To our knowledge, MR findings of neuroshistosomiasis has not been reported in Korea. A case of neuroshistosomiasis involving cerebellum and presumably spinal cord is reported. A 40 year old man who had lived in Middle East complained of low back pain and progressive paraparesis for 6 months, and subsequently developed headache, dizziness and diplopia. On cervical spine MRI, there was diffuse enlargement of cervical cord with increased signal intensity on T2 weighted image and nodular heterogenous enhancement after Gd-DTP^ administration. Brain MR imaging obtained 4 months later showed ill-defined, irregularly enhancing heterogenous mass in cerebellar vermis which was proved to be a granulomatous lesion containing shistosomiasis mansoni ova.
Adult ; Brain ; Cerebellum ; Diplopia ; Dizziness ; Granuloma* ; Headache ; Humans ; Korea ; Low Back Pain ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Middle East ; Myelitis, Transverse* ; Neuroschistosomiasis* ; Ovum ; Paraparesis ; Spinal Cord ; Spine

No abstract available.
Disasters*

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effect of social supports on the relationship between grief level and suicidal ideation of the elderly living alone. METHODS: We analyzed data from a questionnaire administered to subjects aged 65 years or older living alone for a 2017 community mental health project in Gyeongnam S city. To investigate the moderating effects of variables, we conducted a hierarchial regression analysis and confirmed the change R2. RESULTS: When adjusted for education and economic level, grief level had not a direct impact on suicidal ideation. And it was found that interdependent social support was moderating variables in the relationship of grief level and suicidal ideation of the elderly living alone. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for appropriate programs that reduce suicidal ideation and therefore suicidal action. Moreover, it is especially necessary to enhance interdependent social supports.
Aged* ; Education ; Grief* ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Suicidal Ideation*

No abstract available.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Neurons*

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children, accounting for 4.5% of all cases of cancer in childhood. Although the head and neck are the most common sites of rhabdomyosarcoma, oral lesions are relatively rare and account for only 10% to 12% of head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma cases. This is a case report of a girl aged 2 years and 1 month who initially presented with an upper lip mass that invaded the oral mucosa, oral skin, and nostril skin, causing narrowing of the airway. Through our case, we show that rapidly growing small round cell malignancies, especially rhabdomyosarcoma, can be effectively diagnosed and treated at the same time using primary resection with intraoperative frozen section biopsy and that the time spent waiting for the results of preoperative biopsy can be saved in this way, particularly when the patient’s symptoms are intensifying rapidly and require immediate operation.

Dandy-Walker syndrome indicates the association of cystic dilatation of fourth ventricle, dysgenesis of the cerebellar vermis and a high position of the tentorium. Dandy-Walker syndrome has an estimated prevalence of about 1 in 30,000 births and is found in 4% to 12% of all cases of infantile hydrocephalus. And trisomy 18 was present in 4.8% of the Dandy-Walker syndrome. Trisomy 18 is a chromosomal aneuploid, which results in multiple severe structural abnormalities that mostly involve the heart, extremities, face, and brain. We experienced a case of Edward syndrome associated with Dandy-Walker syndrome. She did not want to terminate her pregnancy. So, we reviewed a Edward syndrome with Dandy-Walker syndrome and presented the final result in full term delivery.
Aneuploidy ; Brain ; Dandy-Walker Syndrome* ; Dilatation ; Extremities ; Fourth Ventricle ; Heart ; Hydrocephalus ; Parturition ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Diagnosis* ; Prevalence ; Trisomy

