PURPOSE: To examine whether preterm small for gestational age (SGA) infants have a different perinatal outcome than preterm appropriate for gestational age (AGA) infants. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was done for 203 (50 SGA and 153 AGA) singleton nondiabetic preterm infants with gestational age between 27-35 weeks who were admitted to Yeungnam University hospital neonatal intensive care unit between January 1999 and February 2002. A comparative analysis of various parameters, including maternal and neonatal variables, was done in SGA and AGA groups. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in perinatal morbidity even mortality for the SGA group compared with AGA group. CONCLUSION: Our results may be helpful to predict the perinatal complications and to manage the preterm infants. For the confirmation of perinatal outcome in SGA versus AGA in preterm infants, a larger number of infants will be needed.
Gestational Age* ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature* ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Mortality ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: Through a survey undertaken among doctors practicing pediatric patients in primary medical facilities on nutrition during infancy, the present study was done to determine whether these doctors were giving appropriate advice on infant nutrition. METHODS: We visited pediatric specialists(group one) and non-pediatric specialists or general practitioners(group two) who were practicing in Daegu to ask them to fill out a questionaire on infant nutrition. RESULTS: When 10 points were given to each question for a total of 100 points, the results of the evaluation showed that the score in group one was 73.0+/-15.8 points and 45.1+/-18.4 points in group two, showing a significant difference. No statistical difference was seen in the scores between non-pediatric specialists and general practitioners. Each answer to each question on the feeding period of breast milk, on loose stools during breast milk feeding, methods to deal with jaundice during breast milk feeding, choice of commercial baby food, criteria on directing soy milk, and criteria of guiding infant cereal was different between group one and two. CONCLUSION: The results of the present investigation showed that specialists in other fields or general practitioners were giving inappropriate advice on nutrition during the infant stage compared with pediatric specialists; thus, we need to confirm methods to prevent inappropriate consultations by specialists of other fields, together with continued education of pediatric specialists.
Edible Grain ; Counseling* ; Daegu ; Education ; General Practitioners ; Humans ; Infant* ; Jaundice ; Milk, Human ; Referral and Consultation ; Soy Milk ; Specialization

No abstract available.
Ataxia* ; Ophthalmoplegia*

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the value of colonoscopy for assessment of colonic mucosal lesions and for microbial identification in patients with acute diarrhea. METHODS: From March 2000 to August 2000, forty-one patients with watery or bloody diarrhea lasting less than 15 days were participated after the exclusion of patients who had previous history or presumption of inflammatory bowel disease, radiation colitis, ischemic colitis, or pseudomembranous colitis. Both biopsy specimens and colonic luminal fluid were taken during the colonoscopy and used for bacterial cultures. RESULTS: Male and female ratio was 22:19 and mean age was 45+/-20 years. The extent of acute colitis was as followed: the normal colonoscopic finding in five cases (12.2%), involvement of one segment in 3 cases (7.3%), involvement of two or more segments in 14 cases (34.1%), pancolitis in 10 cases (24.4%) and pancolitis with terminal ileitis in 9 cases (22.0%). In culture study, identification of more than one pathogen was in 19/41 (46.3%) and the common pathogens were Enterobacter (11 cases), Salmonella species (6 cases), Citrobacter freundii complex (2 cases), Klebsiella oxytoca (2 cases) and Morganella morganii (1 case). Pathogen could be identified in 11.8% with stool specimen, 46.2% with biopsy specimen and 62.5% with intraluminal fluid, but without statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Colonoscopy was useful in the evaluation of extent and severity of acute infectious colitis. Obtaining the biopsy specimens and intraluminal fluid during colonoscopy seemed to assist in identifying the pathogen in patients with acute diarrhea.
Biopsy* ; Citrobacter freundii ; Colitis ; Colitis, Ischemic ; Colon ; Colonoscopy* ; Crohn Disease ; Diarrhea* ; Enterobacter ; Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Klebsiella oxytoca ; Male ; Morganella morganii ; Phenobarbital ; Salmonella

