BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a disease of unknown etiology. Disturbances in lipid metabolism have been suggested as a possible pathogenetic mechanism. OBJECTIVE: The study was performed to investigate the blood lipid, lipoprotein and apolipo-protein levels and their difference according to family history in Korean psoriasis patients. METHODS: Blood samples from seventy three psoriasis patients and twenty three normal persons were measured for total ciolesterol(TC), VLDL-cholesterol(VLDL-C), LDL-cholesterol(LDL-C), HDL-cholesterol(HDL-C), lipoprotein(a) (LPA), triglyceride(TG), apolipoprotein A-I(APO-AI), and apolipoprotein B(AFO-B). Psoriasis patients were divided according to their family history of psoriasis. RESULTS: Compared to ccntrols, TC, LDL-C, LPA, TG, APO-B were significantly elevated in psoriasis patients. Mean varues of LPA and APO-B in psoriasis group were above normal range. VLDL-C were significasitly elevated only in female patients. There was a tendency for psoriasis patients with family history to have higher values than those without family history. CONCLUSION: TC, LDL-C, L,PA, TG, APO-B was increased in psoriasis, especially in the patients with family history, cornpared to control. It is recommended that we must pay attention to the possible risk for the development of cardiac or cerebral vascular disease in psoriasis patients, especially in the presence of family history of psoriasis.
Apolipoproteins ; Apolipoproteins B ; Female ; Humans ; Lipid Metabolism ; Lipoprotein(a) ; Lipoproteins* ; Psoriasis* ; Reference Values ; Vascular Diseases

BACKGROUND: Oral etretinate treatment is associated with the changes in serum lipid concentration and the elevation of serum liver enzymes. In Korea, chronic degenerative diseases like diabetes and hypertension are increasing and the prevalences of HBsAg and chronic liver diseases are much higher than those in western countries. Therefore these changes in serum lipids and liver enzymes during etretinate treatrment are important in Korea as risk factors for atherosclerosis and aggravation of preexisting liver diseases. OBJECTIVE: We tried to observe the sequential pattern, frequency, severity, and relationship between pretreatment value and posttreatment values in the changes of serum lipids and liver enzymes in patients with psoriasis luring etretinate treatment. METHODS: Fourty-one patients with psoriasis were studied during etretinate treatment with the starting dose of 0.5-1.0mg/kg/day. The levels of serum triglyceride, serum cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and sGOT, sGPT was repeatedly determined until the 16th week of etretinate treatment. RESULTS: l. In serum triglyceride and cholesterol, the average of concentrations in each treatment period was usually higher than pretreatment value during the 16 weeks of treatment, but no sequential pattern of changes was observed 2. The number of patients with the maximum of posttreatment values higher than the normal limit were 12(29.3%) in triglyce side, 6(14.6%) in cholesterol, 0 in sGOT, and 5(12.5%) in sGPT. The number of patients with the minimum of posttreatment values lower than the normal limit were 15(36.6%) in HDL-cholesterol. 3. In serum cholesterol, patients with an abnormal pretreatment value are more prone to elevation above the normal limit duriing etretinate treatment than patients with a normal pretreatment value. CONCLUSION: In patients with psoriasis the increases in serum triglyceride, serum cholesterol, sGOT, sGPT and the decrease in HDL-cholesterol were occurred frequently during etretinate treatment. Therefore monitoring of serum lipid concentration and serum liver enzyme levels on a regular basis during etretinate treatment is essential for its safe use in patients with psoriasis, es- pecially in cases of long term etretinate treatment.
Acitretin* ; Alanine Transaminase ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Atherosclerosis ; Cholesterol ; Etretinate* ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Korea ; Liver Diseases ; Liver* ; Prevalence ; Psoriasis* ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides

BACKGROUND: Congenital hypotrichosis is a non-specific, descriptive term for structural abnormalities of hairs showing variable clinical features. We recently have encountered a group of eleven patients exhibiting abnormal hairs showing similar patterns. OBJECTIVES: Our purpose was to clarify the entity of this structural hair disorder. METHODS: Dermatologic examination with routine histopathology, trichograms along with scanning electron-microscopic examination and laboratory studies were undertaken. RESULTS: All cases except one were female, and hair abnormalities had developed at birth or within a year. Diffuse distribution of thin, sparse, soft and hypopigmented hairs were noticed. On hair mounts, four patients showed tapering of roots. The majority of the patients exhibited cuticular changes, as well as pitting and longitudinal axial twisting by scanning electron-microscopic examination; one case demonstrated trichorrhexis nodosa, and another, trans-verse fracture. CONCLUSION: Although our cases bear some similar points with woolly hair, some differences were noted between this type of congenital hypotrichosis and other previously described syndromes.
Female ; Hair ; Humans ; Hypotrichosis* ; Parturition

