Acute Disease ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Myocarditis ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Ultrasonography ; methods ; Virus Diseases ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging

The nerve root block or selective nerve root block is one of the primarily preoperative diagnostic tool to identify and confirm the lesion site of primary cause of pain and that is considered as one component of a comprehensive treatment program. The purpose of our study is to evaluate the effect and duration of the pain control by selective spinal nerve root block as a conservative treatment in patients presenting with chronic or recurrent sciatica. The authors performed 95 selective nerve root blocks in 72 patients from Sep. 1994 to May. 1996, (mean follow up 11.6 month) at the department of orthopedic surgery, Kosin University Gospel Hospital, and the results were as follows: 1. Among 72 cases, spinal stenosis was in 45 cases (62.5%), HIVD in 19 cases (26.4%), failed back syndrome in 5 cases (6.9%), spondylosis in 2 cases (2.8%), and spondylolisthesis in I case (1.4%). 2. In 72 cases, improved more than 50% of sciatica were 61 cases (84.7%) at 3 hours, 53 cases (73.6%) at I week, 35 cases (48.6%) at 1 month, 33 cases (45.8%) at 3 months, and 33 cases (45.8%) at 6 months respectively. 3. At last follow-up, excellent and good results were 35 cases (48.6%), fair results were 25 cases (34.7%) and poor results were 12 cases (16.7%) by the Kirkaldy-Willis criteria. 4. Complications were 1 case of transient hypotension, 2 cases of severe paresthesia, but subsided without residual complication. Therefore, the selective nerve root block is one of the valuable procedure that is helpful and extremely safe in useful treatment for radicular pain associated with lumbar disease. And the trial of selective nerve root block was recommended before deciding surgical intervention on an outpatient basis.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Orthopedics ; Outpatients ; Paresthesia ; Sciatica* ; Spinal Nerve Roots* ; Spinal Nerves* ; Spinal Stenosis ; Spondylolisthesis ; Spondylosis

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of low concentration dopamine(DA) on hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis in cultured rat cardiomyocytes as well as the possible molecular mechanisms.

METHODSCultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were randomly divided into the following groups: control group (control), hydrogen peroxide group (H2O2), pretreated with low concentration dopamine ( DA + H2O2), dopamine receptor l(DR1) antagonist group (DR1 + DA + H2O2), dopamine receptor 2(DR2) antagonist group (DR2 + DA + H2O2). The cell apoptosis was then assessed by MTT and flow cytometry. The cellular ultrastructure changes were observed by transmission electron micro- scope. The activity of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH )and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in cell medium was analyzed by colorimetry. The protein expressions of Cytochrone c, Caspase 3 and Caspase 9 were obtained by Western blot.

RESULTSCompared with hydrogen peroxide group, low concentration dopamine(10 µmol/L) decreased the apoptosis rate and the expression of protein of apoptosis related protein, enhanced SOD activity, decreased LDH activity. DR1 antagonist SCH-23390 treatment inhibited dopamine induced cardiac protective effect. DR2 antagonist haloperido treatment had no changes compared with dopamine group.

CONCLUSIONAbove findings indicate that low concentration dopanine inhibits apoptosis induced by hydrogen peroxide in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, which is partly associated with the activation of DR1.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Benzazepines ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Caspase 9 ; metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; Dopamine ; pharmacology ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; metabolism ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; drug effects ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Receptors, Dopamine D1 ; metabolism ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

