No abstract available.
Clonorchis sinensis*

Among 85 patients with anti-HCV positive chronic liver disease, only 21.2% have past history of blood transfusion and over half the cases, they do not have any suspicious risk factors for HCV infection. 3 of 85 families show anti-HCV positive family members. On the other hand, 40 of 60 patients with HBsAg positive chronic liver disease show HBsAg positive family members. In Korea, HBV is transmitted mainly through vertical and intrafamilial infection but HCV disease might be rather horizontal and sporadic than vertical. To define the evident source of infection in sporadic hepatitis C, first of all, simple test with high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of HCV infection would be needed.
Blood Transfusion ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiology ; Hand ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis C ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver Diseases ; Risk Factors ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Irritant contact, dermati is causes significant disability to numerous consumers and individuals in industry. Irritant contact dermatitis accounts for more than half of contact dermatitis in the general population and this is highest in industrialized countries. The incidence of irritant contact dermatitis is difficult to evaluate because of majority of these patients never seek medical advice for their problem. Only a fev, typical characteristics for an irritant contact dermatitis can be stated. The diagnosis is generally made on the basis of the clinical picture. Several non-invasive bioengineering methods for quantifying and obtaining information that is not detectable clinically have been developed in recent decades. Recently rnany reports on experimental irritant contact de matitis using these new non-invasive bioengineering methods have been published. Irritancy test rported by many authors have been performed using various exposure methods and evaluated by several clinical scoring systems. It is not surprising therefore that there is nowadays a multitude of irritancy testing methods, which hampers the interpretation of results from different laboratories. This article reviews the various irritancy testing methods and patch test procedures t,hat affect the skin react,ion in exper mental irritant cont,act dermatitis.
Bioengineering ; Dermatitis ; Dermatitis, Contact* ; Developed Countries ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Patch Tests ; Skin Tests* ; Skin*

Irritant contact, dermati is causes significant disability to numerous consumers and individuals in industry. Irritant contact dermatitis accounts for more than half of contact dermatitis in the general population and this is highest in industrialized countries. The incidence of irritant contact dermatitis is difficult to evaluate because of majority of these patients never seek medical advice for their problem. Only a fev, typical characteristics for an irritant contact dermatitis can be stated. The diagnosis is generally made on the basis of the clinical picture. Several non-invasive bioengineering methods for quantifying and obtaining information that is not detectable clinically have been developed in recent decades. Recently rnany reports on experimental irritant contact de matitis using these new non-invasive bioengineering methods have been published. Irritancy test rported by many authors have been performed using various exposure methods and evaluated by several clinical scoring systems. It is not surprising therefore that there is nowadays a multitude of irritancy testing methods, which hampers the interpretation of results from different laboratories. This article reviews the various irritancy testing methods and patch test procedures t,hat affect the skin react,ion in exper mental irritant cont,act dermatitis.
Bioengineering ; Dermatitis ; Dermatitis, Contact* ; Developed Countries ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Patch Tests ; Skin Tests* ; Skin*

No abstract available.
Diagnosis* ; Liver Diseases* ; Liver*

The prognosis of chronic hepatitis C is very variable. In some, the disease is progressive and cirrhosis can develop from chronic hepatitis C. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) may act as a trigger towards hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis. Interferon has been used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C in abroad. 16 patients with chronic C liver disease were treated with alpha-interferon (alfa-2b : "Intron A" Schering Corp. Kenilworth, NJ). All patients were given alpha-interferon in subcutaneous doses of 3 million units three times weekly for 1 to 9 months. During therapy, CBC and ALT levels were checked weakly to monthly. After therapy,. patients were followed for 1 to 8 months. Among 16 patients treated with alpha-interferon, progressive decrease of ALT levels was observed in 14 (87.5%). In 11 patients (68.8%), ALT levels fell into the normal range during therapy, and in 9 of 11, within one month after therapy. 6 months after the completion of therapy in 4 of 9 patients (44.4%) whose ALT levels were in the normal range. alpha-interferon seems to have effect in controlling disease activity in patients with chronic hepatitis C. But the changes in the usage of alpha-interferon, dose and duration, long term follow up and more convenient and simple tests for HCV detection are recommended for the better effect and the exact evaluation on the effect of alpha-interferon therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Fibrosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepacivirus ; Hepatitis C, Chronic* ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha* ; Interferons ; Liver Diseases ; Prognosis ; Reference Values

