BACKGROUND: Peripheral nerve injury may produce a syndrome consisting of spontaneous pain, allodynia and hyperpathia. Cholinesterase inhibitors are known to have an antinociceptive effect in hot plate and tail flick tests and to be mediated by spinal muscarinic system. The purpose of the current study was to determine the effect of intrathecally (i.t.) administered edrophonium and neostigmine on the touch-evoked allodynia and to identify the antagonism of antiallodynia in a rat model of neuropathic pain. METHODS: Sprague Dawley rats were prepared with tight ligation of left L5/L6 spinal nerves with 6~0 black silk and chronic lumbar intrathecal catheters. After obtaining the baseline hindpaw withdrawal scores, edrophonium (3~100ug) or neostigmine (0.3~10ug) was administered intrathecally. Tactile allodynia was measured using von Frey filaments and allodynic threshold was calculated by updown method. Motor dysfunction was assessed by observing righting/stepping reflex responses and abnormal weight bearing. To examine the reversal of antiallod ynia, muscarinic receptor antagonist atropine (10ug) or nicotinic receptor antagonist mecamylamine (10ug) was injected intrathecally 5 min. prior to injection of edrophonium or neostigmine. RESULTS: I.t. edrophonium and i.t. neostigmine produced a dose dependent antagonism of allodynic state but had moderate to severe effect on motor weakness at doses of 3 and 10 g of neostigmine. Pretreatment with i.t. atropine yielded a complete antagonism of antiallodynia in both drugs, but i.t. mecamylamine did not significantly reverse incresed allodynic threshold. CONCLUSIONS: These experiments suggest that i.t. edrophonium or i.t. neostigmine produces a dose dependent antagonism on touch-evoked allodynia at the spinal level and this antagonism is likely due to spinal muscarinic system.
Atropine ; Catheters ; Cholinesterase Inhibitors ; Edrophonium* ; Hyperalgesia ; Ligation ; Mecamylamine ; Models, Animal ; Neostigmine* ; Neuralgia* ; Peripheral Nerve Injuries ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Muscarinic ; Receptors, Nicotinic ; Reflex ; Silk ; Spinal Nerves ; Weight-Bearing

Many types of meniscal anomalies were reported. Authors found a double-layered lateral meniscus, with one meniscus overlying another. The 39-year old male patient had torn medial and lateral menisci. We performed partial medial and lateral meniscectomy, and incidentally found that lateral meniscus was double-layered. It was characteristic that the upper small accessory meniscus was firmly connected from the posterior horn to middle segments of the lower main meniscus along its peripheral edge. We left it alone. The symptoms were gone, So, it was thought that this anomaly was not related to the patient's symptoms.
Animals ; Horns ; Humans ; Male ; Menisci, Tibial

A subperiosteal ganglion has been very rarely reported, since Ollier reported first one in 1864. A subperiosteal ganglion is produced by mucoid degeneration and cyst formation within the periosteum, which results in cortical erosion. The characteristic plain radiolographic appearance of irregular cortical erosion and scalloping, with reactive periosteal bone spicules, has been considered pathognomonic of subperiosteal ganglion. Magnetic resonance imaging is performed to further characterize the soft tissue component of the mass. As in our patient, the characteristic signal intensities of magnetic resonance imaging are especially useful in identifying the lesion as a ganglion and in defining the lobular nature and the anatomical extent. We report here the case of a 35-year-old female who had a sudperiosteal ganglion of the distal radius.
Adult ; Female ; Ganglion Cysts* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Pectinidae ; Periosteum ; Radius*

No abstract available.
Ear* ; Replantation*

PURPOSE: The nasal bone is the most frequently fractured facial bone. Discordance between the CT reading by the radiologist and the diagnosis by the plastic surgeon is not uncommon. This study examined the discordance and proposes a method for reducing the rate of discordance. METHODS: The CT readings by the radiologist were compared with the diagnosis by the plastic surgeon in 716 patients with a clinically suspected nasal bone fracture. The CT reading was classified as the following: a nasal bone fracture, suspicious nasal bone fracture, old nasal bone fracture, no nasal bone fracture. The sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value of the CT reading were calculated. RESULTS: A nasal bone fracture was diagnosed in 646 patients by the plastic surgeon and confirmed intraoperatively. The reading of a "nasal bone fracture", "suspicious nasal bone fracture", "old nasal bone fracture" and "no nasal bone fracture" was 85.8%, 4.6%, 0.6% and 9.1% respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the CT reading were 95.0% and 92.9%, respectively. The positive predictive value of the CT reading was 99.3%. The reading of "nasal bone fracture" that was not a nasal bone fracture clinically was 17.1%(12 of 70), and the reading of "no nasal bone fracture" or "old nasal bone fracture" that was found to be a nasal bone fracture clinically was 3.3%(21 of 646). The discordance rate between the CT reading by the radiologist and the diagnosis by the plastic surgeon was 4.6%. CONCLUSION: To reduce the discordance rate, we propose to hold a meeting with the plastic surgery-radiology staff to communicate the information regarding a suspicious or old nasal bone fracture.
Facial Bones ; Humans ; Nasal Bone ; Reading ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.
Infant, Newborn ; Meconium Aspiration Syndrome* ; Meconium* ; Mortality ; Suction*