The influence of intravesica1 pressure on urine for-mation was studied in dogs and rabbits prepared with ureteral fistulae and in man following ureteral cathe-terization. Reduction of urinary output following distension of the bladder occurred in all except two dogs. The mean rate of reduction in sixteen dogs was 37.3 +/- 4.9 per cent. The response was not blocked by tetracaine applied to the bladder mucosa or by systemic hexamethonium. The renal blood flow showed a significant reduction following distension of the bladder. After denervation or celiac ganglionectomy, the reduction of urinary output or of renal blood flow was prevented in the ipsilateral kidney. Coloring of the renal cortex by intravenously injected indigo carmine does not occur in animals with distended bladders. Adrenaline and serotonin produced and enhanced the effect on the urinary response of the distended bladder. The injection of a small amount of blood or urine from animals with distended bladders into undistended animals produced a significant decrease in urine formation in the recipients. In five human subjects, a marked reduction of urine flow was noted following bladder distension. We conchlde that the intravesical pressure may regulate the formation of urine through a short vesico-renal reflex mediated by the celiac ganglion and through a long vesico-hypothalamic reflex which releases the antidiuretic hormone.
Animals ; Denervation ; Dogs ; Epinephrine ; Fistula ; Ganglia, Sympathetic ; Ganglionectomy ; Hexamethonium ; Humans ; Indigo Carmine ; Kidney ; Mucous Membrane ; Rabbits ; Reflex ; Renal Circulation ; Serotonin ; Tetracaine ; Ureter ; Urinary Bladder

It is generally accepted that in acute pancreatitis, the enzymes normally excreted by the pancreas are released from the disrupted parenchyma into the extraductal space and taken up by way of the lymphatics and capillaries. The enzymes in the blood stream may appear in high concentration in the serum. Therefore, serum amylase and lipase determinations has long been a mainstay in the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis and other pancreatic diseases. However, many investigators have claimed that the urinary output of amylase may be elevated more consistently in acute pancreatitis than in the serum concentration of either amylase or lipase, and urinary amylase measurement is a more sensitive reflection of the presence of pancreatitis and of its clinical course than is the measurement of serum amylase or lipase. Clinically, one of the ominous signs which may develop during the early course of acute pancreatitis is severe hypotension. But, no agreement has been reached among investigators as to the cause of the hypotension, although several investigators have implicated a blood volume deficiency resulting form inflammatory process, and hypercalcemia. Perhaps, the majority have attributed the hypotension to systemic effect of some of the pancreatic enzymes, especially trypsin. Nevertheless, the correction of these factors sometimes fail to restore a normal blood pressure clinically. The purpose of the present investigation was to observe the relationships between serum concentration and urinary output of pancreatic enzymes, and to determine the degree of hypotension resulting from the systemic administration of pancreatic enzymes. These experimental procedures, consisted of heteroinfusion of human pancreatic juice and homoinfusion of canine pancreatic emulsion intravenously, and pancreatic ductal ligation in dogs. Blood and urine samples for the enzyme analysis were collected serially thorough the femoral vein and ureteral catheter before and after the procedure. Blood pressure was measured consistently by the kymograph before and after infusion of pancreatic juice. Activities of amylase and lipase were determined by methods of Nelson and, Cherry and Crandall, respectively. The results obtained are summarized as follows; 1. Following intravenous infusions of pancreatic juice exogenously. serum and urine concentrations of amylase and lipase increased rapidly, but these enzymes decreased rapidly in urinary excretion and gradually in serum concentration. Urinary recovery of amylase was approximately 10% of the total infused amount of pancreatic juice at the end of 4 hours. 2. Following ligation of the pancreatic duct, the amylase and lipase levels of serum rose gradually and reached the maximum at 24-48 hours after ligation and then gradually fell. The output of these enzymes in the urine were relatively constant while serum enzymes were increased. 3. When the human pancreatic juice was infused, hypotension was pronounced, and it was deeper and more prolonged in hypotensive effect with infusion of highly concentrated juice in the enzyme activities. With human pancreatic juice, a more sustained hypotension occurred than was observed after infusion of canine pancreatic emulsion. As a result of this investigation, it is felt that the hypotension in acute pancreatitis is probably the result of pancreatic enzymes itself. 4. In postinfusion period, the urine volume was markedly decreased following hypotension, and the urine volume was increased following blood pressure to normal level. This suggests that urine volume may diminish resulting from transient acute renal failure due to hypotensive effect by pancreatic enzymes.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Amylases ; Animals ; Blood Pressure ; Blood Volume ; Capillaries ; Diagnosis ; Dogs* ; Femoral Vein ; Humans ; Hypercalcemia ; Hypotension ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Ligation ; Lipase ; Pancreas ; Pancreatic Diseases ; Pancreatic Ducts ; Pancreatic Juice ; Pancreatitis ; Prunus ; Research Personnel ; Rivers ; Trypsin ; Urinary Catheters

