BACKGROUND: Frailty, a multidimensional geriatric syndrome, confers a high risk of falls, disability, hospitalization, and mortality. The prevalence and correlates of frailty in older people dwelling in rural communities are unknown. METHODS: We examined frailty, as defined by the Korean Geriatric Society, and social correlates among rural community-dwelling older adults (n=419) aged 65 or older. RESULTS: The prevalence of frailty and prefrailty was 11.5% and 38.7%, respectively. Among eight frailty criteria, the prevalence of multiple medications was highest (57.3%), while self-rated health as "unhealthy" was the second highest (45.1%). In contrast, the prevalence of exhaustion was the lowest (10%) among the eight frailty criteria. The prevalence of frailty was 12.6% among women and 6.3% among men (p=0.02). Uneducated older adults showed a significantly higher prevalence of frailty (13.1%) than any other educational groups (6.3-9.2%). In addition, older adults with high social support showed lower frailty than the other groups. After adjustment for other factors; however, a lack of social support (odds ratio for frailty, 1.98; 95% confidence interval, 1.14-3.44) was associated with increased odds of frailty. CONCLUSION: Frailty is not uncommon among rural community-dwelling old men and women in Korea. In the rural community, females with a lack of social support might be at a higher risk of frailty, as those were two of the strongest risk factors discovered in this study. This study calls for more interest and concern for the frail older adults with a lack of social support in rural communities.
Adult* ; Aged ; Female ; Frail Elderly ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Mortality ; Prevalence* ; Risk Factors ; Rural Population

No abstract available.
Adult ; Hidradenitis ; Humans

Bacillus anthracis is a soil pathogen capable of causing anthrax in animals and humans. To establish a method for specifically detecting B. anthracis, we used nested polymerase chain reaction. Outer and inner sets of oligonucleotide primers were designed from the protective antigen (pag) gene and from the cya gene of the plasmid pXO1. Ainplification of 482 bp or 208 bp DNA fragment obtained from a nested PCR method provided the basis for rapid and reliable assay for the detection and identification of B. anthracis.
Animals ; Anthrax ; Bacillus anthracis* ; Bacillus* ; DNA ; DNA Primers ; Humans ; Plasmids ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Soil

BACKGROUND: Because specific chromosomal abnormalities are associated with certain hematologic disorders, cytogenetic studies can help classifing the diseases, providing the clues of disease progression and being used to monitor remission after chemotherapy. In this study, cytogenetic analysis was performed. In acute and chronic leukemic patients in Korea and the results were compared with foreign cytogenetic reports, and the typical acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) associated chromosome aberrations were analysed by some calculated parameters to clarify if the specific chromosomal abberations in the specific types or subtypes of leukemias had diagnostic value or not. METHOD: Chromosome studies were done in bone marrow or peripheral blood samples by high resolution banding technique. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of finding or not finding a given aberration were calculated for followings : for the differential diagnosis between ALL and AML when a patient is known to have acute leukemia, for the differential diagnosis among AML and ALL FAB subtypes in a patient with known AML and ALL. RESULTS: The high positive predictive values (1.0) in the AML versus ALL comparison were found for -7, del(7) (q11-34q22-36), +8s, t(8;21) (q22;q22), t(15;17) (q22;q11), inv (16) (q13;q22) and -Y. Among the AML subtypes, the highest sensitivity, positive and negative predictive values were 0.85, 0.97, 0.94 for t(15;17) (q22;q11) in M3, respectively. The high positive predictive values and specificity in the ALL versus AML comparison were found for t(1;19) (q23;p13) ,t(4;11) (q21 ;23) and t(8; 14) (q24;q32) Among the ALL subtypes, the highest negative predictive value was 0.99 for t (8;14) (q24;q32) in L3. Among 398 CML cases, Philadelphia chromosome positive CML were shown in 81.9% that were classic t(9;22) (q34;all) (94.5%), complex variant traslocation(1.8%) and additional secondary chromosome aberrations (3.7%) . CONCLUSION: Total chromosomal aberration rate in acute and chronic leukemia in Korea was lower than that in foreign reports, but the patterns of chromosome aberrations were similar except for t(15;17) (q22;q11) in AML patients. Quantitativly calculated data of sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values in the specific chromosomal aberration might be used for diagnostic markers of acute leukemia.
Bone Marrow ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Cytogenetic Analysis ; Cytogenetics* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Disease Progression ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Korea* ; Leukemia ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Philadelphia Chromosome ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Sensitivity and Specificity

No abstract available.
Acupuncture ; Sarcoidosis

Extremely massive sellar xanthogranuloma (XG) are rare, and the surgical outcome and prognosis are not well known. XG remain unknown whether they are derived from Rathke's cleft cysts (RCCs) or craniopharyngiomas (CPs) following extensive inflammation and metaplasia, to the point that no epithelium is readily identifiable. These lesions usually tend to occur in younger patients (mean 28.3 years), have a smaller diameter, and remain primarily intrasellar region with infrequent calcification. This 36-year-old man presented our hospital with visual deterioration. At the time of visit, there were no neurological problems other than visual field defect and hormonal disorder. He visited our hospital in 2007 due to headache and decreased vision, and underwent transphenoid surgery for pituitary RCC. Since then, he has received treatment at our hospital for postoperative hormonal disorders. Through preoperative imaging study, the author suspected CP and underwent surgery. During the operation, the adhesion of the tumor to the surrounding major neurovascular structures was severe in the naked eyes, but the tumor could be removed more easily than expected. The postoperative histological findings were confirmed as XG. The postoperative course was uneventful. Compared to the previous literature, this case is a case where the size of XG is very large in a sellar region and it can be proved that it originated from the RCC. And regular follow-up is necessary to confirm the prognosis after surgery.
Adult ; Central Nervous System Cysts ; Craniopharyngioma ; Epithelium ; Follow-Up Studies ; Headache ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Metaplasia ; Prognosis ; Visual Fields