Although Lamivudine and adefovir dipivoxil are efficacious drugs for preventing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in chronic hepatitis B patients, their efficacy is far from completely satisfactory. The risk of liver cirrhosis and HCC begins to increase at an HBV DNA level of 10(4) copies/ml. Even with latent or past HBV infection, episomal covalently closed circular DNA(cccDNA) plays a key rolein the persistence, relapse and resistance of HBV in its natural course or during therapy. The annual incidence of HCC in YUMC is 1.8% and 4.7% patients/year in the antiviral treatment and control groups, respectively. The ability to achieve a high rate of sustained HBV suppression with low risk of drug resistance is the ultimate goal in the treatment of chronic HBV infection. The efficacy of universal immunization with striking reductions in the prevalence of HBV in localized countries needs to be spread worldwide. With hepatitis B immunization and effective antiviral therapy, global control of HBV infection and HBV-related complications, including HCC, are possible by the end of the first half of the 21st century.
Adenine ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Collodion ; DNA ; Drug Resistance ; Hepatitis B ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Humans ; Immunization ; Incidence ; Lamivudine ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Organophosphonates ; Prevalence ; Recurrence ; Strikes, Employee

No abstract available.
Urinary Bladder*

Circadian rhythm is a global phenomenon, the control mechanisms of which are manifested at every level of biological organization, from genes and intracellular mechanisms to networks of cell populations, and to all central neuronal systems at the organismic level. In pharmacotherapy, the pharmacokinetic parameters such as drug absorption and distribution, drug metabolism, and renal elimination show diurnal variations. The symptoms and signs in diseases like asthma, myocardiac infarction, angina pectoris, hypertension and stroke also show diurnal fluctuations. These observations require drug treatment considering the circadian rhythm of body function and disease. Circadian time has to be taken into account as an important variable influencing a drug's pharmacokinetics and/or its effects or side effects in clinical practice.
Absorption ; Angina Pectoris ; Asthma ; Circadian Rhythm ; Clinical Medicine* ; Drug Therapy ; Hypertension ; Infarction ; Metabolism ; Neurons ; Pharmacokinetics ; Stroke

Central nervous system impairment is common in diabetic patients, even in the early stages of the disease, and could be associated with peripheral neuropathy. The aims of this study were to prospectively investigate central nerve conduction in young adults with type 1 diabetes using pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials (PRVEP) and to determine how those results were related to clinical risk factors and the parameters of the peripheral nerve conduction study (NCS). A total of 36 type 1 diabetic patients (15 males) 5-24 years of age (mean 14.5 ± 4.7) underwent PRVEP and NCS annually for five years. For comparison, 39 healthy age and sex matched individuals (mean 14.8 ± 5.0) were evaluated as the control group. The P100 latencies of the PRVEP were prolonged at the study entry in the patients compared with the controls (p< 0.001). Significant correlations were not found between any of the parameters of PRVEP and the glycosylated hemoglobin levels; however, the changes in the parameters of the peripheral NCS were well correlated with metabolic control. The latencies and amplitudes of the P100 were not related to the majority of the parameters of the NCS. A prolonged PRVEP latency may be a sign of optic pathway dysfunction, which begins before apparent diabetic retinopathy. Poor glycemic control proved to be an important risk factor over the 5 years in terms of its relation to the development of peripheral neural pathway abnormalities. However, once central conduction was delayed, its changes were poorly related to diabetic control and the attributes of the peripheral nerve conduction study over the 5-year follow-up.
Diabetes Mellitus