Aim. A neurobehavioral test for workers exposed to organic solvents in the workplace can be affected by many factors : age, education, motivation, ethnicity, etc. To apply more suitable neurobehavioral test for Korean workers, we evaluated the validity of several items of computerized and traditional neurobehavioral tests. Methods. We have applied eleven tests : four items of computerized neurobehavioral test(Swedish Performance Evaluation System) including Addition, Symbol-Digit, Digit Span, and Finger tapping speed, and seven items of traditional neurobehavioral test consisting of Addition, Digit-Symbol , Digit Span, Benton visual retention test, Pursuit aiming, Pegboard, and Tapping. These tests were performed on 96 workers exposed to solvents, and 100 reference workers. The concurrent and construct validities were evaluated by group difference, correlation with age, educational level, hippuric acid level, neurotoxic symptom, current exposure level, multitrait-multimethod matrix, factor analysis, and discriminant analysis. Results. Statistically significant differences were observed between the workers exposed to solvents and referents in computerized Symbol-Digit, Finger tapping speed, traditional Digit-Symbol and Pegboard. The computerized Symbol-Digit, traditional Digit-Symbol, Addition, Benton visual retention test, and Pegboard were found to be related to the age. The performance of computerized Symbol-Digit, Addition, and traditional Digit-Symbol were found to be related to the educational level significantly. The computerized Symbol-Digit, Finger tapping speed, and traditional Digit-Symbol were found to be related to hippuric acid, and neurotoxic symptom. The discriminability of Finger tapping speed, and Pegboard was better than the other tests. In discriminant analysis, the model with two variables, the computerized Symbol-Digit and Pegboard, classified almost 70 percent of the workers correctly. Conclusions. These results suggest that the computerized Symbol-Digit, Finger tapping speed, and Pegboard are more satisfactory for our purpose, and the Addition, Tapping, Benton visual retention test, and Pursuit aiming are less valid than other items. These may allow the reasonable selection of core neurobehavioral tests for workers exposed to solvents in Korea.
Education ; Fingers ; Korea ; Motivation ; Solvents

Effects of beta-adrenergic blockers and related agents were investigated on experimental convulsions of chicks induced with strychnine, pentylenetetrazol or electroshock and on thiopental sleeping time of rabbits. Convulsions of chicks due to strychnine were significantly inhibited by all beta-adrenergic blockers except dichloroisopreterenol. Propranolol inhibited electroshock convulsion as well, but none of the blockers inhibited pentylenetetrazol convulsion. Furthermore, the mortality of chicks due to large dose of pentylenetetrazol was greatly increased by treatment of beta-adrenergic blockers. Pindolol alone showed diazepam-like anticonvulsive effect against low doses of pentylenetetrazol. Pretreatment with beta-adrenergic blockers caused a marked increase in thiopental sleeping time in rabbits. Prolongation of thiopental sleep due to propranolol was abolished by premedication of animals with reserpine or tranylcypromine. Thiopental sleeping time was prolonged by Zizyphus extract, though less effective than beta-adrenergic blockers. It is felt that the anticonvulsive or sleep enhancing effect of beta-adrenergic blocking agents has an intimate relationship with endogenous adrenergic amines and the receptors.
Adrenergic beta-Antagonists/pharmacology* ; Anesthesia ; Animal ; Anticonvulsants* ; Blood Pressure/drug effects ; Chickens ; Convulsions/chemically induced ; Heart Rate/drug effects ; Male ; Propranolol/pharmacology* ; Rabbits ; Strychnine/antagonists & inhibitors ; Thiopental

