PURPOSE: To compare the corneal endothelial cell change in Femtosecond laser and microkeratome LASIK operation. METHODS: This study involved 31 eyes (16 patients) that had LASIK using a femtosecond laser (group 1). The control group comprised 32 eyes (16 patients) that had conventional LASIK using microkeratome. We measured the endothelial cell using a non-contact specular microscope preoperatively and at postoperative 1, 2 and 6 months. RESULTS: The preoperative and postoperateive 1, 2, and 6 months cell densities were, respectively: (group 1) 3039+/-335.2, 3012.9+/-373.0, 3008.2+/-240.2, 3009.1+/-250.5; (group 2) 2984.8+/-334.4, 2972.7+/-290.0, 2968+/-323.2, 2968+/-319.1. The coefficients of variation were, respectively: (group 1) 32.6+/-5.3, 33+/-7.2, 32.2+/-5.9, 31.7+/-5.8; (group 2) 32.3+/-5.3, 33.6+/-6.2, 35.5+/-4.8, 34.1+/-5.1. Respective hexagonality measurements were: (group 1) 59.2+/-11.7, 56+/-12.1 55.1+/-13.5, 57.2+/-11.6; (group 2) 57.6+/-9.8, 57.4+/-10.7, 56.5+/-11.6, 57.1+/-11.1. CONCLUSIONS: There was no statistical difference in corneal endothelial change between the two groups (p>0.05). LASIK using the femtosecond laser seemed to be a safe choice when considering corneal endothelial change.
Cell Count ; Endothelial Cells ; Endothelium, Corneal ; Keratomileusis, Laser In Situ*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Coronary artery calcification (CAC) has been used as surrogate marker for coronary atherosclerosis. We developed a set of age-and gender-stratified CAC distribution and risk factors for CAC in a population of asymptomatic Korean subjects. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Between 2003 and 2007, 3,961 asymptomatic subjects without a history of ischemic heart disease (male 64%, mean age 56+/-10 years) were screened for CAC by the use of multi-detector computed tomography. RESULTS: The total CAC score was assigned to a percentile according to age and gender. The prevalence of CAC and mean CAC score increased with age [p<0.001 by analysis of variance (ANOVA)]. The prevalence of CAC (mean CAC score) was 36.2% (60.5+/-236.1) in males, and 17.0% (15.1+/-84.0) in females. The age-and sex-adjusted odds ratio for the presence of CAC for subjects with diabetes was 1.542 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.252-1.899], for subjects with hypertension was 1.673 (95% CI 1.430-1.956), for subjects with metabolic syndrome was 1.727 (95% CI 1.461-2.042), and for subjects with abdominal obesity (abdominal obesity defined as a waist circumference > or =90 cm in males; > or =80 cm in females) was 1.445 (95% CI 1.222-1.709). CONCLUSION: This study reports the distribution of CAC score by age and gender. It will serve as a reference standard for the clinical interpretation of CAC results in the asymptomatic Korean population.
Biomarkers ; Calcinosis ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Obesity ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Waist Circumference

Anticoagulants ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Female ; Heart Valve Diseases ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Myocardial Infarction ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors ; Prospective Studies ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Stroke ; Warfarin