The purpose of this study was to identify dietary patterns among children and adolescents in Korea and to examine their associations with obesity and some blood profiles. One day food consumption data measured by 24-hour recalls on 2704 subjects aged 1 to 19 were used from 2001 Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey. The data of blood profiles available in the ages of 10 or older was also used. After categorizing each food consumed into 29 food or food groups, five dietary patterns were derived through a factor analysis and subjects were classified into three major dietary patterns via a cluster analysis using the factor scores. Three dietary patterns were identified as 'traditional diet' (25.6%), 'westernized-fast food' (6.2%), and 'mixed diet' (68.2%). The 'traditional diet' pattern had a higher percentage in boys. Both the 'traditional diet' and the 'westernized-fast food' had higher proportions of adolescents (12-19 y) than younger children, while the 'mixed diet' had a higher percentage of preschool children (1-5 y). Obesity rate analyzed within each age group showed no differences among 3 dietary pattern clusters. Blood pressure and all plasma profiles were not different among dietary patterns when adjusted with age and gender. Conclusively, children and adolescents in Korea had three distinct dietary patterns, which were associated with gender and age. These patterns could be useful to plan nutrition interventions for teenager health promotion.
Adolescent* ; Blood Pressure ; Child* ; Child, Preschool ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Korea* ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Obesity ; Plasma

Animals ; Bone and Bones ; Dogs ; Finite Element Analysis ; Mandible ; Osseointegration ; Osteogenesis

The increased aging of the population in the developed world is an accepted fact. Consequently, the number of patients aged 90 years or above (super-old age: from 90 to 99), and centenarians (above 100) will increase in the coming years. The objective was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of skin diseases in the population of super-old ages and centenarians. A total of 50 volunteers, aged from 90 to 106 years, were enrolled on this study. They completed a questionnaire about skin diseases and underwent a cutaneous examination during the period of July 26 to 30, and Aug 23 to 28, 2004. The average age of the volunteers was 96.3 years. 28 volunteers were women and 22 were men. The common diseases were found to be senile lentigo, seborrheic keratosis, idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis, xerosis, telangiectasia, onychomycosis, tinea pedis, and cherry hemangioma. Wrinkle grading of men was less severe than in women. The degree of pigmentation was independent of age and sex. However, activity and pigmentation scale showed a significant statistical correlation. Gray hair and alopecia in men was more severe than in women. As for aging factors, smoking, activity, location, and occupation did not appear to play an important role in wrinkle formation. The incidence of skin disorders increased with age, due to changes in skin structure and lifelong exposure to environmental aggravations. Super-old aged people often have many skin diseases. However, only a small number of volunteers were included in this study. Therefore, further dermatologic studies need to be conducted.
Aged, 80 and over* ; Aging ; Alopecia ; Female ; Hair ; Hemangioma ; Humans ; Hypopigmentation ; Incidence ; Keratosis, Seborrheic ; Lentigo ; Male ; Occupations ; Onychomycosis ; Pigmentation ; Prevalence ; Prunus ; Skin Diseases* ; Skin* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Telangiectasis ; Tinea Pedis ; Volunteers ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) electrolyte lavage solution and sodium phosphate solution are used for bowel cleansing before performing colonoscopy. PEG electrolyte lavage solution is the most widely used because PEG is absorbed by intestinal mucosa in only very small amounts and it very well cleans the bowels. The minor side-effects associated with PEG solution, i.e., nausea, vomiting and abdominal distention, are relatively common. However, PEG electrolyte lavage solution-induced acute renal failure has rarely been reported on. We report here on a case of acute renal failure after bowel preparation with using polyethylene glycol.
Acute Kidney Injury* ; Colonoscopy ; Eating* ; Intestinal Mucosa ; Nausea ; Polyethylene Glycols* ; Polyethylene* ; Sodium ; Therapeutic Irrigation ; Vomiting

Colonic duplication is a rare congenital anomaly. Generally, two-thirds of cases manifest before the age of 2 years and only a few cases are encountered in adults. The pathogenesis has not yet been confirmed. Morphologically, the condition is divided into two types, cystic and tubular. Treatment is reserved for symptomatic or complicated cases, and surgical resection is the treatment of choice. Prognosis is generally favorable. We report a case of colonic duplicaton in 59-year-old woman.
Adult ; Colon* ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis

BACKGROUND: Infection with hepatitis B virus has been a major health problem. Chronic viral hepatitis B is the principal cause of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatoma. A number of studies have showed that a course of interferon (INF) treatment induces a long-term remission in 20~40% of patients. Compared with the use of lamivudine, INF therapy is followed by delayed clearance of HBsAg and the treatment improves the natural history of chronic hepatitis B. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of the use of different dosages of alpha-interferon treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis B. METHODS: We conducted a one-and-a-half year, randomized clinical trial of interferon in 24 Korean chronic hepatitis B patients with a positive HBeAg, and excluded other liver problems with biopsies. The patients were randomly assigned to receive 5 million units (n=10) of interferon-alpha2b and 10 million units (n=14) of interferon-alpha2b three times weekly for 16/24 weeks. Patients were followed for 12 months after the cessation of the therapy, and the patients received a second biopsy. RESULTS: After treatment with interferon, 29.2% of the patients became negative for HBeAg and the presence of HBV DNA. Fifty percent of the patients showed histological improvement. The differences of the loss of HBeAg, HBV DNA and histological improvement between the two groups were not significant. HBV DNA and ALT were not valuable as predictive variables in treatment efficacy. However, the rate of histological improvement in patients with a low ALT level was higher. CONCLUSIONS: The administration of different doses of interferon-alpha2b during treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis B did not show a significant difference in efficacy.
Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; DNA ; Fibrosis ; Hepatitis B ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hepatitis B, Chronic* ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha* ; Interferons ; Lamivudine ; Liver ; Liver Diseases ; Natural History ; Treatment Outcome