PURPOSE:Ghrelin is an endogenous ligand of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, and stomach is the major site of ghrelin secretion. The purpose of this study is to compare the serum ghrelin concentrations between patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and normal adults. We studied also whether serum ghrelin levels in the patients with type 2 DM are correlated with body mass index (BMI), serum insulin, lipid profiles, and creatinine levels. METHODS:Forty patients with type 2 DM and forty normal adults were included in this study. We measured heights and weights of the subjects and calculated their BMIs. Blood samples were obtained to measure the ghrelin concentration and their sera were stored at -20degreeC until used. In all subjects, serum ghrelin levels were measured using the commercially available Ghrelin(human) EIA kit. RESULTS:No differences of mean values were detected between the control group and the type 2 diabetic group for age, body weight, BMI, and the levels of serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol, and creatinine. But ghrelin level of the type 2 diabetic group (71.1+/-30.5 ng/L) was significantly lower than the control group (139.7+/-36.9 ng/L). In the control group, the ghrelin level showed positive correlation with HDL cholesterol (Pearson's correlation coefficient=0.37, P<0.05). In the diabetic group, the ghrelin level showed weakly positive correlation with insulin concentration. However, there was no significant relationship between serum ghrelin and various parameters in the diabetic patients group. CONCLUSION: In this study, ghrelin concentration in type 2 diabetic patients was lower than that in the control group. In the control group, serum ghrelin concentrations were positively correlated with HDL cholesterol. In the type 2 diabetic group, there was no significant correlation between insulin and ghrelin concentrations.
Adult ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Creatinine ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2* ; Ghrelin* ; Humans ; Insulin ; Receptors, Ghrelin ; Stomach ; Triglycerides ; Weights and Measures

No abstract available.

OBJECTIVES: Demands for comprehensive and intensive treatment programs for treatment of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who suffer from serious impairment in various psychosocial areas are increasing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of developing new types of camp programs focused on improving social adjustment of children and helping parents effectively manage their children's problem behaviors. METHODS: Fifteen children diagnosed as ADHD according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (mean age 9.5 years) and their parents participated in this program. Eight consecutive camps were held at two-week intervals, from Jun 2007 to Oct 2007 in an adolescent training center located at Chungtaesan, in Korea. Each camp program included social skills training in the classroom and outdoor activities in the forest for children, as well as parent training for mothers. In addition, after the sixth camp, we conducted one parental session for fathers and a three-day booster family camp three months later. Finally, eleven families adhered to the program. RESULTS: All children, parents, and therapists rated questionnaires or checklists at baseline, intra-, and post-treatment. Parenting burden rated using the Parenting Stress Index showed a significant decrease, from 57.89 to 46.22 (p=.019). And, overprotection rated using the Parenting Bonding Instrument showed a significant decrease, from 16.56 to 12.44 (p=.046). However, no significant improvement in children's behavioral and emotional problems was observed. CONCLUSION: In this study, the consecutive ADHD family camp program was effective for empowerment of parental competency, but not for general improvement of children's behavioral and emotional symptoms.
Adolescent ; Checklist ; Child ; Fathers ; Humans ; Korea ; Mothers ; Parenting ; Parents ; Power (Psychology) ; Social Adjustment ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The Parasitological investigation on the encysted metacercariae in brackish water fish, Tribolodon taczanowskii Steindachner , in the downstream of Hyungsan river which is located in Kyungpook province of Korea, were carried out, and the following results were obtained. Metacercariae of Metagonimus species were found in seventy five fishes (40.5 percent) out of 185 examined. Parasitic frequencies of the encysted matacercaria of Metagonimus species in Tribolodon taczanowskii were 23.2 percent (43 out of 185) in the scale, 7.0 percent (13 out of 185) in the gill, and 10.3 percent (19 out of 185) in the flesh. The number of the metacercaria in the scale, gill and flesh were fewer than that of the others. The worms were identified as Metagonimus yokogawai Katsurada, 1912 by morphological studies on the adults and eggs, and compared with prereported Metagonimus species.
parasitology-helminth-trematoda ; Metagonimus yokogawai ; epidemiology ; Tribolodon taczanowskii