The pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia exhibit wide inter-individual variabilities in clinical efficacy and adverse effects. Recently. human genetic diversity has been known as one of the essential factors to the variation in human drug response. This suggests that drug therapy should be tailored to the genetic characteristics of the individual. Pharmacogenetics is the field of investigation that attempts to elucidate genetic basis of an individual's responses to pharmacotherapy, considering drug effects divided into two categories as pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. The emerging field of pharmacogenomics. which focuses on genetic determinants of drug response at the level of the entire human genome, is important for development and prescription of safer and more effective individually tailored drugs and will aid in understanding how genetics influence drug response. In schizophrenia, pharmacogenetic studies have shown the role of genetic variants of the cytochrome P450 enzymes such as CYP2D6, CYP2C19, and CYP2A1 in the metabolism of antipsychotic drugs. At the level of drug targets, variants of the dopamine D_(2), D_(3) and D_(4), and 5-HT_(2A) and 5-HT(2C) receptors have been examined. The pharmacogenetic studies in schizophrenia presently shows controversial findings which may be related to the multiple involvement of genes with relatively small effects and to the lack of standardized phenotypes. For further development in the pharmacogenomics of schizophrenia, there would be required the extensive outcome measures and definitious, and the powerful new tools of genomics, proteomics and so on.
Antipsychotic Agents ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2D6 ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System ; Dopamine ; Drug Therapy ; Genetic Variation ; Genetics ; Genome, Human ; Genomics ; Humans ; Metabolism ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Pharmacogenetics* ; Pharmacokinetics ; Phenotype ; Prescriptions ; Proteomics ; Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2C ; Receptors, Dopamine ; Schizophrenia*

The aim of this study was to compare wear resistance of resin denture teeth opposing various restorative materials. The wear resistance of conventional acrylic resin teeth (Trubyte Biotone) and three high-strength resin teeth(Bioform IPN, Endura, SR-Orthosit-PE) opposing different restorative materials (gold alloys, dental porcelain, composite resin) was compared. Wear tests were conducted with a sliding-induced wear testing apparatus which applied 100,000 strokes to the specimen in an mesio-distal direction under conditions of 100 stroke/min and constant loading of 1Kgf/tooth. Wear resistance of the resin denture teeth was evaluated by the following criteria : 1) wear depth, 2)weight loss, and 3) SEM observation. Results were as follows. 1. When opposed to gold alloys and composite resin, high-strength resin teeth showed superior wear resistance compared to acrylic resin teeth. But, in cases opposing dental porcelain, differences between the wear of the high-strength and acrylic resin teeth were not statistically significant (p<0.05). 2. When comparing wear resistance among high-strength resin teeth, opposing gold alloys, Endura was slightly more resistant and while in cases opposing dental porcelain, SR-Orthosit-PE was showed to be slightly resistant(p<0.05). 3. The wear of high-strength resin teeth was greater by 5 to 7 times when opposing porcelain and 2 to 3 times when opposing composite resin compared to gold alloys(p<0.05). 4. SEM observations of the wear surface showed that wear of resin teeth opposing gold alloys is a fatigue type of wear and wear of resin teeth opposing dental porcelain is fatigue and abrasion type of wear. Trubyte Biotone showed more severe fatigue type of wear than high-strength resin teeth. In conclusion, the use of dental porcelain should seriously be considered as restorative material in cases opposing resin denture teeth and improvement seems to be needed on resin teeth in the areas of wear resistance.
Dental Alloys ; Dental Porcelain ; Dentures* ; Fatigue ; Gold Alloys ; Stroke ; Tooth*

Cutis marmorata telangiectatica congenita is a very rare congenital vascular anomaly, characterized by vascular mottling of the skin, telangiectasia, hemangioma and skin atropy at birth. The mottling may be generalized or localized in distribution and tends to fade spontaneously with age. A case of CMCT occuring in a 5 months old girl shows localized, reticuhted mottling of the skin and telangiectasia from the left buttock to the leg and s!in atrophy on the left knee. There was no other anomaly except the finger-tip sized capillary hemangioma on the letf scapular area and no change in the course for 8 months.
Atrophy ; Buttocks ; Female ; Hemangioma ; Hemangioma, Capillary ; Humans ; Infant ; Knee ; Leg ; Parturition ; Skin ; Telangiectasis

