Anticoccidial effects of the root bark of Dictamnus dasycarpus Turcz (Rutaceae) extract (DDE) were evaluated in chickens following oral infection with Eimeria (E.) tenella. Three-day-old chickens (n=30) were assigned to three groups (control, untreated, and DDE 0.1% treated). Chickens were fed a standard diet supplemented with or without DDE for 1 week prior to infection with E. tenella (10,000 sporulated oocysts per chicken). The effects of DDE on E. tenella infection were assessed by two parameters; fecal oocysts shedding and body weights gain. The DDE-fed chickens produced significantly reduced fecal oocysts (P<0.05) when compared to the E. tenella-infected group fed standard diet. Also, DDE-based diet, improved body weight loss caused by E. tenella infection. Our data demonstrated that DDE had remarkable anticoccidial activities against E. tenella. This finding might have implications for the development of anticoccidial drug. This study is the first to demonstrate anticoccidial effect of DDE on Eimeria parasites.
Body Weight ; Chickens ; Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene ; Dictamnus* ; Diet ; Eimeria ; Eimeria tenella* ; Oocysts ; Parasites ; Rutaceae

Onion peel contains a high concentration of quercetin and other flavonoids. In this study, the potential immune-enhancing effects of an onion peel water extract (OPE) supplement were investigated by the rat forced swimming test. OPE was prepared using hot water. Thirty-six male Sprague Dawley rats were fed a pellet diet for 1 week and were then randomly divided into six groups: normal control (NC), forced swimming control (FSC), positive control (quercetin 20 mg/kg), and three groups administered 4, 20, or 100 mg/kg of OPE. Oral drug administration was conducted daily for 4 weeks. All rats, except those of NC group, were forced to swim in water and were considered exhausted when they failed to rise to the water surface to breathe within a 7-s period. Blood lymphocyte counts, immune organ weights, histopathological analysis, and serum interferon (IFN)-gamma, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and interleukin (IL)-12 levels were determined. OPE-treated rats consumed more food and had an increased thymic cortex to medulla ratio than that observed in FSC group rats (P<0.05). The area of the white pulp in the spleens of OPE-treated group rats was increased compared with that in FSC group rats (P<0.05). Furthermore, blood lymphocyte numbers and IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and IL-12 concentrations were significantly higher in OPE-fed groups than in FSC group (P<0.05). These results suggest that an OPE supplement can improve the immune status by increasing the number of immune-related cells and specific cytokine levels.
Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Cytokines ; Diet ; Flavonoids ; Humans ; Interferons ; Interleukin-12 ; Interleukins ; Lymphocyte Count ; Male ; Models, Animal* ; Onions* ; Organ Size ; Physical Exertion ; Quercetin ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spleen ; Swimming* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Water*

Uni- or bilateral mandibular hypoplasia can be associated with various syndromes or is acquired after early traumatic or inflammatory disease in the temporomandibular joint(TMJ). Early treatment is necessary to avoid consequent impairment of midfacial growth. The standard treatment of these malformations consists of the application of bone grafts which can lead to unpredictable growth, but the new procedure of bone lengthening which was presented by McCarthy et al. represents a limited surgical intervention and therefore open up a new perspective of treatment, especially in younger children with severe deformities. Patients with hemifacial microsomia and facial asymmetry have a vertically short maxilla, a tilted occlusal plane, and a short mandible. A 14-years-old boy with facial asymmetry, who was fractured on both condyle and mandibular symphysis before 8 years ago, was treated by mandibular ramus lengthening, symphysial widening and surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion with corticotomy. After allowing 1 week for the healing of the periosteum, the distraction was performed at the rate of 0.5-1.0mm per day for 7 days on maxilla and 14 days on mandible. The device was maintained on maxilla and mandible for 12 weeks following distraction. The difference in ramus and mandibular transverse deficiency were corrected and facial asymmetry was improved with complex distraction osteogenesis.
Bone Lengthening ; Child ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Dental Occlusion ; Facial Asymmetry ; Goldenhar Syndrome ; Humans ; Male ; Mandible ; Maxilla ; Osteogenesis, Distraction* ; Periosteum ; Transplants

Anticoccidial effects of the Plantago asiatica extract (PAE) were evaluated in chickens following oral infection with Eimeria (E.) tenella. This study was conducted on the 3-day-old chickens (n=30). Those animals were divided with 3 groups; PAE 0.1% treated/infected (n=10), PAE untreated/infected (n=10) and non-infected control (n=10). Chickens were fed a standard diet supplemented with or without PAE for 1 week prior to infection with E. tenella (10,000 sporulated oocysts per chicken). The effects of PAE on E. tenella infection were assessed by two parameters; fecal oocysts shedding and body weights gain. The PAE-fed chickens produced significantly reduced fecal oocysts (P<0.05) when compared to the E. tenella-infected group fed standard diet. Also, PAE-based diet, improved body weight loss caused by E. tenella infection. Our data demonstrated that PAE had remarkable anticoccidial activities against E. tenella. This finding might have implications for the development of anticoccidial drug. This study is the first to demonstrate anticoccidial effect of PAE on Eimeria parasites.
Animals ; Body Weight ; Chickens ; Diet ; Eimeria tenella* ; Eimeria* ; Oocysts ; Parasites ; Plantago*