Neonatal lupus erythematosus(NLE) is a rare syndrome occuring in neonates with transplacentally acquired maternal autoantibodies, in particular anti-Ro, anti-La or anti-U1RNP. We report a case of NLE in a 50-day-old male neonate born to a systemic lupus erythematosus-mother with anti-U1RNP autoantibodies; on a review, there have been 8 cases of NLE reported in Korean literature.
Autoantibodies ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male

OBJECTIVES: Worker's health is an important index used to evaluate working conditions and to prioritize prevention policies. However, this index has never before been calculated in Korea. The purpose of this study was to calculate the prevalence of health problems caused by work related sickness absences using the second Korean Working Condition Survey (KWCS) conducted in 2010. METHODS: The second KWCS was conducted from June to October 2010 as a household survey for employed workers. The work related sickness absence rate was estimated using gender, age, business size, occupational status, level of education, and level of income. A logistic regression was performed in order to evaluate the relationship of the work related sickness absence with general characteristics and work-related conditions. RESULTS: The rate of work related sickness absence was 1.8(+/-0.2)% for all workers, with 6.0(+/-0.3)% of it being in agriculture, forestry, and fishing, and 2.2(+/-0.5)% in manufacturing. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) were the most common work related disorder [1.01(+/-0.12)%], followed by psychiatric disorders [0.18(+/-0.05)%], and respiratory disorders [0.14(+/-0.04)%]. The highest odds ratio (OR) for the work related sickness absence rate was in self-employed workers with employees (OR=2.23, 95%CI=1.05~4.74). CONCLUSIONS: The work related sickness absence rate for all workers, both self-employed and employed, including agriculture, forestry and fishing workers, and wholesale and retail trade workers was 1.8(+/-0.2)%. Because the KWCS was based on a self-reported questionnaire survey, this figure might be overestimated. In addition, it might omit chronic occupational disease and death cases.
Agriculture ; Commerce ; Employment ; Family Characteristics ; Forestry ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Occupational Diseases ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Questionnaires

Infective endocarditis by Hemophilus species is very rare:there are only 22 reported-cases of Hemophilus paraphrophilus endocarditis. We report a case of Hemophilus paraphrophilus endocarditis in a middle-aged woman with cerebral embolism and hemorrhage.
Endocarditis* ; Female ; Haemophilus ; Haemophilus paraphrophilus* ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Intracranial Embolism*

PURPOSE: Benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes(BECT) is characterized by an excellent prognosis. Therefore, the necessity for the use of antiepileptic drugs is controversial. The object of this study is to know about the long-term follow-up of BECT, comparing daily treatment with antiepileptic drug(AED) versus no medication. METHODS: We retrospectively studied 56 cases of BECTs, examined at Pediatric Neurology Clinic, Korea University Medical Center as reference study time, August 2002. Thirty-eight patients didn't have mediation(group I), while eighteen patients received one or two AED(group II). We evaluated demographics, clinical manifestations at diagnosis, EEG findings and clinical courses in groups I & II. RESULTS: There was no significant differences of sex, age, seizure frequency, seizure type, seizure onset time, family history and EEG findings between group I & II. The reasons to start AED were: parents' anxiety(three cases), frequent seizure(12 cases) and daytime seizure(three cases). There was no evolution of status epilepticus and no difficulty in school performance. CONCLUSION: AED treatment was of no advantage and long-term prognosis was good regardless of treatment strategy. So it is advisable not to choose AED as the first line of therapy, provided that the patient himself/herself or the family understands the benign nature of BECT.
Academic Medical Centers ; Anticonvulsants ; Demography ; Diagnosis ; Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy ; Epilepsy, Rolandic* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Neurology ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Seizures ; Status Epilepticus

