BACKGROUND: The quantification of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is useful in diagnosis and monitoring of HCV infection. We evaluated clinical usefulness of HCV quantification and two quantification methods using different assay principles. METHODS: HCV RNA quantities and liver function were measured in patients with different disease severity using bDNA assay (QuantiplexTM, Chiron, USA). HCV RNA loads were quantified at the time of pre/post-interferon treatment in some of them using RT-PCR hybridization assay (AMPLICORTM, Roche, USA). These two quantification methods were also compared. RESULTS: HCV RNA loads showed no significant difference according to disease severity (group I, 3.8 5.3 MEq/mL; group II, 3.8 7.4 MEq/mL; group III, 5.9 13.0 MEq/mL; P=0.181) or interferon response (complete responders, 1.5 105/mL; partial or non responders, 2.2 105/mL; P=0.670). But HCV viral loads decreased at 6th month after interferon treatment (P=0.063) and correlated poorly with liver function tests. The bDNA assay correlated well with the RT-PCR hybridization method (r2=0.854). CONCLUSIONS: The quantificaion of HCV RNA is useful in following up treatment effect but not in predicting therapeutic failure or assessment of disease severity. HCV RNA quantities are independent of liver function. The bDNA assay showed good correlation with the RT-PCR hybridization method.
Branched DNA Signal Amplification Assay ; Diagnosis ; Hepacivirus* ; Hepatitis C* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Interferons ; Liver Diseases* ; Liver Function Tests ; Liver* ; RNA ; Viral Load

The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence and risk factors for widespread pain and its influence on quality of life in residents of Korean communities. A rural and an urban community were selected, and 5,037 subjects were surveyed. Participants were asked if they had pain, aching, or stiffness in any of their joints on most days. Widespread pain was defined as pain above the waist, below the waist, on both sides of the body and in the axial region. The prevalence of widespread pain was 12% (16.2% and 5.5% in females and males, respectively). It was more frequent among females and increased with age in both genders. Age, female gender, and the presence of hand or knee arthritis were significantly associated with widespread pain after multivariate analysis. Except for mental health, all the items in the SF-12 were adversely affected in the widespread pain group after adjustment for confounding factors. Our findings show that the prevalence of widespread pain among residents of Korean communities is comparable to that reported among Caucasians. The significantly worse quality of life among subjects with widespread pain suggests that it may cause major health issues in the aging population.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Demography ; Female ; Health Status ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Pain/*epidemiology/psychology ; Prevalence ; *Quality of Life ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Rural Population ; Sex Factors ; Urban Population

PURPOSE: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been identified as an endothelial cell-specific angiogenic factor of intraocular neovascularization, a pathologic complication of many vitreoretinal disorders. We studied to evaluate clinical correlation of intravitreal VEGF concentration and various vitreoretinal disorders. METHODS: Forty eight vitreous fluid samples were obtained at the time of vitreoretinal surgery from 43 patients of various disorders. Concentrations of VEGF1 6 5 in vitreous fluid were determined by Human VEGF ELISA kit and its correlation with diabetes, intraocular hemorrhage, neovascularization, proliferative vitreoretinopathy, retinal detachment, pan retinal photocoagulation, and postoperative condition was statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Intravitreal concentrations of VEGF in case of intraocular hemorrhage (0.809+/-1.467 ng/ml), neovascularization (1.167+/-1.656 ng/ml), and anterior segment neovascularization (2.381+/-2.043 ng/ml) were significantly high (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: VEGF plays a major role in the development of neovascularization in the various retinal disorders.
Angiogenesis Inducing Agents ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Light Coagulation ; Retinal Detachment ; Retinaldehyde ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A* ; Vitreoretinal Surgery ; Vitreoretinopathy, Proliferative

Purpose: Alzheimer disease (AD) is one of the most complex diseases and is characterized by AD-related neuropathological features, including accumulation of amyloid-β plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles. Dysregulation of alternative splicing (AS) contributes to these features, and there is heterogeneity in features across brain regions between AD patients, leading to different severity and progression rates; however, brain region-specific AS mechanisms still remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to systemically investigate AS in multiple brain regions of AD patients and how they affect clinical features. Methods: We analyzed RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) data obtained from brain regions (frontal and temporal) of AD patients. Reads were mapped to the hg19 reference genome using the STAR aligner, and exon skipping (ES) rates were estimated as percent spliced in (PSI) by rMATs. We focused on AD-risk genes discovered by genome-wide association studies, and accordingly evaluated associations between PSI of skipped exons in AD-risk genes and Braak stage and plaque density mean (PM) for each brain region. We also integrated whole-genome sequencing data of the ascertained samples with RNA-Seq data to identify genetic regulators of feature-associated ES. Results: We identified 26 and 41 ES associated with Braak stage in frontal and temporal regions, respectively, and 10 and 50 ES associated with PM. Among those, 10 were frontal-specific (CLU and NTRK2), 65 temporal-specific (HIF1A and TRPC4AP), and 26 shared ES (APP) that accompanied functional Gene Ontology terms, including axonogenesis in shared-ES genes. We further identified genetic regulators that account for 44 ES (44% of the total). Finally, we present as a case study the systematic regulation of an ES in APP, which is important in AD pathogenesis. Conclusions This study provides new insights into brain region-dependent AS regulation of the architecture of AD-risk genes that contributes to AD pathologies, ultimately allowing identification of a treatment target and region-specific biomarkers for AD.

