The special environmental features of high altitude, such as hypobaric hypoxia, low temperature, arid, high solar radiation, variable climate and geochemical anomaly, cause great effects on human physiology and health. It will provide valuable references and new ideas to study drug's metabolism in special environment of high altitude hypoxia, and give the guidance to clinical reasonable medication, avoiding adverse reactions and personalized medicine in plateau areas. This article reviewed the effect of high altitude hypoxia on drug metabolism, elaborated metabolic characteristics of some drugs and the activity and expression of drug metabolism enzymes under hypoxia environment at high altitude, and discussed related mechanism.
Altitude ; Climate ; Cold Temperature ; Humans ; Hypoxia ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; metabolism

BACKGROUND: Itch is an essential feature of atopic dermatitis (AD). Active AD cannot be diagnosed without a history of itch. There has been no previous study delineating the different characteristics of itch according to age. OBJECTIVE: We wanted to characterize and compare the clinical patterns and the sensory and affective dimensions of itch in adult and childhood AD patients. METHODS: A face-to-face structured questionnaire based on the McGill pain questionnaire was given to 90 patients with AD. The patients were classified into two groups: adult AD patients (> or =15 years old) and childhood AD patients (<15 years old). RESULTS: Eighty-eight percent of the total AD patients experienced itch everyday. This itch was mostly aggravated during the summer and at night in both groups of AD patients. The antecubital fossae, popliteal fossae and neck were the major sites of involvement with itch. More patients perceived the characteristics of itch as crawling, burning and tickling rather than stinging, stabbing and pinching. The majority of AD patients answered that sweat and hot climate aggravated the itch and medications and cold climate alleviated the itch. However, compared with the childhood patients, more adult patients experienced the aggravation of itch by exposure to dust, and the itch was alleviated by taking medications and by concentrating on work. A burning sensation with itch was more frequently reported by the adult patients when compared to that of the childhood patients. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the detailed description and characteristics of itch in adult and childhood AD patients. The proper management of itch according to age may be prerequisite to improve AD patients' quality of life.
Adult ; Bites and Stings ; Burns ; Climate ; Cold Climate ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Dust ; Humans ; Neck ; Pain Measurement ; Quality of Life ; Sensation ; Sweat

BACKGROUND: Itch is an essential feature of atopic dermatitis (AD). Active AD cannot be diagnosed without a history of itch. There has been no previous study delineating the different characteristics of itch according to age. OBJECTIVE: We wanted to characterize and compare the clinical patterns and the sensory and affective dimensions of itch in adult and childhood AD patients. METHODS: A face-to-face structured questionnaire based on the McGill pain questionnaire was given to 90 patients with AD. The patients were classified into two groups: adult AD patients (> or =15 years old) and childhood AD patients (<15 years old). RESULTS: Eighty-eight percent of the total AD patients experienced itch everyday. This itch was mostly aggravated during the summer and at night in both groups of AD patients. The antecubital fossae, popliteal fossae and neck were the major sites of involvement with itch. More patients perceived the characteristics of itch as crawling, burning and tickling rather than stinging, stabbing and pinching. The majority of AD patients answered that sweat and hot climate aggravated the itch and medications and cold climate alleviated the itch. However, compared with the childhood patients, more adult patients experienced the aggravation of itch by exposure to dust, and the itch was alleviated by taking medications and by concentrating on work. A burning sensation with itch was more frequently reported by the adult patients when compared to that of the childhood patients. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the detailed description and characteristics of itch in adult and childhood AD patients. The proper management of itch according to age may be prerequisite to improve AD patients' quality of life.
Adult ; Bites and Stings ; Burns ; Climate ; Cold Climate ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Dust ; Humans ; Neck ; Pain Measurement ; Quality of Life ; Sensation ; Sweat

Chilblain lupus erythematosus (LE) is a rare, chronic form of cutaneous LE (CLE), which presents mostly in women as erythematous to violaceous plaques on the acral areas and face, precipitated by cold and damp climates. It may be accompanied by discoid LE (DLE) lesions or other forms of CLE. Up to 20% of patients develop systemic LE (SLE). Although two missense mutations in TREX1, encoding the 3'-5' repair exonuclease 1, were described in familial chilblain LE, the pathogenesis of sporadic chilblain LE remains unknown. To our knowledge, there are a few reports of chilblain LE in the Korean dermatologic literature. Herein, we present a rare and interesting case of sporadic chilblain LE in 71-year-old man and review the Korean literatures.
Aged ; Chilblains ; Climate ; Cold Temperature ; Exodeoxyribonucleases ; Female ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Cutaneous ; Mutation, Missense

