Animal models for human chronic pain syndromes were developed and widely used for pain research. One of thsese neuropathic pain model by Kim and Chung[1992] has many advantages for operation and pain elicitation. We have examined the c-fos protein, substance P, CGRP immunoreactivity in dorsal root ganglia and dorsal horn in this neuropathic model. About 50 Sprague-Dawley rats were used for this study. L5 and L6 spinal nerve were ligated tightly to produce neuropathic pain model. After 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 hours and 1 week of surgery, rats were anesthesized and sacrificed by perfusion through the left ventricle with saline followed by 0.1M phosphate buffer[pH 7.4] containing 3% paraformaldehyde, 3% glutaraldehyde, and 0.1% picric acid. After confirmation of the roots transected by the surgery, the L5 and L6 dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord were removed and processed for immunohistochemistry. All tissue sections were immunohistochemically stained for substance P, CGRP and c-fos by using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase[PAP] method. Count the number of immunostained substance P and CGRP dorsal root ganglion cells and c-fos immunoreactive dorsal horn cells and analyzed statistically with Mann-Whitney U test. The results are as follows. 1. The number of c-fos protein immunoreactive neurons in the superficial layer of dorsal horn were increased markedly at 2 hours after operation, gradually decreased to normal level 1 week after operation. 2. The number of c-fos protein immunoreactive neurons in the deep layer of dorsal horn were gradually increased to the peak 24 hours after operation, decreased to normal level 1 week after operation. 3. The number of substance P and CGRP immunoreactive L5 and L6 dorsal root ganglion neurons were decreased markedly at 1 week after pain model operation. In conclusion, after neuropathic pain model operation, c-fos protein were immediately expressed in the superficial layer of spinal dorsal horn, thereafter c-fos protein in the deep layer of spinal dorsal horn were expressed. CGRP and substance P immunoreactive neurons were decreased markedly 1 week after neuropathic pain model operation.
Animals ; Chronic Pain ; Ganglia, Spinal* ; Glutaral ; Heart Ventricles ; Horns* ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Models, Animal ; Neuralgia ; Neurons* ; Perfusion ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases* ; Posterior Horn Cells ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Nerve Roots* ; Spinal Nerves ; Substance P

Some of the pituitary prolactinomas were reported that they don't have active dopamine receptors and do not respond to bromocriptine which is a dopamine agonist. GH3 cell line which is derived from the rat pituitary tumor cells lacks affinity of dopamine receptors and secrete prolactin as well as small amount of growth hormone. Although it has been reported that epidermal growth factor (EGF) induces functional expression of dopamine receptors on GH3 cells in vitro, there has been a contradictory result. In the present study, EGF effect on the GH3 cell response to the bromocriptine was observed in order to investigate whether EGF induces dopamine receptor expression on dopamine resistant tumors in the absence of serum. GH3 cells were cultured for 4 days in the serum-supplemented medium (SSM) followed by culture in serum-free medium (SFM) with or without EGF. Additionally, effect of tamoxifen was also observed. EGF decreased the cell number and the ratio of cell division of GH3 cells while the ratio of prolactin-immunoreac-tive cells was increased. However, EGF did not show any significant effect on the GH3 cell response to bromocriptine treatment. Although tamoxifen decreased the GH3 cell number by increasing apoptosis, it did not influence GH3 cell response to bromocriptine. Our results indicate that EGF does not increase the affinity of dopamine receptors on GH3 cells and is not useful for the treatment of the dopamine-resistant prolactinoma.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Bromocriptine ; Cell Count ; Cell Division ; Cell Line ; Dopamine ; Dopamine Agonists ; Epidermal Growth Factor* ; Growth Hormone ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Prolactin ; Prolactinoma ; Rats ; Receptors, Dopamine ; Tamoxifen

This study was performed in order to establish the culture system optimal for the study on pituitary prolactin cells using growth factor and extra cellular matrix components as the culture substrate. The effect of epidermal growth factor (EGF) alone or along with extracellular marix components on GH3 cell growth and PRL expression was assessed using cell count, BrdU-immunocytochemistry and PRL-immunocytochemistry in in vitro cultures on plastic, laminin and Matrigel. EGF decreased the cell growth, BrdU-labeling and increased the PRL-immunoreactive cells regardless of the culture substrate by day 3 of the culture. Matrigel was the best culture substrate to decrease the cell growth and to increase the PRL expression. EGF treatment in the Matrigel culture showed about 80.5% of PRL-immunoreactive cells by day 6 of the culture. These results indicated that Matrigel is the better culture substrate than plastic or laminin to inhibit the overgrowth and to increase the prolactin expression of the GH3 cell and that EGF and Matrigel causes very effective culture environment for the long-term culture of the GH3 cell by synergistic mechanism.
Cell Count ; Epidermal Growth Factor* ; Extracellular Matrix* ; Lactotrophs ; Laminin ; Pituitary Neoplasms* ; Plastics ; Prolactin

