Astrovirus is frequently associated with diarrhea in children. It can not be readily isolated by cell culture, and an electronmicroscope is usually used for detection of this agent. Recently in 1995 a combined method of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was designed for easier detection of astrovirus, which is based on the conserved sequence in 3'-end of genomes of the 7 known serotypes of human astrovirus. As of yet there has not been any report of astrovirus data in Korea using the RT-PCR methods. The purpose of this study was to detect astrovirus incidence, severity of symptoms, seasonal variation and coinfection rate with rotavirus in Korean children inpatients with diarrhea. Fecal specimens from 61 young children hospitalized with gasteroenteritis Korea from Jan. 1996 through Mar. 1997. They were examined for astroviurs infection by RT-PCR method. Results are as follows: 1. Astrovirus was detected at 9.8% (6/61) from fecal specimens of children with severe diarrhea by EIA using monoclonal antibody coated plates. 2. Astorvirus was detected at 29.5% (18/61) from fecal specimens of children with severe diarrhea by RT-PCR. 3. The age of the 18 children affected by astrovirus ranged from 2 monthes to 7 years with mean of 3.0 years. 4. Mean hospital stay of the 1S children was 6.1 days. 5. Five (27.8%) astrovirus RT-PCR positive strains were confirmed in November and in December, respectively out of 18 specimens in total. 6. Astrovirus coinfection with rotavirus type G1 was confirmed in 15/16 specimens (93.8%), and with type G2 was in 1/16 specimens (6.3%).
Cell Culture Techniques ; Child* ; Coinfection ; Conserved Sequence ; Diarrhea ; Feces* ; Genome ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inpatients ; Korea ; Length of Stay ; Mamastrovirus ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Reverse Transcription* ; Rotavirus ; Seasons

Human rotavirus has now been established as the leading cause of gastroenteritis in young children worldwide. At least fourteen serotypes of group A rotavirus have been identified on the basis of antibody responses to major neutralizing glycoprotein, VP7 (G type for glycoprotein), present in the outer capsid of the virus. Serotype 1, 2, 3 and 4 are the most highly prevalent in human. In Korea, rotavirus is also the principal cause of severe nonbacterial diarrhea requiring hospitalization in infants and young children, which is commonly detected by EIA method. The epidemiology of rotavirus infection has been monitored by only serologic methods without electropherotyping in Korea. This study shows seasonal and age related variations .of rotavirus infection in Korea according to the genotype using the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Fecal specimens were obtained from 39 children hospitalized with acute watery diarrhea and gastroenteritis in Ewha Womans University MokDong Hospital in Seoul from Jan. to Dec. of 1996. All four (1, 2, 3, 4) major G serotypes were identified by amplification of segment of the gene for VP7 using RT-PCR. Rotavirus Gl 749 bp, G2 653 bp, G3 374 bp and G4 583bp were shown on 2.9 or 3.3% NuSieve agar gel. Results were as follows: 1) Rotavirus was detected at 53.8% (21/39) by EIA and 89.7% (35/39) by RT-PCR. 2) Serotype Gl, G2, G3, G4 when detected by RT-PCR accounted for 80.0% (28/35), 14.3% (5/35), 2.9% (1/35) and 2.9% (1/35), respectively. 3) Thirty five strains of rotavirus were detected at the frequency of 17.1% (6/35) in Oct., 20.0% (7/35) in Nov. and 20.0% (7/35) in Dec. 4) As for the age range, children affected by rotavirus were mostly under 1 years.
Agar ; Antibody Formation ; Capsid ; Child ; Child, Hospitalized* ; Diarrhea* ; Epidemiology ; Female ; Gastroenteritis ; Genotype* ; Glycoproteins ; Hospitalization ; Humans* ; Infant ; Korea ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Reverse Transcription* ; Rotavirus Infections ; Rotavirus* ; Seasons ; Seoul

