No abstract available.
Sleep Wake Disorders*

The changes of electroencephalogram(EEG) in patients with dementia are most commonly studied by analyzing power or magnitude in certain traditionally defined frequency bands. However because of the absence of on identified metric which quantifies the complex amount of information, there are many limitations in using such a linear method. According to chaos theory, irregular signals of EEG cal also result from low dimensional deterministic chaos. Chaotic nonlinear dynamics in the EEG can be studied by calculating the correlation dimension. The authors have analyzed EEG epochs from three patients with dementia of Alzheimer type and three matched control subject. The result showed that patients with dementia of Alzheimer type had significantly lower correlation dimension than non-demented controls on 12 channels. Topographic analysis showed that the correlation dimensions were significantly lower in patients with Alzheimer's disease on frontal, temporal, central, and occipital head regions. These results show that brains of patients with dementia with dementia of Alzheimer type have a decreased complexity of electrophysiological behavior. We conclude that the nonlinear analysis such as calculating correlation dimension can be a promising tool for detecting changes in the complexity of brain dynamics.
Alzheimer Disease ; Brain ; Dementia* ; Electroencephalography* ; Head ; Humans ; Nonlinear Dynamics*

Elastofibroma is a rare disease which presents as a slowly-growing, solid, ill-defined fibroelastic mass occuring almost exclusively in elderly women and arising mainly from the connective tissue between the lower part of the scapula and chest wall. Of the 270 cases of elastofibroma which have been reported, 170 cases had developed in Japanese patients. Despite the fact that there have been only two case reports in Korea, there might be a higher prevalence of elastofibroma in Korea than expected because of geographical similarity. We experienced a case of elastofibroma occurring in a 56-year-old man. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of elastofibroma in Korean dermatologic of literature.
Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Connective Tissue ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Rare Diseases ; Scapula ; Thoracic Wall

No abstract available.
Cytomegalovirus Infections*

It was not above two or three decades from the changes began that regarding nicotine dependence as a kind of addictive disorder and a therapeutic target. Despite the short period of history, lots of medications were developed and showing significant clinical outcomes. In this review, we introduce the both of medications available at this time and in the status of developing for nicotine dependence. The clinical efficacies, practical ways of prescription, and common adverse events of the medications currently available are described through the survey of literatures. The novel medications in the process of developing are arranged by the proposed mechanism of action and summarized the phases of clinical trials at present. Among the diverse pharmacological tools now available, nicotine replacement and bupropion could be the first-line recommendation drugs and nortriptyline and clonidine could be the second-line recommendation drugs. Other medications like several antidepressants (e.g., moclobemide), buspirone, and naltrexone may be helpful in some specific population. Most of medications currently available have uncertainties in the aspects of their mechanisms of action except nicotine replacement materials; however, medications in developing have clearer neurobiological basis in their applications. Therefore, we can expect higher treatment outcomes by new products. Additionally, introduction of nicotine vaccines for high-risk group is drawing near. It could be possible for the individualizing for strategies of smoking cessation according to the patients' specific situation in a future.
Antidepressive Agents ; Bupropion ; Buspirone ; Clonidine ; Naltrexone ; Nicotine* ; Nortriptyline ; Prescriptions ; Smoking Cessation ; Tobacco Use Disorder* ; Vaccines

Alcohol and nicotine dependencies are known to be severe disorders on their own and particularly they get worse if they coexist. However, few optimal therapeutic approaches are available for comorbid nicotine and alcohol dependencies, although studies have suggested that more than 95% of alcoholics had comorbid nicotine dependence. Nonetheless patients, caregivers, and even health professionals gave a failure to notice of the health problems caused by nicotine dependence. In addition, some clinicians believe that concomitant intervention of nicotine dependence may have the risks increased during treatments of alcohol dependence, possibly by aggravating symptoms of alcohol dependence or provoking relapse. However, we need to give more attention onto the fact that harmful effects of alcohol and nicotine would be amplified when they coexist. In fact currently available data showed that medical morbidity may be dramatically increased when the two psychiatric conditions coexist. Furthermore, alcoholics have an increased tendency of smoking during a recovery phase from alcohol dependence and even may suffer more complications from smoking. Hence we will review the health risks posed by concurrent alcohol and nicotine dependencies as well as explore the effects of additional smoking cessation therapy on the quitting rate, the alteration of drinking behavior and relapse rate of alcohol dependence, in comorbid alcohol and nicotine patients. Finally proper smoking cessation therapy should be also provided for motivated patients to quit smoking at proper treatment phase and routine clinical advices should be appropriately provided for patients who are not motivated to quit smoking as well in clinical practice.
Alcoholics ; Alcoholism ; Caregivers ; Comorbidity ; Drinking Behavior ; Health Occupations ; Humans ; Nicotine ; Recurrence ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Smoking Cessation ; Tobacco Use Disorder