OBJECTIVES: The mortality rate due to stroke and myocardial infarction by the complication of the hypertension were the major causes of death among the Korean followed by the cancer. There are many factors to affect the blood pressure variability such as physical activity, sleeping, activation of the autonomic nervous system, climate, cold exposure and seasonal variation. The blood pressure was increased by cold exposure. In general, blood pressure was increased in winter and the cardiovascualr mortality is also increased at winter. In Korea, we have distinct seasonal variation of the climate, we have no clinical data on the seasonal variation of the blood pressure. METHODS: To investigate the seasonal variation of blood pressure of Korean essential hypertensives and make effort to reduce the cardiovascualr mortality, we studied 63 hypertensive men and women hypertensives. RESULTS: 1) The mean age was 60+/-10 years with 19men and 44 women. The mean systolic blood pressure was 146+/-22mmHg, mean diastolic blood pressure was 91+/-11mmHg. 2) The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure during the 12 months was 137+/-18mmHg, 86+/-10mmHg in men respectively. In women, the mean systolic blood pressure was 137+/-16mmHg and the mean diastolic blood pressure was 86+/-8mmHg. 3) The biochemical findings including hemoglobin, hematocrit and creatinine levels were significantly lower in women(P<0.05). 4) The systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly increased during the winter as January and February, 5) There was also significant increase of systolic blood pressure at the transitional zone to the sum- mer to autumn(P=0.0004). CONCLUSION: There was significant increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in winter in Korean hypertensives. This phenomenon was also observed the transitional zone to summer to autumn. So, during these period, more strict blood pressure control by frequent measurement and increase the room temperature may be recommended to reduce the cardiovascular mortality during winter.
Autonomic Nervous System ; Blood Pressure* ; Cause of Death ; Climate ; Cold Climate ; Creatinine ; Female ; Hematocrit ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Korea ; Male ; Mortality ; Motor Activity ; Myocardial Infarction ; Seasons* ; Stroke

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects on male reproductive function working under cold area.

METHODSAfter on site investigation, advanced molecular lab analysis-single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) and sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) which are combined with semen routine analysis were used to evaluate semen quality and sperm sub-clinical injury.

RESULTSSemen routine analysis showed that the semen parameters of the males working in cold area were within normal range, but level I comet cell percentage in SCGE increased significantly, which was 4.4%, compared to the contrast group (1.9%) with significant difference. During sperm chromatin structure assay parameters, comp alpha t increased, with an average value of 22.26%. The two kinds of results both showed single and double strand breakages in sperm.

CONCLUSIONLong-term exposure to cold could induce sperm DNA injury, but not affect sperm quality. The results suggested that it was important to reinforce the reproductive care in males working in cold areas.

Adult ; Chromatin ; chemistry ; Cold Climate ; Comet Assay ; DNA Damage ; Fertility ; Humans ; Male ; Semen ; Sperm Count ; Spermatozoa ; cytology

u-Health is a good alternative in providing health care service under special situations where access to health care is limited. With the expansion of life space and the increase of travel, people are being put in danger across various situations on the sea, in the sky, disasters, and so on. It is not easy to provide health care in those situations, while people may still have high expectation to heath care. This gap can be narrowed by using u-Health, which is based on advanced information and communication technologies. The special situation for u-Health is where normal health care cannot be performed because of physical limitation and danger, which can be further broken down to five situations. The first is a situation on means of transportation such as ship and airplane. The second situation is when medical facilities are far away from life space, in places like backwoods. The third situation occurs on the place where it is difficult for patients to receive treatment due to restrained freedom, for example, a prison. The forth is the situation where the medical team is unable to approach easily, such as war zone and disaster area. The last special situation is the extreme environments like polar region. In order to make the u-health system more helpful for patients under special situations, there is a need for a research development and investment on sensors to measure accurate bio-signals, the network to transmit the data, and the technologies to analyze the data and to provide feedback. Therefore, institutional supports for technology development are required for further development of u-Health for people in great needs.
Aircraft ; Cold Climate ; Delivery of Health Care ; Disasters ; Freedom ; Health Services Accessibility ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; Investments ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Prisons ; Ships ; Telemedicine ; Transportation