BACKGROUND: The afferent and efferent pathways of fentanyl cough response (FCR) and central organization are poorly understood at present. The aim of this study was to investigate the pretreatment effects of morphine, propofol, atropine, and midazolam on FCR. METHOD: The 120 healthy patients were randomly assigned to six equal pretreatment groups. They received 2ug/kg fentanyl rapidly through a peripheral venous catheter. The patients in each group were pretreated before the time necessary for peak plasma levels with different drugs as follows: group 1, no premedication; group 2, morphine 0.05 mg/kg iv; group 3, morphine 0.05 mg/kg iv naloxone 0.01mg/kg iv; group 4, propofol 0.5 mg/kg iv; group 5, atropine 0.01 mg/kg iv; group 6, midazolam 0.05 mg/kg iv. The patients were observed for any coughing or side effects, including oxygen desaturation, bronchoconstriction, chest wall rigidity and seizure. RESULT: 40% of patients in group 1 (control) had a cough response to fentanyl. Group 2 (morphine) and group 3 (morphine naloxone) showed a reduced FCR of 10%. The incidence of coughing was 60% of the patients in group 4 (propofol), 30% in group 5 (atropine), and 40% in group 6 (midazolam). These were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: FCR is not altered by pretreatment with propofol, atropine, or midazolam, but morphine inhibits cough response and this antitussive effect was not antagonized by naloxone.
Atropine* ; Bronchoconstriction ; Catheters ; Cough* ; Efferent Pathways ; Fentanyl* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Midazolam* ; Morphine* ; Naloxone ; Oxygen ; Plasma ; Premedication ; Propofol* ; Seizures ; Thoracic Wall

There are reports that the second most causative viral agent which causes lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in young children is adenovirus (ADV). Human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6) is also reported as a rare agent of LRTI in young children. But there is no report of simultaneous detection of ADV and HHV-6 in LRTI using the same peripheral blood monocyte (PBM) by nested-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or PCR. Firstly, we detected ADV antigen (Ag) and HHV-6 Ag in serum by each monoclonal antibody with enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Secondly we tested two viruses in peripheral blood monocyte by nested-PCR or PCR. Twenty nine cases of young hospitalized children with LRTI (mean age 11.3 months, mean hospitalization period 5.7 days) had bronchiolitis or viral pneumonia and were confirmed by X-ray findings. Positivity of ADV Ag in serum by EIA was 75% (21/28) and positivity of HHV-6 Ag in serum by EIA was 10.7% (3/28). ADV in PBM by nested-PCR positivity was 89.7% (26/29) and HHV-6 in PBM by PCR positivity was 42.9% (12/28). ADV and HHV-6 dual infection in PBM by PCR was 11/29 (37.9%). Young children with dual infection were hospitalized (mean 6.3 days) with severe bronchiolitis.
Adenoviridae* ; Bronchiolitis ; Child* ; Child, Hospitalized ; Herpesvirus 6, Human ; Hospitalization ; Humans* ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Monocytes* ; Pneumonia, Viral ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Respiratory System* ; Respiratory Tract Infections*

No abstract available.
Neurofibromatoses* ; Neurofibromatosis 1* ; Neurofibromin 1 ; Vitiligo*

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterial infection is a problem throughout the world along with the increase of immunocompromised patients. For this reason, there have been many methods for faster and more accurate diagnosis. In this study, we evaluated several laboratory methods for mycobacterial infection. METHODS: From January to December 2009, 635 specimens were cultured with mycobacteria growth indicator tube (MGIT) and Ogawa media. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed with the AdvanSure tuberculosis (TB)/non-tuberculosis mycobacterium (NTM) real-time PCR Kit (LG Life Sciences, Seoul, Korea). The 69 samples showing positive culture results were identified with the AdvanSure Mycobacteria Genotyping Chip Kit (LG Life Science, Seoul, Korea). RESULTS: Sixty-nine (10.9%) out of 635 samples showed positive results for mycobacterial culture. Among the 635 samples, 64 were positive in MGIT, but only 42 were positive in Ogawa media. Of the 635 samples, 607 (95.6%) showed the same results between MGIT and Ogawa and the results of 579 (95.4%) were also consistent with the TB/NTM real-time PCR results. However, in the case of NTM, only one (1/24, 4.2%) was positive in PCR. In the Mycobacteria genotyping chip analysis, the most frequently identified NTM species in descending order were M. avium, M. intracellulare, M. chelonae and M. abscessus. CONCLUSION: Culturing with a combination of MGIT and Ogawa is recommended to increase the recovery rate of mycobacteria. Although PCR missed a reasonable number of NTM, it is faster and usually gives results that concur with those from the culture. The appropriate combination of diagnostic methods with clinical correlation are necessary.
Biological Science Disciplines ; Culture Media ; Immunocompromised Host ; Mycobacterium ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Tuberculosis