BACKGROUND: Contact dermatitis is frequently caused by cosmetics. Detection of causative allergens is important in prevention and treatment of cosmetic contact dermatitis. Patch test has been accepted as the only reliable diagnostic method to detect allergens. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to clarify evoluting trends of positive patch tests and to compare the positive frequencies of various allergens between different time sequences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed patch test results of the 806 cosmetic contact dermatitis patients, who had visited our clinic from 1982 to 1997. We divided the patients into three groups as follows: I group:1982-1987, II group:1988-1992, III group:1993-1997 and compared the test results. The patch tests were performed with standard batteries, cosmetic-related allergens and the patients's own cosmetics. RESULTS: The results of the studies were summarized as follows; 1. Trends of increasing positivity in cosmetic-induced dermatitis was noted in a chronologic point of view. Among the patients, an increased proportion of males was notable. 2. In age distribution, a decreasing proportion of patients at the third & the fourth decades was observed. Contrary to this, the proportion of patients over the fifth decades was increased. 3. Among standard allergens, nickel sulphate showed the highest positive rate in all defined triple periods, whereas positive rates of neomycin sulphate & balsam of Peru were diminishing sequentially. Among fragrance allergens, cinnamic alcohol & cinnamic aldehyde revealed the highest positive rates. 4. In as is test, skin care products showed the highest positive rate, followed by toiletries and makeup products. Increasing positive rates of the toiletry products were observed in order of time. In fragrance products, positive rates reached their peak in the second period and declined in the third period. CONCLUSION: This study showed that perfume components were the most frequent allergens in cosmetics followed by preservative agents. Our study showed that comestic allergies in men seems to have increased.
Age Distribution ; Allergens ; Dermatitis ; Dermatitis, Allergic Contact ; Dermatitis, Contact* ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Male ; Neomycin ; Nickel ; Patch Tests* ; Perfume ; Peru ; Skin Tests

BACKGROUND: The elastic properties of skin may be useful indicators of cutaneous diseases and skin aging. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to obtain the normal range of skin elastic properties according to anatomical sites in normal Korean individuals and to show the differences among them. METHODS: Eleven different anatomical sites were measured in 41 healthy volunteers (20 males and 21 females) with a measuring device, Dermaflex-A . Tensile distensibility(TD), elasticity(E), and hysteresis(H) were recorded. RESULTS: TD was decreased in the distal portions (e.g. 2.30 +/- 0.35 in the arm vs 1.62 +/- 0.30 in the palm in males) and in the sites where the subcutaneous tissue was thin (e.g. 3.08 +/- 0.60 in the abdomen vs 1.20 +/- 0.44 in the medial malleolus in males). E was also decreased in the distal portions (e.g. 82.3 +/- 8.5 in arm vs 51.2 +/- 11.1 in the palm in males) and in the sites where the subcutaneous tissue was thin (e.g. 89.3 +/- 8.3 in the abdomen vs 58.8 +/- 13.8 in the medial melleolus in males). In contrast, H had greater individual variations and it showed no definite tendency according to sites. TD and E were generally greater in males than in females, and there were some significant differences between sexes according to sites. CONCLUSION: Cutaneous elastic properties varied according to anatomical sites and sexes. This feature must be considered in future studies measuring elastic properties, such as aging experiments.
Abdomen ; Aging ; Arm ; Elasticity ; Female ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Male ; Reference Values ; Skin Aging ; Skin* ; Subcutaneous Tissue

BACKGROUND: Psoriatic lesions have reduced water-holding capacity and show increased transepidermal water loss (TEWL). The effect of D-PUVA therapy, which combines topical calcipotriol and PUVA therapy, on epidermal barrier function has not yet been evaluated. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to verify the change of TEWL in lesional and normal skin according to D-PUVA therapy in psoriasis patients. METHODS: TEWL was measured consecutively by TEWAMETER TM210®, in 13 psoriasis patients who received D-PUVA therapy. Clinical grading was done according to psoriasis severity index (PSI). RESULTS: TEWL of psoriatic lesion decreased as D-PUVA continued. TEWL of normal-looking skin gradually increased, although the increase was trivial. Clinical grading of scale and in-filtration followed the pattern of PSI in the decrease of TEWL, while that of erythema did not. CONCLUSION: In psoriatic plaques, TEWL was decreased according to the improvement. In normal-looking skin, D-PUVA therapy caused only a little effect on TEWL.
Erythema ; Humans ; Psoriasis ; PUVA Therapy ; Skin ; Water*