BACKGROUND: As the average lifespan of human increases, osteoporosis and osteoporosis-related fractures have become major health care problems. Despite recent advances in medical treatment, few studies have assessed the recognition of osteoporosis in general adults. This study examined the recognition of osteoporosis and analysed the relating factors. METHODS: We made a survey in a rural area called Chunjunlee in Chunchon city. The questionnaire contained general characteristics of people, sociocultural factors, questions constructed to know the recognition of osteoporosis and factors that were presumed to influence people's recognition of osteoporosis. DEXA was performed on those who visited our medical office free of charge. RESULTS: The total number of people who responded to the questionnaire was 204. They were composed of 81 men and 123 women. Among the total, 83% of women and 72.8% of men said that they had heard about osteoporosis. There was no significant recognition score difference between men and women. In the items of recognition, wrong answer rate concerning the association between osteoporosis and musculoskeletal disorders such as osteoarthritis and low back pain was above 90%. The significant factors that influenced its recognition were age, education level, menopause state and newspaper/ magazine subscription. All men who were diagnosed with osteoporosis on DEXA initially said that they did not have osteoporosis. CONCLUSION: Many people had a conceptual confusion between osteoporosis and other muscular skeletal disorders such as osteoarthritis and low back pain. Physicians played no significant role in improvement of people's recognition of osteoporosis. Generally, men thought that osteoporosis was a problem in women only.
Adult ; Delivery of Health Care ; Education ; Female ; Gangwon-do ; Humans ; Low Back Pain ; Male ; Menopause ; Osteoarthritis ; Osteoporosis* ; Periodicals as Topic ; Periodicals

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to develop the screening questionnaire (Adolescent Mental Health and Problem Behavior Questionnaire, AMPQ) for detecting mental health problems and various problem behaviors in adolescents. METHODS: First, six main domains of questionnaire were defined and preliminary sub-items were collected through literature study, consultation data from field mental health experts, and preliminary survey study. Next, with these 52 preliminary items, we conducted nationwide survey on 1,267 middle and high school students of five districts of Korea. RESULTS: Through reliability test and factor analysis 34 items were finally filtered out. The Cronbach's alpha of these 34 items was .88. And correlation with K-YSR and K-CBCL were .34 (p<.01) and .68 (p<.01). CONCLUSION: AMPQ, which is comprised of relatively short list of items and at the same time covers overall mental health and problem behaviors in adolescents can be used by non-professionals as a screening questionnaire in school settings or mental health centers.
Adolescent ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Mental Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires

On July 6, 2009, an outbreak of gastroenteritis occurred among middle school students in Incheon. An investigation to identify the source and describe the extent of the outbreak was conducted. A retrospective cohort study among students, teachers, and food handlers exposed to canteen food in the middle school was performed. Using self-administered questionnaires, information was collected concerning on symptoms, days that canteen food was consumed, and food items consumed. Stool samples were collected from 66 patients and 11 food handlers. The catering kitchen was inspected and food samples were taken. Of the 791 people who ate canteen food, 92 cases became ill, representing an attack rate of 11.6%. Thirty-one (40.3%) of the 77 stool specimens were positive for Campylobacter jejuni. Interviews with kitchen staff indicated the likelihood that undercooked chicken was provided. This is the first recognized major C. jejuni outbreak associated with contaminated chicken documented in Korea.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Animals ; Campylobacter Infections/*epidemiology ; *Campylobacter jejuni ; Chickens ; Cohort Studies ; *Disease Outbreaks ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Environmental Exposure ; Female ; Food Contamination ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Water Microbiology