OBJECTIVE: Inflammation has long been recongnized as notoriously difficult to measure both in clinical practice and in the laboratory methods. The methods used to clinical assess rheumatoid arthritis should share the following four parameters : validity, sensitivity, reliability and simplicity. Our purposes were evaluate mehtods of accurately reflecting disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: We examed 32 cases(male : 4, famale:28 and mean age : 51 years) of rheumatoid arthritis. The clinical assessment included the following : (1) performance scales including grip strength, button test, and 7.5 M walking time. (2) activity of daily living(ADL) questionnaires. (3) articular indices including Ritchie, ARA and restricted joint index. (4) Laboratory assessment, Made on at the same time with the clinical assessment, included fellwing: erythrocyte sedimentation rate and CRP. RESULTS: 1. Performance scale scores were well correlated with articular indeces but ARA index showed the most frequent and strongest correlations with performance scale. 2. Performance scale score were well correlated with ADL score but ADL pain score showed the most frequent and the strongest correlation. 3. Performance scale score were more strongly correlated with CRP than with ESR. CONCLUSION: The performance scale score appear to provide useful data for quantitatire assessment of inflammatory activity of joints in the routine care of RA.
Activities of Daily Living ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Blood Sedimentation ; Hand Strength ; Inflammation ; Joints ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Walking ; Weights and Measures

Twenty dyes which previously have been claimed to be excreted in pancreatic juice were reinvestigated to determine to what extent they could be eliminated through the pancreas. Exogenous secretin or cholecysto-kinin-pancreozymin(CCK-PZ) stimuli were used in dogs which had been given intravenous dye solutions at the rate of 1mg/min. In this experiment among the twenty dyes, only six were found to be eliminated through the pancreas. The intensity of dye color in pancreatic juice was estimated photometrically or macroscopically. The dye color intensity decreased as follows; basic fuchsin, acridine red, new fuchsin, rhodamin B, phenol red and rhodamin 6G. Basic fuchsin consistently appeared in CCK-PZ stimulated juice. However, it was seen in only a scant amount or not at all in juice stimulated by purified Vitrum (Sweden) secretin. Similar findings were observed in cats and conscious pigs. The content of basic fuchsin in pancreatic juice was more related to changes in the enzyme concentration than to other components. The chloride content of the juice was related to the amylase or basic fuchsin secretion. However, the chloride content was inversely related to the secreted volume. Vagal stimulation or the administration of parasympathomimetics produced a juice rich in enzyme content, but the dye response to vagal stimulation was weak. Usually the volume of secreted pancreatic juice following stimulation by Boots (England) secretin is greater than stimulated by purified Vitrum preparation. Basic fuchsin was slightly reduced during its elimination from pancreas or when present in alkaline pancreatic juice. Adding acid and formaldehyde revived the color. The acridine red and other pyronine dyes caused the juice to fluorescence. This effect lasted over 24 hours.
Animal ; Dogs ; Dyes/metabolism* ; Pancreas/metabolism* ; Pancreatic Juice/secretion* ; Rosaniline Dyes/metabolism*

The LH and FSH responses to synthetic LH-RH and the prolactin response to synthetic T-RH were evaluated during different phases of the mentrual cycle in order to understand secretory capacity of the pituitary during the menstrual cycle. Eleven regularly menstruating women between 22 and 35 years of age with a usual cycle length of 27 to 31 days volunteered for this Study. Volunteers received an intra-venous injection of 100 microgram synthetic LH-RH and 200 microgram synthetic T-RH during the early and the late follicular phases and during the early and midluteal phases of the menstrual cycle. LH-RH induced a prompt increase in circulating LH, reaching the peak concentration at 30 minutes following LH-RH administration in all phases of the cycle studied. A change in responsiveness with greater and more sustained LH release from the early to the late follicular phases was observed. The response during the luteal phase was significantly greater than the responses in both the early and the late follicular phases. A concomitant but a much smaller FSH response was observed. T-RH elicited a prompt increase in circulating prolactin within 30 minutes and decreased gradually thereafter, reaching the baseline level by 2 hours after T-RH administration. Maximum concentration of prolactin was reached in 30 minutes following T-RH during all phases of the menstrual cycle. No variation in pituitary responsiveness to T-RH, however, was observed during different phases of the menstrual cycle. These data indicate that the sensitivity of the pituitary gonadotrophs to LH-RH varies during different phases of the menstrual cycle.
Adult ; Female ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone/secretion ; Gonadorelin/pharmacology* ; Human ; Luteinizing Hormone/secretion ; Menstruation* ; Pituitary Gland/drug effects* ; Protirelin/pharmacology*