Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of rehabilitation motivation and medical staff support on the self-care activities of stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation therapy. Methods: A total of 199 patients who were admitted at two rehabilitation hospitals located in B city participated in this study. A questionnaire was used to measure rehabilitation motivation, medical staff support, and self-care activities. Results: Self-care activities had a positive correlation with rehabilitation motivation (r=.44, p<.001) and medical staff support (r=.18, p=.009). This means that higher rehabilitation motivation and medical staff support are associated with higher self-care activities. The most influencing factors on self-care activities were rehabilitation motivation (β=.41, p=.001), main caregiver (β=.19, p=.002), marital status (β=.12, p=.041), dysphagia (β=.12, p=.042), and region of hemiplegia (β=-.12, p=.046) in order. The explanatory power value of regression model was 28.7% and it was statistically significant (F=10.95, p<.001). Conclusion Rehabilitation motivation was identified as the major factors that affect self-care activities. The findings in this study suggest that an active intervention encouraging rehabilitation motivation is needed to improve the self-care activities of stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation therapy.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to investigate the feasibility of a hydroxyapatite/chitosan (HAp/chitosan) composite, seeded with autologous muscle-derived stem cells, as a partial bladder substitute in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Muscle-derived stem cells were isolated from the gastrocnemius muscle of 6 female Sprague-Dawley rats, using the preplate technique, and cultured on HAp/chitosan composite sheets. Sheets with 10mm diameters were implanted into the urinary bladder of rats following a hemicystectomy in an autologous fashion. Three rats were sacrificed 4 and 8 weeks postoperatively, and the morphological changes subsequently assessed by H&E and immunofluorescence staining using DAPI, myogenin and alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMA). RESULTS: All rats survived the scheduled duration. Adequate epithelialization was observed to be completed after postoperative week 4. Abundant muscle bundles, showing positive alpha-SMA staining, were observed after the 4th week. The bladder shape was well preserved after the 8th week. Ingrowing smooth muscles were observed on the periphery of the composite and muscular bundles, with positive myogenin immunostaining in the middle of the composite. CONCLUSIONS: A HAp/chitosan composite sheet, seeded with autologous muscle-derived stem cells, showed a degree of skeletal muscle differentiation 8 weeks after augmentation cystoplasty, in an autologous fashion. This new material seeded with muscle-derived stem cells may, in the future, prove to be a viable option as a partial bladder substitute.
Actins ; Animals ; Atrophy ; Female ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Humans ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Muscle, Smooth ; Myogenin ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Regeneration ; Stem Cells* ; Urinary Bladder

PURPOSE: In this study, we tested whether injections of muscle-derived stem cells and alginate(Alg)/polycaprolactone(PCL) after denervation of the pudendal nerve could increase the leak point pressure(LPP) and closing pressure(CP) over the long term in a rat model of urinary incontinence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Muscle derived stem cells(MDSC) were isolated from the gastrocnemius muscle of normal female rats, and these cells were purified for creating a myogenic population by the preplate technique. In the denervated(D) group, the pudendal nerve was transected bilaterally via a dorsal incision in order to denervate the external urethral sphincter. The denervated external urethral sphincter was injected with Alg/PCL(AP group), or MDSC/Alg/PCL(M group) into the proximal urethra after pudendal nerve transection. At 1 and 3 months, the LPP and CP measurements were visually identified by using the vertical tilt/intravesical pressure clamp model of stress urinary incontinence. The rats were then sacrificed and their urethras were harvested for histology. RESULTS: Both the LPP and CP were significantly lower in the denervated group at each time compared with the normal(N group), AP and M groups, and both the LPP and CP in the N, AP and M groups were significantly higher than those in the D group at both 1 and 3 months. The persistence of MDSC over the period of the study was verified by histology. Thus, pudendal nerve denervation led to a progressive decline in the LPP and CP that was evident at 1 month and this persisted to 3 months, and injection of MDSC/Alg/PCL into the denervated rats led to a long term increase in the LPP and CP. CONCLUSIONS: The N, AP and M groups all had significantly higher LPPs than the D group, and MDSC/Alg/PCL injection into the denervated external urethral sphincter in female rats increased the LPP and CP in both the short and long term. We also observed a long term bulking effect of MDSC/Alg/PCL injection in the stress incontinence animal model.
Animals ; Denervation ; Female ; Humans ; Models, Animal ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Pudendal Nerve ; Rats* ; Stem Cells ; Urethra* ; Urinary Incontinence

Bovine serum albumin (BSA), which is present in bovine plasma, is one of the major allergens affecting patients with food allergies induced by milk and meat. It is also commonly used in research laboratories. Although some reports have documented food allergies associated with BSA, BSA-induced occupational asthma has not been reported. We report a case of occupational asthma and rhinitis in a laboratory worker caused by the inhalation of BSA powder, in which an IgE-mediated response was suggested as the pathogenic mechanism.
Allergens ; Asthma, Occupational ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Meat ; Milk ; Milk Hypersensitivity ; Plasma ; Rhinitis ; Serum Albumin, Bovine

Bovine serum albumin (BSA), which is present in bovine plasma, is one of the major allergens affecting patients with food allergies induced by milk and meat. It is also commonly used in research laboratories. Although some reports have documented food allergies associated with BSA, BSA-induced occupational asthma has not been reported. We report a case of occupational asthma and rhinitis in a laboratory worker caused by the inhalation of BSA powder, in which an IgE-mediated response was suggested as the pathogenic mechanism.
Allergens ; Asthma, Occupational ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Meat ; Milk ; Milk Hypersensitivity ; Plasma ; Rhinitis ; Serum Albumin, Bovine