clerks, industrial workers, service or salesmen's stress scores were higher than those of professional or public servants. CONCLUSIONS: This investigation has showed that there is a correlation between the amount of job holder's stress and mental health including somatimtian, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychotism Therefore, we conclude that the best way to stay in good menta
Anxiety ; Daejeon ; Depression ; Education ; Female ; Hobbies ; Hostility ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Mental Health* ; Occupations ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Cholesterol metabolism plays an essential role in cellular functions (including as a component of the plasma membrane, as an energy source, and in hormone production) under normal conditions. Dysregulated cholesterol metabolism causes a wide spectrum of pathological conditions, leading to neuropsychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and depression. In addition, patients with neuropsychiatric disorders also have impaired cholesterol metabolism. Therefore, metabolic disturbances are closely associated with the neuropsychiatric disorders. Although immune disturbance, neuroinflammation, a dysregulated neurotransmitter system, and oxidative stress have been suggested as pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders, dysregulation of cholesterol metabolism is also found in patients with psychiatric diseases. As expected, patients with mental illness appear to be at risk of metabolic disorders, including metabolic syndrome, in which cholesterol influences altered neuronal homeostasis, such as neuronal cell toxicity, neuronal cell death, and neuronal structures and functions, including synaptogenesis, neurogenesis, axonogenesis, and action potential. Therefore, reversing impaired or abnormal cholesterol metabolism may help restore neuronal injury found in mental illness. This review is aimed to discuss the links between cholesterol metabolism impairment and neuropsychiatric disorders and provides insights into neuronal dysfunction due to abnormal cholesterol metabolism in neuropsychiatric disorders.

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies reported that attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) resulted from a deficit of selective attention and sustained attention. In this study, we assessed the result of methylphenidate-induced changes of the cerebral frontal executive functions in patients with ADHD. METHODS: The subjects in this study consisted of 16 ADHD patients whose age ranged from 7 to 12. We used ADHD Diagnostic System (ADS) for the attention improvement, and the Stroop Test for the executive function response to pharmacotherapy with MPH. RESULTS: After pharmacotherapy with methylphenidate for 12 weeks, the study group showed improvement in the clinical aspects through Clinical Global Impression-Severity, ADHD-rating scale and Inattention/Overactivity With Aggression Conner's Parents Rating Scale. In the ADS test, only in auditory task there was a decrease of both the response time and the standard deviation of the response time significantly. In the Stroop Test, there was a decrease in the word task, color task and color-word task significantly. CONCLUSION: Our results show that psychostimulant medication improves neuropsychological function, including the cerebral frontal executive function. This study implies that we have to consider the improvement of executive function, as well as attention when evaluating the efficacy of treatment.
Adolescent* ; Aggression ; Child* ; Drug Therapy ; Executive Function ; Humans ; Methylphenidate ; Parents ; Reaction Time ; Stroop Test

PURPOSE: Either gated myocardial perfusion SPECT or attenuation corrected SPECT can be used to improve specificity in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. We investigated in this study whether gating or attenuation correction improved diagnostic performance of rest/stress perfusion SPECT in patients having intermediate pre-test likelihood of coronary artery disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-eight patients underwent rest attenuation-corrected T1-20l/dipyridamole stress gated attenuation-corrected Tc-99m-MIBI SPECT using an ADAC vertex camera (M:F=29:39, aged 59+/-12 years, coronary artery stenosis> or =70%. one vessel: 13, two vessel: 18, three vessel: 8, normal: 29). Using a five-point scale, three physicians graded the post-test likelihood of coronary artery disease for each arterial territory (1 normal, 2: possibly normal 3:equivocal, 4: possibly abnormal, 5: abnormal). Sensitivity, specificity and area under receiver-operating-characteristic curves were compared for each operator between three METHODS: (A) non-attenuation-corrected SPECT; (B) gated SPECT added to (A); and (C) attenuation-corrected SPECT added to (B). RESULTS: When grade 3 was used as the criteria for coronary artery disease, no differences in sensitivity and specificity were found between the three methods for each operator Areas under receiver- operating-characteristic curves for diagnosis of coronary artery disease revealed no differences between each modality (p>005). CONCLUSION: In patients at intermediate risk of coronary artery disease, gated SPECT and attenuation-corrected SPECT did not improve diagnostic performance.
Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Perfusion* ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We investigated if gated and/or attenuation-corrected SPECT improved performance of experienced or in-experienced operators in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) or stenosed arteries in patients having intermediate or high pretest likelihood. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rest/dipyridamole stress gated attenuation-corrected SPECT was performed in 81 patients (M:F=48:33, 62+/-8.6 years old, of high (n=38) or intermediate (n=43) pre-test likelihood for CAD, 1 vessel; 14, 2 vessel; 19, 3 vessel disease; 31, normal; 17). Two experienced and one novice physicians graded 1 (normal) to 5 (definitely abnormal) for each artery 1) by conventional rest Tl-201/stress Tc-99m-MIBI SPECT, 2) 1) plus viewing gated SPECT (+gated) and 3) 2) plus attenuation-corrected SPECT (+AC gated). Areas under curves (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were compared. RESULTS: AUC was greater in patients with high likelihood than intermediate likelihood. Novice physician performed better in diagnosing RCA stenosis (AUC: 0.53 for usual, 0.58 for +gated, and 0.66 for +AC gated) in patients with intermediate likelihood. AUC was not different for the diagnosis of CAD and LAD or LCx. Performance of experienced physicians was not different regardless of pre-test likelihood. Novice operator's specificity increased from 53% to 73% for CAD, and 62% to 89% (p<0.05) for RCA in patients with intermediate likelihood. CONCLUSION: We conclude that gated attenuation-corrected SPECT was helpful only for novice physician to diagnose RCA stenosis by increasing specificity in patients with intermediate likelihood. Even for inexperienced physician, these methods were not helpful in patients with high pre-test likelihood or for LAD or LCX.
Area Under Curve ; Arteries ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