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to describe the process of utilizing a mobile application for ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to collect data on stress and mood in daily life setting. METHODS: A mobile application for the Android operating system was developed and installed with a set of questions regarding momentary mood and stress into a smartphone of a participant. The application sets alarms at semi-random intervals in 60-minute blocks, four times a day for 7 days. After obtaining all momentary affect and stress, the questions to assess the usability of the mobile EMA application were also administered. RESULTS: The data were collected from 97 police officers working in Gyeonggi Province of South Korea. The mean completion rate was 60.0% ranging from 3.5% to 100%. The means of positive and negative affect were 18.34 of 28 and 19.09 of 63. The mean stress was 17.92 of 40. Participants responded that the mobile application correctly measured their affect (4.34 ± 0.83) and stress (4.48 ± 0.62) of 5-point Likert scale. CONCLUSIONS: Our study investigated the process of utilizing a mobile application to assess momentary affect and stress at repeated times. We found challenges regarding adherence to the research protocol, such as completion and delay of answering after alarm notification. Despite this inherent issue of adherence to the research protocol, the EMA still has advantages of reducing recall bias and assessing the actual moment of interest at multiple time points that improves ecological validity.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Methyltestosterone ; Mobile Applications* ; Police ; Smartphone ; Stress, Psychological

Chronic postoperative inguinal pain (CPIP) is a major complication after inguinal herniorrhaphy. We report the treatment of CPIP using ultrasonography-combined with nerve stimulator for injection of the genitofemoral nerve (GFN). A 59-year-old man underwent laparoscopic herniorrhaphy and presented with numbness from the inguinal region to the scrotum after operation. In the pain clinic, ultrasonography-guided GFN block and pharmacological treatments had little effect. Six month after operation, patient was referred to the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and ultrasonography-combined with nerve stimulator for GFN injection underwent to enhance the accuracy of neural approach. The induction of scrotal contraction and paresthesia on the GFN distribution was monitored by nerve stimulator and local anesthetic was injected. After the block, pain relief lasted for 6 months without analgesic use. Ultrasonography-combined with nerve stimulator is an effective approach to treat CPIP as it enhances precise localization and injection of small peripheral nerve like GFN.
Herniorrhaphy ; Humans ; Hypesthesia ; Middle Aged ; Pain Clinics ; Paresthesia ; Peripheral Nerves ; Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine ; Scrotum

Little is known about the benefits of statin use on liver cancer mortality among patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) considering hypercholesterolemia and obesity. A nationwide retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from a Health Examination Cohort of the National Health Insurance Service of Korea. Data on CHB patients with no other concurrent liver disease were acquired, and statin use was defined as a cumulative daily dose ≥28. A 3-year landmark analysis was performed to avoid immortal time bias. Patients who started statin therapy within the landmark date were considered statin users. A Cox regression analysis was applied to assess associations between statin use and liver cancer mortality considering hypercholesterolemia and obesity. Among 13063 patients, 193 (1.5%) died of liver cancer during the mean follow-up period of 10.6 years. After adjusting for demographic and metabolic factors, statin use [hazard ratio (HR), 0.17; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.04–0.70] and hypercholesterolemia (HR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.24–0.88 for total cholesterol ≥240 mg/dL) were associated with a decreased risk of liver cancer mortality, whereas body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m² was associated with an increased risk of liver cancer mortality (HR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.20–5.06). This study showed that statin use was associated with decreased liver cancer mortality when adjusting for cholesterol levels and BMI. This study found that hypercholesterolemia was independently associated with decreased liver cancer mortality regardless of statin use.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Body Mass Index ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cholesterol ; Cohort Studies ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Korea ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Neoplasms ; Liver ; Mortality ; National Health Programs ; Obesity ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Frovatriptan is a selective 5-HT1B/1D agonist with a long duration of action and a low incidence of side effects. Although several placebo-controlled trials have documented the clinical efficacy and safety of frovatriptan in adults with migraine, this drug has not previously been studied in Asian including Korean patients. METHODS: In this double-blind multicenter trial, 229 patients with migraine were randomized to receive frovatriptan 2.5 mg or placebo upon the occurrence of a moderate-to-severe migraine. The primary outcome was the 2-hour headache response rate. RESULTS: Frovatriptan significantly increased the 2-hour headache response rate compared with placebo (52.9% vs. 34.0%, p=0.004). The headache response rates at 4, 6, and 12 hours were significantly higher in the frovatriptan group than in the placebo group, as was the pain-free rate at 2 hours (19.0% vs. 5.7%, p=0.004), 4 hours (40.7% vs. 23.0%, p=0.006), and 6 hours (56.1% vs. 34.0%, p=0.002). The median time to a headache response was significantly shorter in the frovatriptan group than in the placebo group (2.00 hours vs. 3.50 hours, p<0.001). The use of rescue medications was more common in the placebo group (p=0.005). Chest tightness associated with triptan was infrequent (2.5%), mild, and transient. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that 2.5-mg frovatriptan is effective and well tolerated in Korean migraineurs for acute treatment of migraine attacks.
Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Carbazoles ; Headache ; Humans ; Incidence ; Migraine Disorders ; Oxalates ; Thorax ; Tryptamines

