Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) causes an acute enteritis in pigs of all ages, often fatality for neonates. PEDV occupies an intermediate position between two well characterized members of the coronavirus group I, human coronavirus (HCoV-229E)and transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) which uses aminopeptidase N (APN), a 150 kDa protein, as their receptors. However, the receptor of the PEDV has not been identified yet. A virus overlay protein binding assay (VOPBA) was used to identify PEDV binding protein in permissive cells. The binding ability of PEDV to porcine APN (pAPN) and the effects of pAPN on infectivity of PEDV in Vero cells were also investigated. VOPBA identified a 150 kDa protein, as a putative PEDV receptor in enterocytes and swine testicle (ST) cells. Further the PEDV binding to pAPN was blocked by anti-pAPN and pAPN enhanced PEDV infectivity in Vero cells. In conclusion, these results suggested that pAPN may act as a receptor of PEDV.
Animals ; Antigens, CD13/*metabolism ; Cercopithecus aethiops ; Coronavirus/*metabolism ; Coronavirus Infections/*veterinary/virology ; Digestive System Diseases/metabolism/*veterinary/virology ; Enterocytes/enzymology/metabolism/virology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary ; Male ; Protein Binding ; Receptors, Virus/*metabolism ; Swine ; Swine Diseases/metabolism/*virology ; Vero Cells

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of CT angiography(CTA) with spiral CT in evaluation of intracranial vascular lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CTA and conventional angiography(CA) were performed in 22 patients with suspected intracranial vascular lesion. Nine patients had 10 aneurysms and 2 patients had arteriovenous malformation(AVM)s, while the remaining 11 patients had no vascular lesion. Twenty seconds after beginning injection of contrast media(100 mL with use of a power injector at the rate of 3 mL/sec), CT scanning(30-second continuous exposure and 60-mm length) was performed with a table speed of 2mm/sec and a section thickness of 2mm. The starting point was selected at the floor of the sella turcica. The resulting data were reformatted by MIP and SSD after reconstruction of 1 mm interval. For aneurysm, its size, shape, direction, neck and the relationship to adjacent vessels were compared to CA. RESULTS: The aneurysm diameter was ranged between 3mm and 20mm and all aneurysms were clearly visualized with CTA. CTA findings of the size, shape, direction, and neck of aneurysms and the relationship between aneurysm and adjacent vessels were well correlated with CA. In one case of aneurysm, calcification of the aneurysm wall was demonstrated on CTA. In one case of AVM, the nidus and its arterial supply and venous drainage were well visualized. In the other case of AVM, however, the feeding artery of AVM was not demonstrated on CTA(it was also unclear on CA). CONCLUSION: CTA with spiral CT may be useful in the evaluation of intracranial vascular lesion and valuable as a screening test for intracranial aneurysm.
Aneurysm ; Angiography* ; Arteries ; Drainage ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Mass Screening ; Neck ; Sella Turcica ; Silver Sulfadiazine ; Tomography, Spiral Computed*

A few members of coronavirus group I which includes porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) use porcine aminopeptidase N (pAPN) as a cellular receptor. Cellular receptors play an important role in virus attachment and entry. However, the low permissiveness of PEDV to APN-expressing porcine cell lines has made it difficult to elucidate the role of pAPN in vitro. The purpose of this study was to prove whether the treatment of soluble pAPN could enhance the antibody production against PEDV in guinea pigs, rabbits and sows. The animals (20 guinea pigs, 8 rabbits and 20 sows) were divided into 4 groups. Group A was injected intramuscularly (IM) with soluble pAPN at one hour before intramuscular infection of PEDV on the same site, group B for IM simultaneous injection of pAPN and PEDV, and group C for IM injection of PEDV only. Group D served as a control of pAPN treatment or PEDV infection. Antibody production against PEDV was compared among groups at regular intervals. The results suggested that pAPN could enhance the antibody production against PEDV in guinea pigs and rabbits which are free of pAPN, however, the effect of pAPN treatment in sows was not clearly elucidated.
Animals ; Antibodies, Viral/*blood ; Antibody Formation ; Antigens, CD13/*administration&dosage ; Cercopithecus aethiops ; Coronavirus/*immunology/physiology ; Coronavirus Infections/immunology/*veterinary ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary ; Female ; Guinea Pigs ; Immunoglobulin G/*blood ; Immunoglobulin Isotypes ; Injections, Intramuscular ; Pregnancy ; Rabbits ; Solubility ; Swine ; Swine Diseases/*immunology ; Vero Cells/virology