OBJECTIVES: Synchronous electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to explore sleep stage dependent functional brain networks. Despite a growing number of sleep studies using EEG-fMRI, few studies have conducted network analysis on whole night sleep due to difficulty in data acquisition, artifacts, and sleep management within the MRI scanner. METHODS: In order to perform network analysis for whole night sleep, we proposed experimental procedures and data processing techniques for EEG-fMRI. We acquired 6–7 hours of EEG-fMRI data per participant and conducted signal processing to reduce artifacts in both EEG and fMRI. We then generated a functional brain atlas with 68 brain regions using independent component analysis of sleep fMRI data. Using this functional atlas, we constructed sleep level dependent functional brain networks. RESULTS: When we evaluated functional connectivity distribution, sleep showed significantly reduced functional connectivity for the whole brain compared to that during wakefulness. REM sleep showed statistically different connectivity patterns compared to non-REM sleep in sleep-related subcortical brain circuits. CONCLUSION: This study suggests the feasibility of exploring functional brain networks using sleep EEG-fMRI for whole night sleep via appropriate experimental procedures and signal processing techniques for fMRI and EEG.
Artifacts ; Brain ; Electroencephalography ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Sleep Stages ; Sleep, REM ; Wakefulness

BACKGROUNDS: Gamma band oscillatory activity is considered to be related to congnitive functions and illustrates that the concept of event-related oscillations bridges the gap between single neurons and neural assemblies. An event-related gamma oscillation is the time - locked responses of specific frequency, and can be identified by computing the amplitude frequency characteristics of the averaged event-related potentials(ERPs) after stimulation. OBJECTIVES: We purposed to present experimental paradigm to investigate @-band oscillation activities from the recording of ERPs by using auditory oddball paradigm and investigate the difference of @-band activity between schizophrenia and normal controls. METHODS: The ERPs resulting from auditory stimuli with oddball paradigm in a group of schizophrenics(n=11) and also a group of age-, sex- and handedness matched normal controls, were recorded by 128 channel EEG. The @-band oscillatory activities were calculated by using time-frequency wavelet decomposition of the signal between 20 and 80Hz. The @-band oscillatory activities of both groups were compared by t-test. RESULTS: The @-band oscillatory of the leads Fz,Gz and Pz of both groups were represented well in the time - frequency maps. Significant increases of the @-band activity in normal controls compared with schizophrenics were observed around 160 msec. 350msec. and 800 msec after stimulation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that the increment in @-band oscillatory activity during cognitive operations and decreased @-band activity in schizophrenics may be associated with the cognitive dysfunctions and the pathophyiology of the schizophrenia.
Electroencephalography ; Evoked Potentials* ; Functional Laterality ; Neurons ; Schizophrenia

Purpose: This study was aimed at investigating the incidence and risk factors of dyslipidemia in menopausal women using a Korean community-based longitudinal study. Methods: The subjects were 245 postmenopausal women without dyslipidemia who had participated in the Ansan-Ansung cohort study from 2001~2002 (baseline) to 2015~2016 (seventh follow-up visit). The dyslipidemia incidence was measured as incidence proportion (%) and incidence rate per 100 person-years. The predictors of developing dyslipidemia were analyzed with Cox’s proportional hazard model. Results: The incidence of new dyslipidemia during the follow-up period was 78.4% (192 patients), and 11.9 per 100 person-years. Mean duration from menopause to developing dyslipidemia was 5.3 years in new dyslipidemia cases. The triglyceride/high density lipoprotein (TG/HDL-C) ratio at baseline (hazard ratio = 2.20; 95% confidence interval = 1.39~3.48) was independently associated with developing dyslipidemia. Conclusion Dyslipidemia occurs frequently in postmenopausal women, principally within five years after menopause. Therefore, steps must be taken to prevent dyslipidemia immediately after menopause, particularly in women with a high TG/HDL-C ratio at the start of menopause.

Nowadays, Klebsiella oxytoca is described as a causative organism for antibiotic-associated hemorrhagic colitis (AAHC). Here we report two cases of pediatric AAHC, from which K. oxytoca was cultured after starting amoxicillin-clavulanate or amoxicillin treatment. The patients developed severe abdominal pain and a large amount of bloody diarrhea. K. oxytoca was obtained in intestinal fluid culture of a boy through the colonoscopy. On the other hand, colonic tissue culture and intestinal fluid culture were negative of the other patient. K. oxytoca was detected in stool culture when he was admitted. These cases showed characteristic endoscopic findings of segmental hemorrhagic colitis, and both boys recovered spontaneously within 2–3 days after they stopped taking the antibiotics. Therefore, in children who develop relatively large amount of bloody diarrhea after antibiotic treatment, we should consider AAHC caused by K. oxytoca.
Abdominal Pain ; Amoxicillin ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Child ; Colitis* ; Colon ; Colonoscopy ; Diarrhea ; Hand ; Humans ; Klebsiella oxytoca* ; Klebsiella* ; Male