PURPOSE: Most burn scar contractures are curable with skin grafts, but free flaps may be needed in some cases. Due to the adjacent tissue scarring, local flap is rarely used, and thus we may consider free flap which gives us more options than local flap. However, inappropriate performance of free flap may lead to unsatisfactory results despite technical complexity and enormous amount of effort. The author will discuss the points we should consider when using free flaps in treating burn scar contractures METHODS: We surveyed patients who underwent free flaps to correct burn scar contractures from 2000 to 2007. We divided patients into two groups. The first group was those in which free flaps were inevitable due to exposure of deep structures such as bones and tendons. The second group was those in which free flap was used to minimize scar contracture and to achieve aesthetic result. RESULTS: We performed 44 free flap on 42 patients. All of the flaps were taken well except one case of partial necrosis and wound dehiscence. Forearm free flap was the most common with 21 cases. Most of the cases(28 cases) in which free flaps were inevitable were on the wrist and lower limbs. These were cases of soft tissue defect due to wide and extensive burns. Free flaps were done in 16 cases to minimize scar contracture and to obtain aesthetic outcome, recipient sites were mostly face and upper extremities. CONCLUSION: When using free flaps for correction of burn scar contractures, proper release and full resurfacing of the contracture should be carried out in advance. If inadequate free flap is performed, secondary correction is more challenging than in skin grafts. In order to optimize the result of reconstruction, flap thickness, size and scar of the recipient site should be considered, then we can achieve natural shape, and minimize additional correction.
Burns ; Cicatrix ; Contracture ; Forearm ; Free Tissue Flaps ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Necrosis ; Skin ; Tendons ; Transplants ; Wrist

PURPOSE: Primary focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis(FSGS) is a clinicopathological entity defined by the segmental sclerosis involving glomeruli in a focal distribution with poor prognosis. Approximately 50% to 70% of adults with FSGS manifests nephrotic syndrome, and the others show mild to moderate proteinuria. In this study, we intended to figure out the clinical course, treatments and possible prognostic factors of FSGS in adults. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical characteristics of 54 adult patients diagnosed as primary focal segmental glomerulo-sclerosis(FSGS) by renal biopsy in Chungnam National University Hospital. from Dec. 1989 to Jan. 2000. RESULTS: Mean age of 54 patients was 36.8+/-24.6 (15-75) years. Male to female ratio of them was 1.08 : 1. Thirty one patients(57%) of them were manifested as nephrotic syndrome and their male to female ratio was 1.4 : 1. In all of 54 primary FSGS patients, generalized edema(59%), microscopic hematuria (44%), hypertension(39%) and azotemia(15%) were noted as clinical manifestations at the time of diagnosis. Median duration of follow-up was 48.7(6-123) months. Except generalized edema, serum cholesterol and albumin level, and 24 hour urine protein excretion, there was no significant difference in hypertension, hematuria, serum creatinine, duration of follow- up and progression to chronic renal failure between 31 nephrotic and 23 non-nephrotic patients. Sixteen (52%) of 31 nephrotic patients with primary FSGS showed complete remission. Seven(22%) of them showed partial remission and eight(26%) of them showed no response after 8 weeks of first steroid treatment. No response group of primary FSGS nephrotic patients progressed significantly more to chronic renal failure than remission group including complete or partial remission patients. No response groups showed significantly higher serum creatinine, lower creatinine clearance, higher degree of glomerular global sclerosis and interstitial fibrosis than remission group at the time of diagnosis. Eleven patients(8 nephrotic and 3 non-nephrotic patients) of 54 primary FSGS patients progressed to CRF during follow-up period, and they showed significantly lower creatinine clearance and higher degree of global glomerular sclerosis at the time of diagnosis than normal renal function maintaining group. CONCLUSION: It is speculated that initial renal function and degree of global glomerular sclerosis at the time of diagnosis in primary FSGS patients, and additively response to initial steroid therapy and the degree of interstitial fibrosis at the time of diagnosis in nephrotic primary FSGS patients are thought to be significant long-term prognostic factors.
Adult* ; Biopsy ; Cholesterol ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Creatinine ; Diagnosis ; Edema ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Male ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Prognosis ; Proteinuria ; Retrospective Studies ; Sclerosis