An indirect porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus (PEDV) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was compared with the serum neutralization (SN) test by testing 46 samples from experimentally infected sows, 73 samples from naive sows, and 1, 024 field sow samples from 48 commercial swine farms of undefined PED status. The SN test and the ELISA were performed using PEDV, KPEDV-9 strain. Viral proteins as a coating antigen of PEDV ELISA were extracted from the cytoplasm of PEDV-infected Vero cells using a non-ionic detergent, Triton X-100, and a simple protocol of PEDV ELISA was followed. The presence of antibodies in these experimental samples was confirmed by SN and ELISA in which the sensitivity of the ELISA was 89.1%, and the corresponding specificity was 94.5%. On testing 1, 024 field samples, an overall agreement of 84.2% was generated between the SN and ELISA. This study demonstrates that the PEDV ELISA is a useful serodiagnostic screening test at herd level for detecting swine antibodies against PEDV.
Animals ; Antibodies, Viral/blood ; Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis/*veterinary/virology ; Diarrhea/diagnosis/*veterinary ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary ; Female ; Neutralization Tests/veterinary ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Swine ; Swine Diseases/diagnosis/*virology

Backround and Objectives: Mucocele of the paranasal sinuses could be developed as secondary to trauma, tumor or surgical manipulation. This study was conducted to investigate clinical eatures of paranasal sinus mucocele following endoscopic sinus surgery and to determine the effect of endoscopic wide marsupialization for the treatment of mucocele. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-five patients with paranasal sinus mucocele who were diagnosed and surgically treated at Seoul National University Hospital from Nov. 1996 through Dec. 2002 were retrospectively analyzed by their medical records and radiological imaging. RESULTS: The most common chief complaint of patients with mucocele were ocular symptoms including periorbital swelling, proptosis and headache. Previous sinus operation, especially endoscopic sinus surgery was the most common cause of mucocele, which developed at mean period of 50 months after surgery. Most commonly involved sinuses were ethmoid and frontal sinuses. Thirty-three out of 35 patients underwent endoscopic wide marsupialization of the mucocele cavity, and the other two patients were treated via external approaches. No recurrence was observed until mean followup of 33 months. CONCLUSION: One should suspect the possibility of mucocele recurrence if a patient complains of ocular symptoms several years after endoscopic sinus surgery. Meticulous operation and postperative treatment, and regular followup are needed for patients who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery because of a possible development of mucocele as a late complication. Although transnasal endoscopic wide marsupialization for the treatment of mucocele showed safe and good results, long term follow-up data is needed to establish it as the gold standard for treatment of paranasal sinus mucocele.
Exophthalmos ; Follow-Up Studies ; Frontal Sinus ; Headache ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Mucocele* ; Paranasal Sinuses ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Seoul

BACKGROUND: Through analyzing 1998 National Health Nutrition Survey (NHNS) data, we investigated the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and several basic factors reflecting the status of DM control: health behaviors, HbA1c level and the prevalence of hypertension among DM patients. METHODS: The NHNS selected 200 districts which represented the national population of Korea and surveyed all inhabitants within the districts. National Health Examination Survey (NHES) and National Health Behaviors Survey (NHBS) surveyed all inhabitants within the related districts. We analyzed the prevalence and management status of DM through analyzing the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data of 39,331 responders and NHES data of 10,876 participants. RESULTS: According to NHIS the prevalence of DM was 2.26% for male, 2.03% for female. 11.0% of DM patients exercised more than three times per week. 32.7% were current smokers. 43.1% were drinkers. 30.0% of DM patients had hypertension, but only 15.8% of them controlled blood pressure. From NHES the prevalence of DM was 9.73% for male, 7.95% for female. 10.5% of DM patients exercised more than three times per week. 36.5% were current smokers. 57.4% were drinkers. 45.3% of DM patients had >8% of HbA1c level. 38.1% of DM patients had hypertension, but only 5.3% of them properly controlled blood pressure. CONCLUSION: Considering the results of previous studies, the prevalence of DM have increased rapidly. The level of recognition of patients to control DM, however, was not enough to prevent late complications. Therefore national health policy should be reset to register DM patients and manage them properly.
Blood Pressure ; Diabetes Mellitus* ; Disease Management ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Health Policy ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Korea* ; Life Style ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Prevalence*

