Improvement of lichen planus was achieved by 11 weeks of daily oral treatment with griseofulvin. The patient was 59-year-old male, has had hypertension and diabetes mellitus for 9 months, and history of various drug intake to these diseses for 6 months. Four months before first visit, symptome of lichen planus had developed suddenly. Because of treatment failure of oral antihistamine and topical steroid for 6 weeks, we began to use griseofulvin. Praspective studies are needed to better assess the affectiveness of griseafulvin in the treatment of lichen planus.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Griseofulvin* ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Lichen Planus* ; Lichens* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Failure

A case of primary amelanotic melanoma of the vagina diagnosed in scraping smear is described. A 64-year-old woman complained of vaginal bleeding with a 2.5x2cm sized, fungating mass on the right lateral vaginal wall near the introitus for 2 months. Scraping smears from the mass showed scattered individual tumor cells with single, bi- or multi-nucleated eccentric nuclei having prominent macronucleoli and occasional intranuclear inclusions. The cytoplasm was plump and cyanophilic with a indistinct rim. No melanin pigment was identified. Characteristic cytologic features of this case were very helpful to exclude more common squamous cell carcinoma in the vagina, which was strongly suggested in biopsy specimen.
Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Child* ; Cytoplasm ; Female ; Humans ; Intranuclear Inclusion Bodies ; Mediastinum ; Melanins ; Melanoma, Amelanotic ; Middle Aged ; Proteinuria* ; Thyroid Gland ; Uterine Hemorrhage ; Vagina

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the expression of TSP-1 and -2 in eutopic endometrium of advanced endometriosis and control patients. METHODS: The 33 endometriosis patients and 32 controls were enrolled. Endometrial samples were obtained from 65 premenopausal women aged 29-44 years, undergoing laparoscopic surgery or hysterectomy for non-malignant lesions. Sufficient samples were collected from 33 patients with endometriosis stage III and IV and 32 controls without endometriosis confirmed by laparoscopic surgery. The mRNA expression from eutopic endometrium for TSP-1 and -2 were analyzed by RT-QC PCR. RESULTS: The mRNAs of TSP-1 and -2 were expressed in eutopic endometrium from endometriosis and normal controls throughout the menstrual cycle. There were no significant differences in expression of TSP-1 and TSP-2 in eutopic endometrium between controls and endometriosis patients. CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that TSP-1 and -2 had no crucial role compared to other molecules in the regulation of angiogenesis. These findings also suggest that dysregulation of other angiogenic regulators would be concerned in pathophysiologic role in endometriosis development.
Endometriosis* ; Endometrium ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Laparoscopy ; Menstrual Cycle ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger* ; Thrombospondin 1 ; Thrombospondins

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the expression of uPA and uPAR in eutopic endometrium of advanced stage endometriosis and control patients. METHODS: The 33 endometriosis patients and 32 controls were enrolled. Endometrial samples were obtained from 65 premenopausal women aged 29~44 years, undergoing laparoscopic surgery or hysterectomy for non-malignant lesions. Sufficient samples were collected from 33 patients with endometriosis stage III and IV and 32 controls without endometriosis confirmed by laparoscopic surgery. The mRNA expression of uPA and uPAR from eutopic endometrium were analyzed by RT-QC PCR. RESULTS: The mRNAs of uPA and uPAR were expressed in eutopic endometrium from endometriosis and normal controls throughout the menstrual cycle. Uterine endometrium from women with endometriosis expresses significantly (p<0.05) higher levels of u-PA mRNA than endometrium from normal women without endometriosis in the proliferative phase. There were no significant differences in expression of uPAR in eutopic endometrium between controls and endometriosis patients. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that eutopic endometrium from endometriosis patients may be more invasive and prone to peritoneal implantation because of greater u-PA mRNA expression than endometrium from women without endometriosis. Thus, increased proteolytic activity may be one etiology for the invasive properties of the endometrium resulting in the development of endometriosis.
Endometriosis* ; Endometrium* ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Laparoscopy ; Menstrual Cycle ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Proteolysis ; RNA, Messenger* ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Oxidative stress is a major effector of various diseases; accordingly, antioxidants are frequently ingested in order to prevent or alleviate disease symptoms. Kimchi contains various natural antioxidants, and it is known that the functional activity varies depending on the ingredients and fermentation state. Black raspberries (BR) contain various bioactive compounds with antioxidant effects. This study investigated the antioxidant and liver-protection effects of kimchi supplemented with black raspberry juice powder (BJP). MATERIALS/METHODS: BJP-added kimchi (BAK; at 0.5%, 1%, and 2% concentrations of BJP) and control (without BJP) were prepared and fermented at 4℃ for 4 weeks. Changes in the antioxidant effects of BAK during fermentation were investigated. In addition, the protective activity of BAK against oxidative stress was investigated in a liver cirrhosis-induced animal model in vivo. RESULTS: BAK groups showed the acidity and pH of optimally ripened (OR) kimchi at 2 weeks of fermentation along with the highest lactic acid bacterial counts. Additionally, BAK groups displayed a higher content of phenolic compounds and elevated antioxidant activities relative to the control, with the highest antioxidant effect observed at 2 weeks of fermentation of OR 1% BAK. After feeding the OR 1% BAK to thioacetamide-induced liver cirrhosis rats, we observed decreased glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase and glutamate pyruvate transaminase activities and elevated superoxide dismutase activity. CONCLUSIONS: These findings showed that the antioxidant effects of OR BAK and feeding of OR 1% BAK resulted in liver-protective effects against oxidative stress.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; Bacterial Load ; Fermentation ; Glutamic Acid ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Lactic Acid ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver ; Models, Animal ; Oxaloacetic Acid ; Oxidative Stress ; Phenol ; Pyruvic Acid ; Rats ; Rubus ; Superoxide Dismutase

