The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of foot reflexology on premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea in female college students. The research design of this study was a quasi-experimental design. Of the forty female college students, twenty were assigned to the experimental group and, twenty to the control group. The data were obtained over 2 months(November 26, 2001 to January 31, 2002) from a nursing of C college located in S city. The instrument used to assess premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea was Keele?s VAS(Visual Analogue Scale) and opening records. Subjects in the experimental group received foot reflexology for 6 times with 1 hours during 60 days, and subjects assigned to the control group did not receive foot reflexology. Data were analysed with percentage, mean, standard deviation, X(2)-test, unpaired t-test, and repeated measure ANOVA, using SAS Program. The results of the study are as follow, 1.The symptoms which the group of experimental and the group of control discomforts the most are sensitiveness(35%), abdominal pain (30%),lower abdominal pain (30%) and lumbago (20%). The method of relieve premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea by which the subjects employ the most to solve their premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea is the getting along by enduring(67.5%) and bed rest (32.5%). 2.The mean score of the premenstrual syndromes and dysmenorrhea before foot reflexology was 8.35, it was 4.16 at the first menstruation after foot reflexology and 3.25 at the second menstruation for the experimental group. 3.The relieved symptoms after foot reflexology was fatigue(50%), insomnia(40%), abdominal pain(35%), lower abdominal pain (30%) and constipation(30%). Foot reflexology was effective in improve the symptoms of the female college students who have the premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea.
Abdominal Pain ; Bed Rest ; Dysmenorrhea* ; Female ; Female* ; Foot* ; Humans ; Low Back Pain ; Massage* ; Menstruation ; Nursing ; Premenstrual Syndrome* ; Research Design

To evaluate the platelet activation in vivo in the patients with coronary artery disease Indium-111 labeled autologus platelet survival time was measured. Platelet survival determinations were made according to a modified method for radioisotope platelet survival studies recommended by the Panel on Diagnostic Application of Radioisotopes in Hematology of the International Committee for Standardization in Hematology. Autologous platelets were labeled with 111 In-oxine utilizing a similar method used at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology. The results are summarized as follows : 1) In the patients with coronary artery disease, especially acutemyocardial infarction, the mean platelet survival time was significantly shorter than that of the normal controls(P<0.05). 2) The mean platelet survival time did not differ significantly between patients with acute myocardial infarction and angina pectoris. 3) The mean platelet survival time did not differ significantly between nonsmoker and smoker in the patients with coronary artery disease.
Angina Pectoris ; Blood Platelets* ; Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Hematology ; Humans ; Infarction ; Myocardial Infarction ; Platelet Activation ; Radioisotopes

PURPOSE: Oral UFT is known to be a safe and effective antineoplastic regimen for adjuvant chemotherapy of colorectal cancer. As it sometimes produces upper gastrointestinal symptoms such as anorexia, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, medication should be stopped transiently or dosage reduced. UFT-E, an enteric coated granule of UFT was introduced to reduce UGI toxicity. We analyzed the toxicity of UFT and UFT-E prospectively for the purpose of comparison between the two types. METHODS: The toxicity of UFT and UFT-E were evaluated in 83 patients (UFT; 45, UFT-E; 38) with colorectal cancer who underwent curative surgery according to the WHO toxicity criteria. All patients were selected consecutively with patients' approval and by the "Institutional Review Board, Asan Medical Center". RESULTS: The toxicity incidence in UFT-E group was slightly less than that in UFT group without statistical significance. The severity of toxicity seemed to be mild within grade 1 or 2 and most of them toxicity self-limiting. The regimen was completely interrupted in 9 patients (20%) in the UFT group, 3 patients (7.9%) in the UFT-E group due to severe UGI symptoms, prolonged leukopenia, derrangement of liver function and skin rash. CONCLUSIONS: Toxicity rate of UFT-E was not higher than that of UFT. But we cannot prove superiority of UFT-E on UGI toxicity. Oral UFT-E can be administered safely on an outpatient basis without lethal toxicity requiring hospitalization.
Abdominal Pain ; Anorexia ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Exanthema ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Incidence ; Leukopenia ; Liver ; Nausea ; Outpatients ; Prospective Studies ; Vomiting

Neural stem cells (NSCs) have been suggested as a groundbreaking solution for stroke patients because they have the potential for self-renewal and differentiation into neurons. The differentiation of NSCs into neurons is integral for increasing the therapeutic efficiency of NSCs during inflammation. Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) is preferentially activated by oxidative stress and inflammation, which is the fundamental pathology of brain damage in stroke. ASK1 may be involved in the early inflammation response after stroke and may be related to the differentiation of NSCs because of the relationship between ASK1 and the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Therefore, we investigated whether ASK1 is linked to the differentiation of NSCs under the context of inflammation. On the basis of the results of a microarray analysis, we performed the following experiments: western blot analysis to confirm ASK1, DCX, MAP2, phospho-p38 expression; fluorescence-activated cell sorting assay to estimate cell death; and immunocytochemistry to visualize and confirm the differentiation of cells in brain tissue. Neurosphere size and cell survival were highly maintained in ASK1-suppressed, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated brains compared with only LPS-treated brains. The number of positive cells for MAP2, a neuronal marker, was lower in the ASK1-suppressed group than in the control group. According to our microarray data, phospho-p38 expression was inversely linked to ASK1 suppression, and our immunohistochemistry data showed that slight upregulation of ASK1 by LPS promoted the differentiation of endogenous, neuronal stem cells into neurons, but highly increased ASK1 levels after cerebral ischemic damage led to high levels of cell death. We conclude that ASK1 is regulated in response to the early inflammation phase and regulates the differentiation of NSCs after inflammatory-inducing events, such as ischemic stroke.
Animals ; Cell Death ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery/*metabolism ; Lipopolysaccharides/pharmacology ; MAP Kinase Kinase Kinase 5/genetics/*metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Neural Stem Cells/cytology/drug effects/*metabolism ; *Neurogenesis ; Neuropeptides/genetics/metabolism ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/genetics/metabolism