Nicotine is the major substance that accounts for the addictive nature of smoking. Nicotine induces neurobiological and behavioral responses through diverse neurochemical mechanisms over the central nervous system. The brain reward system, particularly the dopaminergic pathway from the ventral tegmental area to nucleus accumbens, is central to understanding the behavioral reinforcement underlying substance addictions such as the addiction to nicotine. Nicotine acts as an agonist provoking activation or desensitization of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in different brain areas including the brain reward system. Nicotine also indirectly influences the glutaminergic, GABAergic, noradrenergic, and serotonergic neurotransmission that lead ultimately to activation of the dopaminergic pathway in the brain reward system. Chronic exposure to nicotine activates neuroadaptation and associative learning with the nicotine-related stimulus through dopaminergic or cholinergic systems, which can lead to nicotine dependence or withdrawal. In sum, the neurobiological processes described above are deeply involved in the basis of nicotine dependence and underlie the frequent failure of attempts to quit smoking. In this review we discuss the neurobiological mechanisms of nicotine addiction focusing on the roles of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.
Brain ; Central Nervous System ; Dopamine ; Learning ; Nicotine ; Nucleus Accumbens ; Receptors, Nicotinic ; Reinforcement (Psychology) ; Reward ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Synaptic Transmission ; Tobacco Use Disorder ; Ventral Tegmental Area

Nicotine is the major substance that accounts for the addictive nature of smoking. Nicotine induces neurobiological and behavioral responses through diverse neurochemical mechanisms over the central nervous system. The brain reward system, particularly the dopaminergic pathway from the ventral tegmental area to nucleus accumbens, is central to understanding the behavioral reinforcement underlying substance addictions such as the addiction to nicotine. Nicotine acts as an agonist provoking activation or desensitization of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in different brain areas including the brain reward system. Nicotine also indirectly influences the glutaminergic, GABAergic, noradrenergic, and serotonergic neurotransmission that lead ultimately to activation of the dopaminergic pathway in the brain reward system. Chronic exposure to nicotine activates neuroadaptation and associative learning with the nicotine-related stimulus through dopaminergic or cholinergic systems, which can lead to nicotine dependence or withdrawal. In sum, the neurobiological processes described above are deeply involved in the basis of nicotine dependence and underlie the frequent failure of attempts to quit smoking. In this review we discuss the neurobiological mechanisms of nicotine addiction focusing on the roles of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.
Brain ; Central Nervous System ; Dopamine ; Learning ; Nicotine ; Nucleus Accumbens ; Receptors, Nicotinic ; Reinforcement (Psychology) ; Reward ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Synaptic Transmission ; Tobacco Use Disorder ; Ventral Tegmental Area

Spontaneous Subcapsular hematoma of the kidney is relatively uncommon. Although several cases have been recorded in the literature, the diagnosis was seldom made preoperatively. Selective renal angiography provide an excellent means of diagnosing this lesion prior to surgery. Case I: A 37 years male was admitted with the right flank pain and hematuria. Excretory urogram showed moderate hydronephrosis and a cystic shadow compressing upper calices. Selective renal angiography showed strip-like curvilinear capsular density outside the nonopacifying mass. By exploration, blood clots, about 300 c. c., between renal parenchyma and renal capsule was evacuated. The cause of the hematoma is uncertain whether it is from ruptured aneurysm or due to hydronephrosis. Case II : A 54-year-old woman was hospitalized with right flank discomfortness and mild fever. Intravenous pyelogram revealed increased size of the right kidney and angiogram demonstrated the compressed and flattened renal parenchyma by a nonopacifying mass and renal capsule on the outer margin of the mass. Blood clots, about 200 c.c., inside the renal capsule which compressed renal parenchyma was evacuated.
Aneurysm, Ruptured ; Angiography ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Fever ; Flank Pain ; Hematoma* ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Hydronephrosis ; Kidney* ; Male ; Middle Aged

Alcohol-induced cognitive disorder is a very severe problem in problem alcohol drinker and alcohol itself seems to be one of the main causalities in the development of senile dementia. However, the spectrum of alcohol induced cognitive disorder is quite broad, for example, it covered from alcohol-induced persistent amnestic disorder to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome and alcohol-induced persistent dementia. By that reason, broad spectrum of cognitive impairment by excessive alcohol drinking is regarded as alcohol related dementia. The pharmacological treatment is not well established yet in alcohol related dementia, except Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome which is definitely related to thiamine deficiency. Therefore we introduced that some reports about the clinical efficacies by rivastigmine or donepezil trial and recent outcomes of memantine trial by authors in this review.
Alcohol Drinking ; Alzheimer Disease ; Dementia ; Indans ; Korsakoff Syndrome ; Memantine ; Phenylcarbamates ; Piperidines ; Rivastigmine ; Thiamine ; Thiamine Deficiency