In spite of the progress in techniques and materials of the prosthodontic rehabilitation of patients with complete edentulous arches, prosthodontists still face patients' complaints about dissatisfaction and discomfort from their dentures. In the past several decades, prosthodontists tried to find the factors that influence the patient's satisfaction with dentures. However the results are contraversial especially with the psychological factor. In this study using patient denture satisfaction questionnaire' and Hopkins Symptom Checklist, we tried to find the correlation between the patient's denture satisfaction and the patient's psychological aspects. 23 complete edentulous patients who have visited the Department of Prosthodontics, Yonsei University Dental Hospital from September 1998 to June 1999 for complete denture treatment were asked to complete the questionnaires 4 to 6 weeks after the upper and lower complete delivery. After the measurement of validity of the questionnaires, correlations between the patient's general satisfaction with their new upper and lower complete dentures and the other satisfaction questions including the satisfactions with esthetics, retention, mastication, speech, comfort and other peoples's opinion and between the patient's general satisfaction with their new upper and lower complete dentures and the 5 symptoms of Hopkins Symptoms Checklist including somatic, obsessivecompulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression and anxiety were analyzed. Among the several satisfaction questionnaire items, comfort with the lower denture showed highest relation to the patient's general satisfaction with dentures. However, only the anxiety scale of Hopkins Symptom Checklist among the other symptom scales was related to the patient's general satisfaction with dentures. The two questionaires used in this study turned out to be valid means of analyzing patient's denture satisfaction and psychological status before and after the complete denture treatment.
Anxiety ; Checklist ; Denture, Complete* ; Dentures ; Depression ; Esthetics ; Humans ; Mastication ; Patient Satisfaction* ; Prosthodontics ; Psychology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rehabilitation ; Weights and Measures

The odontoid process of the ninety axis were measured to observe the morphological features in Koreans. The results are as follows. 1. Height of the ordontoid of process of axis was 14.1±1.3mm, and the degree of the height of the odontoid process to the height of axis was frequency of 38.2±2.6%. 2. Transverse diameter of odontoid process of the most axis (87.8%) was thinner at the lower part than at the upper part. And the difference of the thickness of upper part and lower part was 1.2±0.7mm. In anteroposterior diameter, lower part was thinner than upper part in frequency of 55.6%, and the difference of upper part and lower part was 1.0±0.5mm in the transverse diameter, 0.6±0.5mm in the anteroposterior diameter, therefore the thickness of the anteroposterior diameter. 3. The articular surface of the odontoid process of the axis articulating with the anterior arch of atlas was 8.9±1.7mm in the maximal length and 7.1±1.6mm in the maximal breadth.
Odontoid Process*

Routine use of commercially available antisera against hepatitis B core antigen(HBcAg) has permitted a reevaluation of the histochemical distribution of the antigen in liver tissue. HBcAg, classically described almost exclusively in the nucleus, was found with a very high frequency in the cytoplasm of liver cells as well. To elucidate the biologic significance of HBcAg expression and its relation to the natural course of hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection, the patterns of activity in 33 needle liver biopsies of HBsAg carriers were analysed. A good correlation of liver HBcAg with disease activity was demonstrated. HBcAg was present in the hepatocyte nuclei(nHBcAg) or cytoplasm(cHBcAg), or in both(mixed). Pure nHBcAg was seen mainly in non-aggressive reactive liver tissue and cHBcAg was predominantly associated with chronic active hepatitis(95%). The results suggest that expression of HBcAg correlates with the liver pathology and the possibility of HBcAg to be an immunological target for T cell mediated hepatocyte damage.
Biopsy