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between self-esteem and sexual attitude in healthcare college students, and also to provide a basis for sexual health education programs to help establish healthy sexual attitudes. METHODS: A survey was conducted with 218 unmarried students attending the healthcare colleges in B and U cities. Data were collected from October 15 to November 10, 2015 and analyzed using Stepwise multiple regression with SPSS PASW 18.0. RESULTS: Mean score for self-esteem was 3.23±0.46 out of 5 and sexual attitude 2.64±0.54 out of 5. Self-esteem and sexual attitude had a negative correlation (r=-.169, p=.012). Among sub-variables of sexual attitude, negative correlations were found between self-esteem and premarital chastity (r=-.207, p=.002), and between self-esteem and homosexual attitudes (r=-.167, p=.013). There were statistically significant differences in sexual attitude according to perceived intimacy with mother (β=-.228, p<.001), year in college (β=.135, p=.047), major (β=.148, p=.023), religion (β=-2.429, p=.016), and homosexual tendencies (β=.139, p=.037). These factors explained 14.6% of the variance in sexual attitude. CONCLUSION: Findings demonstrate the importance of self-esteem for sexual attitudes. This finding should be used in the development of healthcare college students, promotion programs to enhance healthy sexual attitudes.
Delivery of Health Care* ; Education ; Homosexuality ; Humans ; Mothers ; Reproductive Health ; Sexual Behavior ; Single Person

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether polymorphisms of gene encoding CYP1B1 is associated with the risk of endometriosis in Korean women. METHODS: We investigated 199 patients with histopathologically confirmed endometriosis rAFS stage III/IV and 183 control group women who were surgically proven to have no endometriosis. The genetic distribution of four different CYP1B1 polymorphisms at G119-T, G432-C, T449-C, and A453-G were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism of PCR products. RESULTS: We found no overall association between each individual CYP1B1 genotype and the risk of endometriosis. The odds ratio of genotype GG/GC+GG/TC+TT/AA compared to GG/CC/CC/AA (reference) was calculated as 2.06 with a 95% confidence interval of 1.003~4.216. CONCLUSIONS: This results suggest that CYP1B1 genetic polymorphism may be associated with development of endometriosis in Korean women.
Endometriosis* ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Odds Ratio ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length

In Korea, international marriage and inflow of foreigners have increased, as globalization leads to increase of human and resource movement, unbalanced sex ratios in marriage markets, and aging phenomenon, and decrease of fertility rate. The number of marriage-based immigrant women and their children is expected to be growing continuously. Because the majority of immigrant women are between 18 and 49 years old and permanently reside in Korea, there is a high possibility for them to give birth in the country. Many immigrant women get pregnant before acquiring nationality in Korea or without having enough time to adapt themselves to new circumstances. Thus, it is critical for them to have basic reproductive health care and health protection services. Also, there is a great need of maternal and child health services for multi-cultural family. marriage-based immigrant women are more likely to be vulnerable to injuries and diseases due to the relatively low level of income, education, and language skill, as well as cultural and environmental differences from their home country. Despite of the great health care needs for women and children in multi-cultural family, it lacks decent health care services for them and also there is no integrated national survey on their health. Therefore, it is necessary to establish integrated research system to understand the current health conditions and problems of women and children in multi-cultural family. Additionally, we need to set up the long-term life-support policies concerning different situations in multi-cultural families.
Aging ; Birth Rate ; Child Health Services ; Child Health* ; Child* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Education ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Ethnic Groups ; Female ; Humans ; Internationality ; Korea* ; Marriage ; Parturition ; Reproductive Health ; Sex Ratio

