There have been limited reports about the prevalence and its characteristics of glaucoma in Korea. To clarify further, we retrospectively analyzed the data of 1482 patients with glaucoma from January 1993 to December 1994. The prevalence of glaucoma was 0.58%. The type of glaucoma consisted of secondary glaucoma 33.9%, primary open angle glaucoma(POAG) in 33.2%, angle closure glaucoma(ACG) 28.0%, normal tension glaucoma 4.0% and congenital glaucoma 0.9%. The mean age of the patients with POAG was 55.2+/-16.5 and that of ACG was 64.7+/-9.2. In POAG, the age group over 40 years old occupied 79.7% while 99.3% was the age group over 40 years in ACG. The incidence rate of men was higher than women in POAG but in women it was 3.6 times higher than men in ACG. Secondary glaucomas due to diseases of uveal tract, neovascular glaucoma, steroid induced glaucoma, and aphakic (or pseudophakic) glaucoma were 37.0%, 18.9%, 16.5%, and 15.7% respectively.
Adult ; Female ; Glaucoma* ; Glaucoma, Angle-Closure ; Glaucoma, Neovascular ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Low Tension Glaucoma ; Male ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies

A clinical observation was made on 10 donors for renal transplantation which were done at dept. of urology university hospital from April 1978. to August 1978. The following results were observed: 1. Donors were 3 male and 7 female, aged ranging from 1970 to years old. The most common age group was fifties 2. The related donors were 9 and unrelated was 1. 3. Seven donors had sam ABO blood type with the recipient and 3 had different. The HL-A match grade showed that 2 were B grade and 1 was C grade and 7 were D grade. The failed 3 patient had same ABO blood type with donor and all in D grade. 4. Seven were nephrectomized left and 3 were right. The postoperative course were all uneventful and discharged from POD 9 to 13. 5. The thoracoretroperitoneal approach used for donor nephrectomy: gave good operative field and easy operative technique.
Female ; Humans ; Kidney Transplantation* ; Male ; Nephrectomy* ; Tissue Donors* ; Urology

The diverse effects of antidepressants on sleep are mediated by their agonistic or antagonistic properties on specific neurotransmitters: the catecholamine, serotonergic, cholinergic, and histaminergic neurotransmitter systems, which also regulate the timing and cycling of sleep. Therefore, antidepressants can have both class- and compound-specific effects on sleep/wake dynamics, sleep stages, and on motor control during sleep. For these reasons, the sedating or wake-promoting effects of these medications are important factors influencing specific drug selection. As these sleep-related effects may in turn influence both medication compliance as well as the course of the disease state itself, it is important for clinicians to understand and predict the possible effects of antidepressants on sleep. Some antidepressants, such as amitriptyline, doxepine, trazodone, and mirtazapine, possess sedating properties and improve sleep continuity via alpha-1 adrenoceptors and histamine H1 receptor blockade, combined with 5HT(2A/2C) receptor blockade. Other antidepressants, such as SSRI, SNRI and MAOIs, worsen sleep and may cause insomnia, an effect which may be linked to facilitation of 5HT(2A/2C) receptors. The majority of antidepressants are REM (rapid eye movement) suppressants, though some, such as nefazodone, bupropion, and mirtazapine, lack REM-suppressing effects. On the other hand, the effects of antidepressants on slow wave sleep (SWS) are much less consistent than their effects on REM sleep. Available data suggest that antidepressants, including some TCAs, and trazodone, increase SWS, possibly as a function of their 5-HT(2A/2C) receptor antagonism. In contrast, antidepressants lacking 5-HT(2A/2C) receptor antagonist effects, including SSRIs, SNRIs and MAOIs, may produce no change or even decrease in SWS. Knowledge of the effects of antidepressants on sleep will be helpful in estimating the sleep disturbance caused by these compounds, and can thus help in the selection of appropriate compound for individual patients.
Amitriptyline ; Antidepressive Agents* ; Bupropion ; Doxepin ; Hand ; Humans ; Medication Adherence ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Receptors, Adrenergic ; Receptors, Histamine H1 ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Sleep Stages ; Sleep, REM ; Trazodone

Vesical dome tumors are classified, according to their origin, as either vesical or urachal. A case of vesical dome tumor was diagnosed as an urachal carcinoma preoperatively because CT scan and cystoscopic findings were suitable to the diagnostic criteria of urachal carcinoma, but the transurethral biopsy result was transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). The final histopathologic report after extended partial cystectomy revealed that the tumor was originated from vesical mucosa and an intact urachal remnant was found around the resected mass. In a tumor situated on the midline of bladder dome, a transurethral biopsy before curative operation is essential.
Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell* ; Cystectomy ; Mucous Membrane ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Urachus ; Urinary Bladder

The authors report a case of brain abscess associated with pulmonary arteriovenous malformation(AVM). As right to left shunt in systemic circulation can precipitate brain abscess in congenital cyanotic heart disease, arteriovenous fistula in pulmonary AVM is an etiologic factor of brain abscess. Brain abscess associated with pulmonary AVM is very rare and has so far been lacking in previous report in Korea. The pertinent literatures of brain abscess associated with pulmonary AVM are also reviewed.
Arteriovenous Fistula ; Arteriovenous Malformations* ; Brain Abscess* ; Brain* ; Heart Diseases ; Korea