Cytogenetic analysis of 4 cases of meningiomas from 3 male and 1 female patients is reported. One of male patients suffered from neurofibromatosis type 2. Histologically, the meningiomas were meningotheliomatous (1), transitional (2), and psammomatous (1). Chromosomal abnormalities were found in all cases with a karyotype 45,XY,-22, 45,XY,-16, 45,XX,-2, and 45,XY,t (15p;22q), respectively. Monosomy of chromosome 22 was detected only in the patient with neurofibromatosis type 2. These cytogenetic analysis demonstrates that variable clonal karyotype aberrations exist in meningiomas.
Adolescent ; Adult ; *Chromosome Aberrations ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Meningeal Neoplasms/*genetics ; Meningioma/*genetics ; Neurofibromatosis 2/genetics

BACKGROUND: Food restriction has been reported to ameliorate diabetes and obesity. In this study, we examined the effects of the food restriction on phenotypes of TALLYHO/JngJ (TH) mouse, a recently developed diabetic model animal. METHODS: 3 week-old TH mice were divided into 2 groups (n = 20 each for food-restricted (THR) and free-fed (THF)) and THR mice were fed the same amount of food as normal control mice (C57BL/6, n = 20). Body weight was weekly monitored till 14 weeks of age. The half of animals were sacrificed at 8 weeks of age, and liver, kidney, and fat weight were measured. The histopathology of liver and brown fat tissues and mRNA expression of leptin in adipose tissue were analyzed. The oral glucose tolerance test and insulin resistance test was done at 14 weeks of age. The plasma concentrations of glucose, free fatty acid, triglyceride, cholesterol and leptin were analyzed. RESULTS: The THR mice had lower body weights than the THF mice, similar to C57BL/6 mice, with reduced fat deposition in liver and brown fat tissue. The plasma levels of glucose, triglyceride and free fatty acid were decreased in the THR group. The THR mice, however, carried more fat than normal mice, with increased plasma leptin concentration and leptin mRNA expression in fats and no alteration in plasma cholesterol levels. Furthermore, the THR mice revealed glucose intolerance with impaired after-meal insulin secretion and slight insulin resistance CONCLUSION: The food restriction apparently ameliorated the obesity and diabetic phenotypes of TH mice. However, plasma concentration of cholesterol were not improved in THR mice with increased adiposity index and glucose intolerance, suggesting the genetically prone tendency of obesity and diabetes development in TH mice possibly with an impairment in cholesterol metabolism.
Adipose Tissue ; Adipose Tissue, Brown ; Adiposity ; Animals ; Body Weight ; Cholesterol ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Fats ; Glucose ; Glucose Intolerance ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Kidney ; Leptin ; Liver ; Mice ; Obesity ; Phenotype ; Plasma ; RNA, Messenger

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Oxidative stress is involved in the pathophysiological mechanisms of stroke (e.g., atherosclerosis) and brain injury after ischemic stroke. Statins, which inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, have both pleiotropic and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-lowering properties. Recent trials have shown that high-dose statins reduce the risk of cerebrovascular events. However, there is a paucity of data regarding the changes in the oxidative stress markers in patients with atherosclerotic stroke after statin use. This study evaluated changes in oxidative stress markers after short-term use of a high-dose statin in patients with atherosclerotic stroke. METHODS: Rosuvastatin was administered at a dose of 20 mg/day to 99 patients who had suffered an atherosclerotic stroke and no prior statin use. Blood samples were collected before and 1 month after dosing, and the serum levels of four oxidative stress markers-malondialdehyde (MDA), oxidized LDL (oxLDL), protein carbonyl content (PCO), and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG)-were evaluated to determine the oxidation of MDA and lipids, proteins, and DNA, respectively, at both of those time points. RESULTS: The baseline levels and the degrees of reduction after statin use differed among the oxidative stress markers measured. MDA and PCO levels were associated with infarct volumes on diffusion-weighted imaging (r=0.551, p<0.05, and r=0.444, p=0.05, respectively). Statin use decreased MDA and oxLDL levels (both p<0.05) but not the PCO or 8-OHdG level. While the reduction in MDA levels after statin use was not associated with changes in cholesterol, that in oxLDL levels was proportional to the reductions in cholesterol (r=0.479, p<0.01), LDL (r=0.459, p<0.01), and apolipoprotein B (r=0.444, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The impact of individual oxidative stress markers differs with time after ischemic stroke, suggesting that different oxidative markers reflect different aspects of oxidative stress. In addition, short-term use of a statin exerts antioxidant effects against lipid peroxidation via lipid-lowering-dependent and -independent mechanisms, but not against protein or DNA oxidation in atherosclerotic stroke patients.
Antioxidants* ; Apolipoproteins ; Atherosclerosis ; Brain Injuries ; Cholesterol ; Coenzyme A ; DNA ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors* ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Lipoproteins ; Oxidative Stress ; Oxidoreductases ; Stroke ; Rosuvastatin Calcium

No abstract available.
Female ; Lymphoma* ; Ovary*