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess whether a young age at the time of diagnosis with osteosarcoma has value to predict the prognosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-seven children with stage II osteosarcoma were stratified according to the age of 10. There were 32 preadolescents (< or =10 years) and 35 adolescents (10 < age < or = 15 years). The patients were analyzed for their clinical characteristics, the histologic response to preoperative chemotherapy, event-free survival (EFS) and the patterns of relapse. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 54 months (range: 6~153 months), the 5-year EFS of the preadolescent and adolescent groups was 64.5+/-9.3% and 58.2+/-9.1%, respectively, and age did not have any statistical significance for survival (p=0.55). Cox regression analysis revealed that both the serum level of alkaline phosphatase and the histologic response to preoperative chemotherapy were significantly related to survival of the 67 patients. Those patients aged less than 7 years responded poorly to preoperative chemotherapy and their rate of amputation was 43%. However, their 5-year EFS was not statistically different from the older patients (57.1+/-18.7 vs 67.7+/-6.3%, respectively, p=0.58). CONCLUSIONS: We could not find any statistical difference in the clinical characteristics and survival from osteosarcoma for the preadolescents and adolescents, so the current approach of having the same protocol for both groups of patients seems to be reasonable.
Adolescent ; Alkaline Phosphatase ; Amputation ; Child* ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Osteosarcoma* ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies*

BACKGROUND: It is important to educate families of pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) so that they have a correct understanding of AD. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to introduce, evaluate, and improve our family-engaged educational program. METHODS: Children suffering from AD and their families have participated in a half-day educational program called "AD school" with catchy slogans such as "Enjoy with AD Families!" every year since 2005. Educational lectures were conducted for parents. For children with AD, various entertaining programs were provided. A feedback survey about AD school was administered for the purpose of evaluation. RESULTS: A total of 827 people (376 patients and 451 family members) participated in this program over 7 years. On-site surveys showed a positive response (i.e., "excellent" or "good") for the prick test (95.1%), emollient education (78.4%), educational lecture (97.0%), drawing contest and games (90.2%), and recreation (magic show; 99.0%) respectively. Telephone surveys one year later also elicited a positive response. CONCLUSION: We herein introduce the experience of a half-day, family-engaged educational program for AD. Family-engaged education programs for AD such as this AD school encourage and validate family participation in the treatment of their children's AD.
Child ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Education ; Humans ; Korea* ; Lectures ; Parents ; Recreation ; Telephone

A pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus strain was isolated from a pig farm in Korea in December 2009. The strain was propagated in and isolated from both the Madin-Darby canine kidney cell line and embryonated eggs. The partial and complete sequences of the strain were identical to those of A/California/04/2009, with >99% sequence similarity in the HA, NA, M, NS, NP, PA, PB1, and PB2 genes. The isolated strain was inactivated and used to prepare a swine influenza vaccine. This trial vaccine, containing the new isolate that has high sequence similarity with the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus, resulted in seroconversion in Guinea pigs and piglets. This strain could therefore be a potential vaccine candidate for swine influenza control in commercial farms.
Agriculture ; Animals ; Cell Line ; Eggs ; Guinea Pigs ; Influenza Vaccines ; Influenza, Human* ; Kidney ; Korea* ; Orthomyxoviridae* ; Ovum ; Pandemics* ; Seroconversion ; Swine

Chronic kidney disease is a significant health burden worldwide, with increasing incidence. Although several genome- wide association studies (GWAS) have investigated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) associated with kidney trait, most studies were focused on European ancestry. Methods: We utilized clinical and genetic information collected from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES). Results: More than five million SNPs from 58,406 participants were analyzed. After meta-GWAS, 1,360 loci associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at a genome-wide significant level (p = 5 × 10–8) were identified. Among them, 399 loci were validated with at least one other biomarker (blood urea nitrogen [BUN] or eGFRcysC) and 149 loci were validated using both markers. Among them, 18 SNPs (nine known ones and nine novel ones) with 20 putative genes were found. The aggregated effect of genes estimated by MAGMA gene analysis showed that these significant genes were enriched in kidney-associated pathways, with the kidney and liver being the most enriched tissues. Conclusion: In this study, we conducted GWAS for more than 50,000 Korean individuals and identified several variants associated with kidney traits, including eGFR, BUN, and eGFRcysC. We also investigated functions of relevant genes using computational methods to define putative causal variants.