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a disease characterized by a granulomatous necrotizing vasculitis of the small vessels, along with the presence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA), serologically. GPA is a multisystem disease, in which the diagnosis is frequently based on respiratory and renal manifestations, with rare breast invasion. To date, several cases of breast invasion by GPA have been published, and most cases have been positive for ANCA. However, ANCA-negative forms of breast invasion by GPA are extremely rare and have not been reported in Korea thus far. Therefore, we report a case of ANCA-negative GPA in a 70-year-old woman, who was initially presented with a localized palpable mass in the left breast.
Aged ; Antibodies ; Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic ; Breast* ; Cytoplasm* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Vasculitis

Gout is characterized by hyperuricemia and recurrent attacks of acute arthritis. Gout is a clinical syndrome resulting from the deposition of urate (monosodium urate monohydrate) crystals. Urate deposition occurs in articular cartilage, subchondral bone, synovial membrane, joint capsule and periarticular tissues, with articular cartilage being especially susceptible. The first metatarsophalangeal joint is commonly involved at presentation and other commonly affected joints are the ankle, knee and tarsal area. Gouty tophus located on the tibial tuberosity has never been reported in korea. We report a case of gouty tophus on the tibial tuberosity with (chemical) cellulitis occurred at the upper tibial area in a 46- year-old man.
Ankle ; Arthritis ; Cartilage, Articular ; Cellulitis* ; Gout ; Hyperuricemia ; Joint Capsule ; Joints ; Knee ; Korea ; Metatarsophalangeal Joint ; Synovial Membrane ; Tibia* ; Uric Acid

A liposarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in adults with an incidence of betwen 9.8 and 16% of all soft tissue sarcomas. Among the various histological types, a dedifferentiated liposarcoma has rarely been reported. We experienced a case of a giant 7 kg dedifferentiated liposarcoma arising in the mesentery of a 57-year old male patient. Abdominal computed tomography showed a huge lipoid mass occupying the whole abdomen. A surgical excision was carried out. Histologically, the tumor was composed of a well-differentiated liposarcomatous area and a leiomyosarcoma-like dedifferentiated area. The authors reviewed the prognostic factors and treatments for a liposarcoma.
Abdomen ; Adult ; Humans ; Incidence ; Liposarcoma* ; Male ; Mesentery* ; Sarcoma

A liposarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in adults with an incidence of betwen 9.8 and 16% of all soft tissue sarcomas. Among the various histological types, a dedifferentiated liposarcoma has rarely been reported. We experienced a case of a giant 7 kg dedifferentiated liposarcoma arising in the mesentery of a 57-year old male patient. Abdominal computed tomography showed a huge lipoid mass occupying the whole abdomen. A surgical excision was carried out. Histologically, the tumor was composed of a well-differentiated liposarcomatous area and a leiomyosarcoma-like dedifferentiated area. The authors reviewed the prognostic factors and treatments for a liposarcoma.
Abdomen ; Adult ; Humans ; Incidence ; Liposarcoma* ; Male ; Mesentery* ; Sarcoma

The majority of small bowel perforations are caused by an abdominal trauma. However, non-traumatic causes should not be ignored. The etiology of a non-traumatic small bowel perforation is varies and has chronological characteristics. This retrospective study was undertaken to investigate the chronological changes in non-traumatic small bowel perforations over the past twenty years, according to the clinical features, surgical methods, and the prognosis of those with a non-traumatic small bowel perforation. The results of this study showed that the incidence of a bacterial enteritis induced small bowel perforation has significantly decreased, and inflammatory bowel disease or collagen disease has become the major causes of a non-traumatic small bowel perforation. Moreover, geriatric patients over 70 years of age are more vulnerable to a non-traumatic small bowel perforation.
Collagen Diseases ; Enteritis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: Use of universal leukoreduction for prevention of leukocyte associated transfusion reactions is common practice in many countries. This study was conducted in order to evaluate the performance of a newly developed leukoreduction filter for red blood cells (RBCs), the RF300 (Kolon Industries, Inc, Gumi, Korea). METHODS: Filtration time, RBC recovery, residual leukocyte count, and leukocyte removal rate were evaluated. To assess the quality of RBCs after filtration, percent hemolysis was monitored for a period of 21 days. Performance of the RF300 (N=78) was compared with that of the Bio-R O2 plus (Fresenius, Hamburg, Germany), the Pall Purecell RC (Pall Co., Washington, USA), and the Sepacell R-500N (Asahi, Tokyo, Japan). RESULTS: The shortest filtration time was observed using the RF300 (P<0.05). Using the RF300, recovery of RBC was 96.5%, which was higher than that of two filters (P<0.05). Mean residual leukocyte count was 0.26x10(6)/unit, with a leukocyte removal rate of 3 log. Using the RF300, mean percent hemolysis was 0.32% at day 21, which was comparable with that of two filters, but lower than that of one filter (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The RF300 meets all established quality requirements for conduct of safe and effective leukoreduction of RBCs.
Blood Group Incompatibility ; Collodion ; Erythrocytes ; Filtration ; Hemolysis ; Leukocyte Count ; Leukocytes ; Tokyo ; Washington