BACKGROUND: Various vectors have been developed and tried for the delivery of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in order to supplement dopamine, which is severely deficient in Parkinson's disease, however, none of the protocols tried have yielded fruitful results that can be applied directly to humans. One of the problems revealed from previous trials was a short duration of expression of the delivered gene, that is, tyrosine hydroxylase. METHODS: To extend the stability and to improve the enzymatic characteristics of the protein, part of the regulatory domain was deleted via PCR technique. The cDNA for regulatory domain-deleted THs (dTH) were sub-cloned into a retroviral vector and the resulting recom-binant retrovirus was used to infect NIH-3T3. After selection, expression levels of TH were determined by Western blot analysis and the enzymatic characteristics were examined. RESULTS: The deletion increased steady state expression level of TH protein by 7-fold for d19TH (TH with amino acids #2-19 are deleted) and 3-fold for d31TH (TH with amino acids #2-31 are deleted. The elevated expression level of d19TH is likely due to the enhanced stability of the protein as determined by a treatment of cycloheximide. The activity of d19TH was also increased approximately by 3-fold but no increase of the L-dopa production was observed. However, the production of L-dopa was dramatically increased when GTP cyclohydrolase I (GTPCH I) was co-transfected suggesting that the activity of d19TH is dependent on the presence of cofactor. d19TH seem to be free of feedback inhibition at low concentration of dopamine (10 nM~1 nM) but more sensitive to the inhibition at high concentration of dopamine (10 mM). CONCLUSIONS: The deletion of 18 amino acids on the regulatory domain increases the stability of the protein, reduces the activity, and frees it from the feedback inhibi-tion by the end product.
Amino Acids ; Blotting, Western ; Cycloheximide ; DNA, Complementary ; Dopamine ; Fruit ; GTP Cyclohydrolase ; Humans ; Levodopa ; Parkinson Disease ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Retroviridae ; Staphylococcal Protein A ; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase* ; Tyrosine* ; Zidovudine

We present a 45-yr-old male with clinical signs and symptoms of mild hyperthyroidism, high serum levels of T3, T4, and FT4 as well as serum TSH concentration. The elevated alpha-subunit level and alpha-subunit/TSH molar ratio were also observed. These findings indicated the presence of hyperthyroidism due to inappropriate secretion of TSH, whose neoplastic origin was documented by nuclear magnetic resonance scan showing a 0. 6 cm pituitary adenoma. Selective pituitary adenomectomy was completely successful; alpha-subunit, TSH, T3, T 4, and FT4 normalized, and euthyroidism was restored. Light microscopic immunohistochemistry showed that the adenoma was composed of TSH-secreting cells
Adenoma/diagnosis/pathology/*secretion ; Case Report ; Human ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Age ; Pituitary Neoplasms/diagnosis/pathology/*secretion ; Thyrotropin/*secretion

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study was performed to evaluate the relationship between bowel symptom changes and dysmenorrhea in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) according to the menstrual cycle. METHODS: Two hundred thirty-seven female medical students filled up questionnaires including change of bowel symptom, dysmenorrhea and perimenstrual symptom. Seventeen volunteered to keep diaries concerning their bowel habits and menstruation for two menstrual cycles. RESULTS: One hundred and sixty-three (68.8%) reported that their bowel habit was changed according to menstrual cycle. Ninety-three (39.2%) fit the Rome II criteria of IBS. The number of subjects who reported changed bowel habit during the menstruation period was more in the IBS group than in the non-IBS group (84/93 vs. 83/144, p<0.005). The severity of dysmenorrhea was not different between IBS and non-IBS groups. The menstrual distress score during the menstruation period was significantly higher in the IBS group than in the non-IBS group. In 17 volunteers (12 IBS, 5 non-IBS), stool consistency and frequency were not significantly different between the menstruation and non-menstruation periods, regardless of their IBS status. The mean score of abdominal pain was higher in the menstruation than in the non-menstruation period only in the IBS group. CONCLUSIONS: IBS women have more bowel symptoms during their menstruation period than non-IBS women. Its mechanism should be further clarified.
Abdominal Pain ; Dysmenorrhea* ; Female ; Humans ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome* ; Menstrual Cycle ; Menstruation ; Students, Medical ; Volunteers ; Surveys and Questionnaires