Although hepatomegaly is reported to occur occasionally in patients with mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) or Sjogren's syndrome (SS), autoimmune liver diseases such as primary biliary cirrhosis, sclerosing cholangitis, and autoimmune hepatitis in association with MCTD or SS have rarely been described. We report a case of severe cholestatic autoimmune hepatitis presenting with acute liver failure in a 40-yr-old female patient suffering from MCTD and SS. The diagnosis of MCTD and SS was made at the age of 38. The patient presented severe jaundice and elevation of conjugated bilirubin. The patient denied alcohol and drug use and had no evidence of viral hepatitis. On the 8th day of her hospitalization, the patient developed grade III hepatic encephalopathy. She was diagnosed as autoimmune hepatitis presenting with acute liver failure based on clinical features, positive FANA and anti-smooth muscle antibodies, negative anti-mitochondrial antibodies, high titers of serum globulin, liver biopsy findings, and a good response to corticosteroid therapy, The patient was managed with prednisolone and the clinical symptoms, liver function test results, and liver biopsy findings showed much improvement after steroid therapy.
Adult ; Cholestasis/*etiology ; Female ; Hepatitis, Autoimmune/*etiology ; Human ; Liver Failure, Acute/*etiology ; Mixed Connective Tissue Disease/*complications ; Sjogren's Syndrome/*complications

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Long-term use of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) induces hypergastrinemia, which results from the suppression of gastric acid secretion. Hypergastrinemia causes enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cell hyperplasia, which is a predisposing factor of carcinoid tumor of stomach. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of long-term gastric acid suppression on the gastric peptides levels, such as gastrin, chromogranin A, or ghrelin. METHODS: Control group included patients who had no medication over six months. Both H2RA (H2 receptor antagonist) and PPI groups had medication at least for six months. Fasting blood was taken from each patient to assay serum gastrin, chromogranin A, and ghrelin by RIA and ELISA techniques. RESULTS: The patients with the above reference range of serum gastrin and chromogranin A were more commonly found in PPI group compared to control and H2RA group. However, serum ghrelin level was within the reference range in all the patients regardless of groups. There was no difference in the ratio of serum gastrin/chromogranin A among three groups. Both average serum levels of gastrin and chromogranin A were significantly elevated in PPI group compared to control and H2RA group. There was a significant correlation between the level of serum gastrin and chromogranin A. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term administration of H2RA does not affect the serum gastrin and chromogranin A level. However, long-term administration of PPI increases serum gastrin and chromogranin A. Ghrelin may influence gastric acid secretion in other pathway than ECL cell-mediated pathway such as gastrin or chromogranin A.
Adult ; Aged ; Anti-Ulcer Agents/*therapeutic use ; Chromogranin A/*blood ; Female ; Gastrins/*blood ; Ghrelin/*blood ; Histamine H2 Antagonists/*therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Proton Pump Inhibitors/*therapeutic use ; Time Factors

In vitro subcultures of bacteria can lead to genetic and phenotypic changes. This study aimed at investigating the effect of repeated subcultures on the adhesion, motility, cytotoxicity, and gastric inflammation caused by Helicobacter pylori. H.pylori SS1 strain was subcultured 64 times on agar plates containing Brucella broth and 5% bovine calf serum. The adhesion, motility, cytotoxicity, and gastric inflammation produced in Mongolian gerbils were compared between the first and 64th subcultured strain. The adhesion rates, following 3 hr exposure of AGS cells to either the first strain or the 64th-transferred strain, were 21% and 12%, respectively. The motility of the 64th-transferred strain decreased significantly when compared to the 1st strain (9.1 mm vs. 15.1 mm). The cytotoxicity index tended to be higher in the first strain than in the 64th-transferred strain (73.7% vs. 69.2%). The initial infection rate on the gerbils showed no difference between the two strains. However, chronic gastric inflammation of the first strain-infected gerbils was somewhat more severe than that of the 64th-transferred strain-infected gerbils. Therefore, the use of repeatedly subcultured strains of H. pylori in virulence experiments can lead to different results from thoses of the original strain.
Animals ; Bacterial Adhesion ; Gastritis/immunology/*microbiology ; Gerbillinae ; Helicobacter Infections/immunology/*microbiology ; Helicobacter pylori/growth & development/*pathogenicity ; Male ; Virulence

Glomus tumors are benign lesions that originate from modified smooth muscle cells of the glomus body. These tumors are commonly observed in the dermis or subcutis, but they are only rarely found in the stomach. We describe here a 37-year- old male patient who presented with intermittent epigastric pain and in whom a submucosal tumor was encountered during performance of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. A gastrofibroscopy demonstrated a 12 mm sized submucosal mass with central ulceration on the greater curvature-posterior wall of the high body. Endoscopic ultrasonography revealed a circumscribed inhomogeneneous hypo- echoic mass with a focal hyperechoic mass in the third layer of the stomach. We resected the entire mass using an endoscopic resection technique, and there were no complications. Histologically, the tumor cells had uniform small nucleuses with inconspicuous nucleoli. Immunochemical analysis of the tumor cells showed positivity for smooth muscle actin and negativity for CD34, KIT, S100 protein and desmin. This is the first case of a glomus tumor of the stomach that was resected by endoscopic resection.
Actins ; Dermis ; Desmin ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Endosonography ; Glomus Tumor ; Humans ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Stomach ; Ulcer