Asian dust, called Hwangsa in Korean, is windblown dust originating from the desert areas of China and Mongolia. Public concern on the possible adverse health effects of Asian dust has increased recently. Some experimental studies have reported that Asian dust aggravates the allergic response and induces cytotoxicity by promoting the release of reactive oxygen species. Asian dust may potentiate common cold symptoms associated with rhinovirus infection by enhancing inflammatory cytokines and increasing viral replication. In many epidemiologic studies conducted not only in Korea but also in Taiwan and Japan, Asian dust exposure has been reported to be associated with an increase in mortality and hospital visits and admission due to cardiovascular and respiratory disease as well as increased respiratory symptoms and decreased pulmonary function. The frequency and scale of Asian dust events are expected to increase due to environmental change such as desertification in northern China and climate change. We need an Asian dust preparedness strategy including monitoring of dust-related health outcomes as well as an enhanced Asian dust forecasting system to protect people from the effects of Asian dust events.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; China ; Climate Change ; Common Cold ; Cytokines ; Dust ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Forecasting ; Humans ; Japan ; Korea ; Mongolia ; Natural Resources ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Rhinovirus ; Taiwan

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Epistaxis may be related to changes in weather, but this relationship has not been well-defined. We investigated the effects of climate fluctuations (temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure) on the number of emergency department (ED) visits for epistaxis. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: In total, our study population included 1910 patients who visited the ED of a large, urban hospital during a 5-year period for epistaxis. Patients with clear etiology for epistaxis (trauma, iatrogenic, coagulopathy, and/or hypertension) were excluded, leaving 912 patients for subsequent analysis. Daily climate data was collected through the Korea Meteorological Administration. Correlation between epistaxis ED visits and weather variables were investigated using Poisson distribution and multiple regression analysis. The effect of climate factor was evaluated on the day and up to 3 days prior to ED presentation. Additionally, analyses were conducted separately for children (<15 years-old), adults (15-64 years-old), and elderly patients (> or =65 years-old). RESULTS: Changes in the lowest temperature 2 days prior to ED presentation significantly increased the number of ED visits for epistaxis (beta=-0.043, p=0.033). No associations were found between the number of ED visits and changes in humidity or atmospheric pressure. However, in children, interday changes in the highest atmospheric pressure between 2 and 3 days prior to ED presentation were both significantly associated with increased number of epistaxis ED visits. CONCLUSION: Cold temperatures 2 days prior to ED presentation were related to the increased incidence of epistaxis. Fluctuations in barometric pressure appear to influence the number of pediatric ED visits for epistaxis.
Adult ; Aged ; Atmospheric Pressure ; Child ; Climate ; Cold Temperature ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Epistaxis* ; Hospitals, Urban ; Humans ; Humidity ; Incidence ; Korea ; Meteorological Concepts* ; Weather

BACKGROUND: The incidence of acute heart failure (AHF) increases in cold weather. Whether or not AHF has seasonal variation in Korea is unclear, and the influence of humidity on AHF incidence is also unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between the number of daily emergency department (ED) visits for AHF and the temperature and humidity in Korea. METHODS: On a retrospective basis, we investigated the medical records of patients who visited the ED with dyspnea from Jan. 1, 2008 to Dec. 31, 2010. Inclusion criteria comprised both evidence of clinical symptoms and the presence of signs of pulmonary congestion on chest X-rays. Exclusion criteria included a medical history showing end-stage renal disease with dialysis or showing an acute ST elevation myocardial infarction. The number of daily ED visits for AHF was compared with meteorological data after stratifying temperature or humidity into 3 parts. RESULTS: After stratification by humidity, the results revealed that the number of daily ED visits was significantly associated with minimum temperatures occurring one to 2 days prior to ED admission, although only in the lowest tertile of humidity (p = 0.012, p = 0.021, respectively). The relationship between humidity and daily ED visits for AHF was the same as that mentioned above (p = 0.016, p = 0.039, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The number of patients with AHF in Korea increases in cold weather, as is the case in other countries. Specifically, AHF incidence was related to temperature minimums occurring one to 2 days prior to ED admission, as well as with humidity.
Climate ; Cold Temperature ; Dialysis ; Dyspnea ; Emergencies ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Heart ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Humidity ; Incidence ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Myocardial Infarction ; Retrospective Studies ; Seasons ; Thorax ; Weather