PURPOSE: Colorectal cancer is believed to progress through an adenoma-carcinoma sequence. However, recent evidence increasingly supports the existence of an alternative route for colorectal carcinogenesis through a serrated adenoma, which combines the architectural features of hyperplastic polyps with the cytological features of traditional adenomas. We assessed the characteristics and the endoscopic features of serrated adenomas and compared them with those of hyperplastic polyps and traditional adenomas in Korea. METHODS: The medical records of 344 consecutive patients who underwent a colonoscopic biopsy or polypectomy from January 2003 through August 2004 at Gyeongsang National University Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Serrated adenomas were seen in 12 cases (3.4%), and the most common site was the rectum (50%). Endoscopically in most cases, the serrated adenomas had small diameters (< or = 0.5 cm) and were single polyps. Morphologically, the serrated adenomas were flat and non-pedunculated. The coincidental rate of the carcinomas was 8.3%. CONCLUSIONS: According to this study, serrated adenomas are generally single, sessile adenomas with diameters less than 5 mm, and they are commonly observed in the left colon, especially in the rectum.
Adenoma* ; Biopsy ; Carcinogenesis ; Colon ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Humans ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Polyps ; Rectum ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: This study was to investigate the current use of depression rating scales by psychiatrists and clinical psychologists in Korea. METHODS: The questionnaires from many psychiatrists and clinical psychologists were included in the analysis. The questionnaire was composed of items about examining the percentage of patients clinically using depression rating scales, reasons for not use of them, the degree of satisfaction, the perceived agreement rate between the result of depression rating scales and doctor's clinical interview in the evaluation of patients with depressive symptoms. Data were analyzed by chi-square and independent t-test. RESULTS: The clinical use of depression rating scales was more frequent in the psychologists than in the psychiatrists. The purposes for using depression rating scales were assessed into six areas, there was no significant difference in between two groups, and both groups pointed out their purpose as rating of severity and screening. The reasons for not using scales were that their interview may be sufficient for diagnosis and assessment of depressive patients and they are not familiar with the use of depression rating scales. The psychiatrists usually prefer the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Symptom Checklist 90-Revision (SCL-90-R) in order of frequency, and the clinical psychologists are more likely to use the BDI, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and SCL-90-R. Overall rate of satisfaction in the use of the scales was 67.29+/-14.45% and overall perceived agreement rate was 70.89+/-16.45%. CONCLUSION: Currently used depression rating scales at the clinical practice were not various. Therefore, to heighten clinicians' utility of these depression rating scales measures, either educational efforts or advertisements, or both, will be necessary to spread them wildly.
Checklist ; Depression ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Mental Health ; MMPI ; Psychiatry ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Weights and Measures

Hafnia alvei is a gram-negative bacillus that is rarely isolated from human clinical specimens and is rarely pathogenic. This organism is an extremely uncommon cause of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). We report a case of an 83-year-old male with hepatitis C-associated liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma who was diagnosed with SBP caused by H. alvei. He was admitted to an university-affiliated hospital with fever and abdominal pain. There were 2 episodes of SBP during 2 months. Although isolates of H. alvei from ascitic fluid were shown to be susceptible to cefotaxime, responses for cefotaxime treatment were inadequate in both episodes. Therefore, cefotaxime was switched to imipenem in the first episode and to ciprofloxacin in the second, according to the results of antimicrobial susceptibility. After the antibiotics was changed, SBP was resolved.
Abdominal Pain ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Ascitic Fluid ; Bacillus ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cefotaxime ; Ciprofloxacin ; Fever ; Hafnia ; Hafnia alvei ; Hepatitis ; Humans ; Imipenem ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Male ; Peritonitis

PURPOSE: Vitamin D deficiency is reported to be more common in type 1 diabetes patients and might be associated with the increased urinary loss of vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) consequent to impaired 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) circulation. We aimed to evaluate the possible increased urinary loss of VDBP, a correlation between VDBP and circulating 25(OH)D level, and risk factors influencing low vitamin D level in pediatric type 1 diabetes patients without microalbuminuria. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of subjects who visited Seoul National University Children’s Hospital between January and March 2013. Forty-two type 1 diabetes patients and 29 healthy controls were included. Biochemical parameters including serum and urine VDBP concentrations were analyzed. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the frequency of vitamin D deficiency or serum 25(OH)D level between the 2 groups. The serum and urine VDBP concentrations did not show any difference between the 2 groups. Serum 25(OH) D level did not correlate with serum or urine VDBP. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that daylight outdoor hours (β=2.948, P=0.003) and vitamin D intake (β=2.865, P=0.003) affected the 25(OH)D level; the presence of type 1 diabetes or urinary VDBP excretion was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: In pediatric type 1 diabetes patients, urinary VDBP excretion did not contribute to low serum 25(OH)D level in the setting of normoalbuminuria. The factors associated with 25(OH)D level during winter periods were daylight outdoor hours and vitamin D intake. Further studies including both micro- and macroalbuminuria patients with type 1 diabetes are warranted.
Albuminuria ; Child ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 ; Ergocalciferols ; Humans ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Vitamin D ; Vitamin D Deficiency ; Vitamin D-Binding Protein* ; Vitamins*