No abstract available.
Urinary Tract*

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) occurs immediately after surgery and is characterized by impairment of memory and changes in cognition. POCD can last for several months or years and have adverse effects including delayed hospital stays, diminished function in daily life, and increased complications and mortality. Despite improvements in surgical technique, anesthesia management, and intensive care, many patients suffer from POCD. POCD is one of the important clinical issues in surgical management and understanding its pathophysiology is necessary. In this review, therefore, we have focused on animal models of POCD and measurements of cognitive ability in preclinical studies, and we have suggested novel approaches for prevention/treatment of POCD. In preclinical studies, major abdominal surgery (laparotomy, hepatectomy, and splenectomy), minor abdominal surgery (laparotomy, probe exploration), and tibial fracture surgery, are used as POCD models. In addition, cognitive function is assessed by Morris water maze, passive avoidance task, elevated plus maze, and T maze test. Neuroinflammation, blood-brain barrier dysfunction, beta amyloid deposition, and tau phosphorylation are suggested as pathological mechanisms of POCD in preclinical studies. Based on several studies of these, we suggest erythropoietin, nuclear factor kappa B, interleukin17A, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 2 as candidates for prevention/treatment of POCD. In the preclinical stage, drug development/exploration and research is being carried out to solve cognitive dysfunction after surgery. Ultimately, based on the results of preclinical studies, we expect to overcome POCD.
Anesthesia ; Blood-Brain Barrier ; Cognition ; Critical Care ; Erythropoietin ; Hepatectomy ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Memory ; Models, Animal ; Mortality ; NADP ; NF-kappa B ; Oxidoreductases ; Phosphorylation ; Plaque, Amyloid ; Tibial Fractures ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Water

Immune system is essential for host homeostasis. Immune cells communicate with each other by binding to receptors or by releasing vesicles including chemokines and cytokines. Under healthy circumstances, immune cell-derived factors are critical for cellular growth, division and function, whereas under conditions such as ageing and inflammatory states, they can aggravate pathologies and cause disease. Cell-derived membranous extracellular vesicles mediate cell-to-cell communication and are implicated in various physiological and pathological processes involving ageing and age-related diseases. Extracellular vesicles are responsible for spreading detrimental factors to the surroundings and the propagation phase of inflammatory diseases. The regulation of extracellular vesicles is a putative target for treatment of inflammatory diseases. Moreover, their features are ideal for developing biomarkers and drug delivery systems modulated by bioengineering in inflammatory diseases. The present review summarizes the current understanding of extracellular vesicles in ageing and inflammatory diseases.

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is highly expressed in PCa, which gradually increases in high-grade tumors, metastatic tumors, and tumors nonresponsive to androgen deprivation therapy. PSMA has been a topic of interest during the past decade for both diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Radioligand therapy (RLT) utilizes the delivery of radioactive nuclides to tumors and tumor-associated targets, and it has shown better efficacy with minimal toxicity compared to other systemic cancer therapies. Nuclear medicine has faced a new turning point claiming theranosis as the core of academic identity, since new RLTs have been introduced to clinics through the official new drug development processes for approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or European Medical Agency. Recently, PSMA targeting RLT was approved by the US FDA in March 2022. This review introduces PSMA RLT focusing on ongoing clinical trials to enhance our understanding of nuclear medicine theranosis and strive for the development of new radiopharmaceuticals.