Overnight fasting before elective surgery has been the routine to reduce the risk of pulmonary aspiration. Recently, several international guidelines for preoperative fasting recommend to intake carbohydrate-containing fluids up to 2 to 3 hours before the induction of anesthesia to improve postoperative recovery. Based on the recommendations, we developed a "preoperative carbohydrate diet" provided for the preoperative patients. The purpose of this case report is to share our experience of applying preoperative carbohydrate loading prior to surgery.
Anesthesia ; Fasting ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Pancreaticoduodenectomy*

PURPOSE: To examine the effect of bosentan, a dual endothelin receptor (ER) antagonist, on the development of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats by especially focusing on the pulmonary vascular morphology changes. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were treated as follows: controls received a subcutaneous saline injection, MCT-treated rats received a subcutaneous MCT injection, and bosentan-treated rats received a MCT injection followed by treatment with bosentan (20 mg/kg/day). To assess the effects of ER blockade on the time course, the animals were exsanguinated, and their hearts and lungs were dissected after 7, 14, or 28 days. RESULTS: The mean body weights of the MCT- and bosentan-treated rats were significantly lower than that of the control rats on days 7, 14, and 28. Bosentan administration significantly inhibited the progression of right ventricular hypertrophy on day 28 (right ventricle/[left ventricle+septum]: 0.71+/-0.10 in MCT-treated rats vs. 0.49+/-0.09 in bosentan-treated rats; P<0.05). Quantitative analysis of peripheral pulmonary arteries revealed that the increase in medial wall thickness after MCT injection was significantly attenuated in the bosentan-treated rats on day 28 (49.96+/-10.06% in MCT-treated rats vs. 47.09+/-10.48% in bosentan-treated rats; P<0.05). In addition, the increase in the number of intra-acinar muscular arteries after MCT injection was reduced by bosentan on days 14 and 28. CONCLUSION: Bosentan administration in intermediate doses exerts inhibitory effects on lung vascular hypertrophy and right ventricular hypertrophy during the development of MCT-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats.
Animals ; Arteries ; Body Weight ; Endothelins ; Heart ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Hypertrophy ; Hypertrophy, Right Ventricular ; Lung ; Monocrotaline ; Pulmonary Artery ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Endothelin ; Sulfonamides

A substantial proportion of adrenal incidentalomas demonstrates subtle hormonal hypersecretion; however, adenomas that cosecrete aldosterone and cortisol are rare. We here report a case of an adrenal mass that was incidentally detected on a computed tomography scan in a 57-year-old man. The patient had a 10-year history of diabetes mellitus and a 5-year history of hypertension. Evaluation revealed hyperaldosteronemia with an elevated plasma aldosterone-to-renin ratio, hypokalemia, unsuppressed cortisol after dexamethasone administration, and elevated urinary free cortisol concentration. The appearance of the right adrenalectomy specimen indicated adrenal adenoma. Postoperatively, the blood glucose and blood pressure control improved and the urinary cortisol and aldosterone-to-renin ratio normalized. A complete endocrine evaluation in patients with incidentally discovered adrenal masses should be performed, even if the patient has a long-standing history of hypertension and diabetes, to avoid any postoperative adrenal crises.
Adenoma ; Adrenalectomy ; Adrenocortical Adenoma* ; Aldosterone* ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Dexamethasone ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone* ; Hyperaldosteronism ; Hypertension ; Hypokalemia ; Middle Aged ; Plasma

No abstract available.
Humans ; Myoma* ; Uterus*

A total of 11,395 animals were impounded in shelters in Seoul in 2013. The Animal Protection Division of the Seoul metropolitan government has annual contracts with local veterinary associations as well as Korean animal rescue and management organizations for providing shelter to animals, and collects monthly statistics from these groups. In 2013, the collected intake and outcome data for 25 districts were reviewed to analyze shelter capacity in terms of housing capacity (monthly daily average intake, required holding capacity, and adoption-driven capacity), staff capacity (staff hours required for daily care), and live release rate. Seasonal variations in the monthly daily average intake were observed, indicating that management of these shelters requires various strategies. This study was performed to analyze and interpret meaningful statistics for improving the efficiency of animal shelters in Seoul. However, inconsistent collection of animal statistics limited data compilation. Creation of a basic animal statistics matrix with reference to well-designed matrices from recognized professional animal shelters is essential. These complied statistical data will help plan for future animal shelter needs in Seoul.
Animal Welfare ; Animals ; Housing ; Local Government ; Seasons ; Seoul ; Statistics as Topic*

Thymic adenocarcinoma is extremely rare. Although its histologic features have been occasionally reported, a lack of description of the cytologic features has hampered the prompt and accurate diagnosis of this condition. Herein, we describe the cytologic findings and histology of four aspiration cytology specimens of thymic adenocarcinoma. The specimens were obtained from primary tumors, metastatic lymph nodes, and pericardial effusions. All four specimens showed three-dimensional glandular clusters with a loss of polarity and nuclear overlapping. One specimen had extensive extracellular mucinous material. Three specimens contained tumor cells with intracytoplasmic vacuoles. While the specimen with extracellular mucin showed relatively mild cytologic atypia, other specimens exhibited more atypical cytologic changes: irregular nuclear membranes, a coarse chromatin pattern, and prominent nucleoli. The cytologic features were correlated with the histologic features in each case of enteric type thymic adenocarcinoma. The differential diagnosis included other thymic carcinomas, yolk sac tumors, and metastatic adenocarcinoma from the lung or colorectum.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Chromatin ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Endodermal Sinus Tumor ; Lung ; Lymph Nodes ; Mediastinum ; Mucins ; Nuclear Envelope ; Pericardial Effusion ; Thymoma ; Thymus Gland ; Vacuoles