The electrocardiographic and echocardiographic analysis was made on 23 patients with atrial septal defect of ostium secundum type, who were confirmed by right heart catheterization under admission at hanyang University Hospital from january 1979 to July 1981. Following results were obtained: 1) In the 23 patients, 13 were male and 10 female. Their ages ranged from 6 to 45 years, mean age being 19.9 years. 2) In 18 patients(78.3%), the QRS axis was between +90degrees and +150degrees. No significant correlations could be demonstrated between QRS axis and some hemodynamic parameters(right ventricular systolic pressure, pulmonary artery mean pressure and pulmonic to systemic flow ratio), and also, between QRS axis and the size of right ventricular dimension index. 3) Right ventricular outflow tract hypertrophy, right ventricular hypertrophy and complete right bundle branch block pattern in Lead V3R or V1were observed in 95.7% of ostium secundum defect. No significant correlations could be found between types of QRS complexes and some hemodynamic parameters(right ventricular systolic pressure, pulmonary artery mean pressure and pulmonic to systemic flow ratio), and also, between types of QRS complex and the size of right ventricular dimension index. 4) The mean amplitude of S wave in precordial Lead V6was 7.6mm. There was a definite correlation between the amplitude of S wave in Lead V6and right ventricular systolic pressure. No significant correlations could be demonstrated betwen the amplitude of s wave in Lead V6and some hemodynamic parameters(pulmonary artery mean pressure and pulmonic to systemic flow ratio), and also, the size of right ventricular dimension index. 5) Right ventricular dimension index was increased in all cases but one. A significant correlation was found between the size of right ventricular dimension index and pulmonary artery mean pressure, whereas no significant correlation could be demonstrated between the size of right ventricular dimension index and pulmonic to systemic flow ratio. 6) 95.7% of 23 patients with ostium secudum defect showed paradoxical septal motion was proved not to be associated with other congenital heart disease by cardiac catheterization. The pulmonic to systemic flow ratio in groups of septal motion type A was significantly increased than that of normal septal motion group, whereas no significantl relation between types of septal motion and the size of right ventricular dimension index was observed.
Arteries ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Blood Pressure ; Bundle-Branch Block ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Echocardiography* ; Electrocardiography* ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial* ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Hypertrophy, Right Ventricular ; Male ; Pulmonary Artery

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: N-cadherin is known to be expressed in neuroectodermal tissue such as central nervous system and various mesodermal origin tissues such as kidney and heart. We investigated N-cadherin expression in the endocardial cushion in developing rat heart by immunohistochemical method. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Fetal rat hearts at the 11th, 13th, 15th, 17th, and 19th day of gestation and the 1st day neonatal rat heart were used. Hematoxylin and eosin stain was performed for normal cardiogenesis, and immunohistochemistry was performed for the expression of N-cadherin in interventricular septum(IVS) during cardiogenesis in rat. RESULTS: Ventricular wall and membranous part of the IVS showed positive reaction with anti-N-cadherin at the 11th day of gestation. Membranous part of IVS was begun to show tracely positive reaction at the 15th day of gestation, and thereafter the immunoreactivity was increased with maturation. At the 17th day of gestation mesenchymal cells in membranous muscular part of the IVS showed positive reaction. The similar immunoreactivity of membranous and muscular parts of IVS were shown at the 19th day of gestation. CONCLUSION: As the immunoreaction of mesenchymal cells in the membraneous part of IVS to anti-N-cadherin was increased with time, it is suggested that mesenchymal cells in membranous part of IVS were differentiated into the cardiomyocytes.
Animals ; Cadherins* ; Central Nervous System ; Endocardial Cushions ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Heart* ; Hematoxylin ; Immunohistochemistry ; Kidney ; Mesoderm ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; Neural Plate ; Pregnancy ; Rats*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Knee Joint* ; Knee* ; Rats* ; Tretinoin*

No abstract available.
Myocutaneous Flap* ; Pressure Ulcer*