The purpose of this study was examine the general characteristics of relapsed pulmonary tuberculous patients (i.e. age, sex, weight, occupation, previous forms of treatment, drug sensitivity, and the frequency of relapse) in order to improve future treatments of tuberculosis as well as to perpetuate health education. The data was obtained from the medical records of 186 relapsed pulmonary tuberculosis patients who were registered for treatment at various public health officers in Seoul during the year of 1994. The major findings obtained from the study were as follows; l) The male to female ratio of relapsed pulmonary tuberculous patients was about 7:3, more specifically 23.7% of the men and 30.9% of the women were between 20 and 29 years of age. 2) Comparing initial less aggravated states to relapsed states, patients with minimal x-ray findings later proved moderately advanced X-ray findings. Furthermore, patients with negative sputum AEB findings later proved positive sputum AFB findings. 3) of the l86 patients studied, 91.9% suffered, relapse and 8.1% suffered 2 or more relapses. Of the patients who suffered at least 1 relapse, 54.8% received short-term treatment, 26.9% received long-term treatment, and 18.3% received treatment of an unknown during their initial tuberculosis treatment periods. 4) Fifty five point four percent of the patients had no reaction to the drug treatment(not available), 25.9% of the patients had sensitive reaction to the drug treatment, 18.7% of the patients had resistant reaction to the drug treatment. Drug resistance was higher in patients to exhibited positive X-ray findings as well as in patients that exhibited positive sputum findings furthermore, patients receiving treatment of an unknown nature(35.5%) exhibited higher drug resistance than those receiving short-term treatment(13.6%) and long-term treatment(l7.0%). 5) Of the 160 patients who suffered relapses, 8.8% suffered a relapse within 1 year after treatment and 91.2% suffered a relapse at least 1 year after treatment. Furthermore, our study showed that women, under 30, who received short-term treatment and encounterd complications during their primary treatment suffered relapses faster than any other groups studied. In addition, minimal X-ray findings and sputum AFB findings were not correlated to the time relapse occurred. Therefore, the greater efforts are needed to prevent relapsed pulmonary tuberculosis.
Drug Resistance ; Female ; Health Education ; Humans ; Male ; Medical Records ; Occupations ; Public Health* ; Recurrence ; Seoul* ; Sputum ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

PURPOSE:Insulin-like growth factor-I(IGF-I) is an essential anabolic factor for postnatal rat brain development and IGF-I expression is highly abundant during the first 21 days, critical growth period. Hypoxic-ischemic brain insults occurring during the perinatal period result in neuronal necrosis and permanent brain damage. To investigate the regulation of the action of IGF-I in response to such a hypoxic insult, we examined the gene expression of IGF-I and IGFBP-5 during the first 72 hr after hypoxic-ischemic injury in immature rat brain. METHODS:Ligation of the right carotid artery of 7-day-old rats was followed by 2 hour exposure to 8% oxygen to produce severe hypoxic brain damage. Using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR), the expression of IGF-I mRNA and IGFBP-5 mRNA was determined in both hypoxic and control brains at post 1, 4, 12, 24, 48 hr and 72 hr after hypoxic-ischemic insult. RESULTS:The IGF-I mRNA and IGFBP-5 mRNA expression of hypoxic brain were not different from those of controls at 1 hr of recovery but IGF-I mRNA expression was decreased rapidly at post 4 hr, this decrease more pronounced at 12 hr of recovery. IGF-I mRNA and IGFBP-5 mRNA expression were increased at 48 hr and 24 hr of recovery, respectively and both IGF-I mRNA and IGFBP-5 mRNA expression showed similar level of controls at 72 hr of recovery. CONCLUSION: Out findings suggest that IGF-I play a important role in both neuronal loss and repair process following hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and IGFBP-5 is also strongly involved in the repair of damaged brain tissue by mediating IGF-I action. (J Korean Soc Pediatr Endocrinol 2003;8:56-63)
Animals ; Brain Injuries* ; Brain* ; Carotid Arteries ; Gene Expression ; Hypoxia, Brain ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 5 ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; Necrosis ; Negotiating ; Neurons ; Oxygen ; Rats* ; RNA, Messenger*