The large amount of hospital dat makes management complicated and nowadays the data can barely be managed without computerization. The authors classified and encoded the neurosurgical diseases to develop the "Autocode System", the automatic code transformation system using Fox-ProR, which is a database management program. Any diagnostic entity which is input by the user is transformed into a specific code automaticall. Such a procedure excludes the input error originating from mistyping or naming an unclassified entity. This program is not perfect yet, but it is thought to be effective in the neurosurgical department for data storage and searching. Further modification, functional improvement, and ultimately, unifying the system among the hospitals can make cooperative study and systematic data analysis possible.
Classification* ; Humans ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Microcomputers* ; Neurosurgery ; Statistics as Topic

OBJECTIVE: To assess long term outcomes of aggressive rehabilitative treatment on canalicular sequestered lumbar disc herniations METHOD: Clinical outcomes of twenty four patients with sequestered disc herniation with symptomatic radicular pain were evaluated prospectively and longitudinally for one year. All patients received aggressive rehabilitative treatment including transforaminal epidural steroid injection, pelvic stabilization exercise, physical therapy, and back school. Clinical outcomes were measured by visual analogue scale (VAS) for back and radicular pain, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) for back pain before treatment, posttreatment one, three, six, and twelve months. After twelve months, we categorized patients' satisfaction. Four patients were dropp RESULTS: The averages of VAS for lower extremity and back pain reduced significantly from 6.6 and 5.8 at pretreatment to 0.7 and 0.9 at 12 months posttreatment, respectively (p<0.001). The averages of ODI reduced significantly from 73.5% at pretreatment to 22.3% at posttreatment 12 months (p<0.001). Sixteen of twenty patients (80.0%) were satisfied with their current status posttreatment 12 months. CONCLUSION: Sequestered disc herniations could be treated successfully by aggressive rehabilitative treatment. Clinical improvement was achieved from posttreatment one month and persisted for twelve months. Operation might be delayed until aggressive rehabilitation treatment fail to treat sequestered disc herniations.
Back Pain ; Exercise ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Prospective Studies ; Rehabilitation

Stereotactic radiosurgery offers a broad spectrum armamentarium for the safe treatment of various lesions within the central nervous system. Radiosurgery uses stereotactic targeting methods to precisely deliver highly focused, large doses of radiation to small intracranial tumors and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). It is widely used for the treatment of metastatic brain tumors, non-resectable tumors, residual or recurrent benign and malignant tumors as well as for the treatment of AVMs, functional diseases, and pain disorders. Although radiosurgery has the potential to produce complications, the majority of patients experience clinical improvement with less morbidity and mortality than those occur in surgical resection.
Arteriovenous Malformations ; Brain Neoplasms ; Central Nervous System ; Humans ; Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations ; Meningioma ; Neoplasm, Residual ; Neuroma, Acoustic ; Radiosurgery ; Trigeminal Neuralgia

The Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors (KAMJE) was founded in 1996. Among the 51 journals which participated in the founding of KAMJE, only 5 were listed in PubMed at the time, and none in Scientific Citation Index (SCI). In order to improve the quality of Korean medical journals, KAMJE established regular and systematic evaluation of medical journals, and has held academies for journal editors and education programs for manuscript editors. KAMJE has also focused on the database of Korean medical journals. KoreaMed, which provides access to articles published in Korean medical journals; KoMCI, which analyzes and provides citation data; and KoreaMed synapse, a digital archive and reference-linking platform. All of those are products of the efforts of KAMJE. By publishing "Good Publication Practice Guidelines for Medical Journals", KAMJE also has been focused on research and publication ethics. KAMJE has played an active part in establishing the Asia Pacific Association of Medical Journal Editors (APAME) and West Pacific Regional Index Medicus (WPRIM). Today, KAMJE, now composed of 188 journals covering medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and nutrition, has 14 and 23 journals listed in PubMed and SCI, respectively. These achievements of KAMJE, attributable to the unrelenting efforts of Korean medical journal editors and editors, may be helpful in further improving the status of Korean medical journals.
Academies and Institutes ; Achievement ; Archives ; Asia ; Dentistry ; MEDLINE ; Publications ; Synapses ; Veterinary Medicine

BACKGROUND: Melanocytes grown in pure monolayer culure lack many of the cellular interactions that exist in vivo. This can be partially overcome by growing melanocytes together with other epidermal cells in skin equivalent models. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to grow human melanocytes in human epidermis reconstructed on dermal substrates in vitro and to examine their response to UV radiation. METHODS: The skin equivalents were prepared by seeding cultured human keratinocytes together with cultured human melanocytes(in a ratio of 5%) onto de-epidermized dermis. After 7 days of culture, they were exposed to UVB irradiation(total 150m J/cm over 5days). On day 12 of air exposure the sections of the skin equivalents were prepared for histology. The structure of the skin equivalents was studied following staining with hematoxylin and eosin. Melanocytes were characterized by DOPA staining and by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Melanocytes were localized singly within the basal layer of the reconstructs. Melanin was also visible both in the melanocytes and in neighboring keratinocytes. There was an increase in melanocyte size and dendricity following UV irradiation. Melanocytes became positive to staining with HMB-45 antibody following UV irradiation. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that melanocytes grown in reconstructed human epidermis are functional and capable of responding to UV irradiation.
Dermis ; Dihydroxyphenylalanine ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Epidermis* ; Hematoxylin ; Humans* ; Immunohistochemistry ; Keratinocytes ; Melanins ; Melanocytes* ; Skin