Background/Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening compared to no screening in the Korean population from societal and healthcare system perspectives. Methods: A published decision-tree plus Markov model was used to compare the expected costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALY) between one-time universal HCV screening and no screening in the population aged 40–65 years using the National Health Examination (NHE) program. Input parameters were obtained from analyses of the National Health Insurance claims data, Korean HCV cohort data, or from the literature review. The population aged 40–65 years was simulated in a model spanning a lifetime from both the healthcare system and societal perspectives, which included the cost of productivity loss due to HCV-related deaths. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) between universal screening and no screening was estimated. Results: The HCV screening strategy had an ICER of $2,666/QALY and $431/QALY from the healthcare system and societal perspectives, respectively. Both ICERs were far less than the willingness-to-pay threshold of $25,000/QALY, showing that universal screening was highly cost-effective compared to no screening. In various sensitivity analyses, the most influential parameters on cost-effectiveness were the antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV) prevalence, screening costs, and treatment acceptance; however, all ICERs were consistently less than the threshold. If the anti-HCV prevalence was over 0.18%, screening could be cost-effective. Conclusions One-time universal HCV screening in the Korean population aged 40–65 years using NHE program would be highly cost-effective from both healthcare system and societal perspectives.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify the predictive factors in the early laboratory findings for cardiac sequelae in Kawasaki disease(KD). METHODES: A retrospective review of the records was conducted of all children with KD who were admitted to the Ulsan Dongkang General Hospital, Masan Samsung Hospital, and Gyeongsang National University Hospital between January 1995 and December 1999. We analyzed and compared the early laboratory findings between the patients with and without coronary artery dilatation. RESULTS: A total of 981 patients were divided into two groups : 826 patients(84.3%) with normal coronary artery and 155 patients(15.7%) with coronary artery dilatation. Age and sex were not significantly different between the two groups. The mean serum C-reactive protein(CRP) in the coronary artery dilatation group and in the normal coronary artery group were 5.0 mg/dl(+/-5.3) and 4.1 mg/dl(+/-5.0), respectively, with a significant difference(P<0.05), whereas the other early laboratory findings had no difference between the groups. CONCLUSION: This study shows that the early serum CRP was higher in patients with KD who had coronary artery dilatation than in those with normal coronary artery. There may be a strong possibility of cardiac sequelae at a high level of serum CRP. However, the cut-off value of serum CRP could not be determined for the prediction of cardiac sequelae in patients with KD.
Child ; Coronary Vessels ; Dilatation ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome* ; Retrospective Studies ; Staphylococcal Protein A* ; Ulsan

Purpose: Long-term culture- initiating cells(LTC-IC) are stem cells that have the capacities of long-term engraftment and helping to establish hematopoietic microenvironment. For evaluation of the LTC-IC, we measured the counts and function with multidimentional flowcytometry in long-term culture media. METHODS: Samples were obtained from umbilical cord blood, leukapheresis products and bone marrow(BM). LTC-IC were counted with flowcytometric analysis using anti- CD34, anti-CD38, and anti-HLA-DR antibodies at 0, 5, and 8 weeks. Cell adhesion molecule related with stem cell were evaluated with flowcytometric analysis also using anti-VCAM-1(CD106) and anti-VLA-4(CD49d) at 0 and 8 weeks. RESULTS: The proportion of CD34+/CD38- cell from fractionated mononuclear cells at 0 week were 0.46%, 0.044%, and 0.038% for BM, leukapheresis products, and umbilical cord blood respectively and then rapidly decreased at 5 weeks, but still persisted at 8 weeks in all three groups. The proportion of CD34+/HLA-DR- cells was the same tendency to CD34+/CD38-. VCAM+ expression rate from fractionated CD34+ cells at 0 and 8 weeks were 67.3% and 40.2% for BM and 64.1% 44.2% for umbilical cord blood but it was very low 31.2% and 5.1% for leukapheresis products. VLA-4+ expression rate for fractionated CD34+ cells at 0 and 8 weeks were similar tendency to VCAM+ cells. CONCLUSION: This study suggest that the count of LTC-IC decreased with time but still persisted until 8 weeks. Umbilical cord blood including BM help to establish the hematopoietic microenvironments.
Antibodies ; Cell Adhesion ; Culture Media ; Fetal Blood ; Leukapheresis ; Stem Cells

PURPOSE: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of radical retropubic prostatectomy(RRP) on lower urinary tract symptoms(LUTS) in patients with clinically localized prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 2000 and 2006, 82 men with clinically localized prostate cancer underwent RRP. The International Prostate Symptom Score(IPSS) and the IPSS quality of life(QoL) score, and uroflowmetry were administered both prior to and 1 year after RRP. RESULTS: The overall mean total IPSS, maximal flow rate, and postvoid residual volume did not change over time after RRP. Prior to and after RRP, the mean maximal flow rate and residual urine changed from 17.6ml/sec to 17.9ml/sec(p=0.566) and 16.9ml to 15.8ml(p=0.777), respectively. Total IPSS also changed after RRP, from 12.8 to 12.5(p=0.731). The reduction of the IPSS was more prominent in patients with severe symptoms(IPSS> or =20), whereas in those with moderate symptoms(8< or =IPSS<20), the score did not change significantly after RRP. Furthermore, in those patients with no or mild symptoms(IPSS<8), the score increased after RRP. CONCLUSIONS: RRP was not shown to improve uroflowmetric parameters, including maximal flow rate, postvoid residual urine, and IPSS, in cases of moderate LUTS. However, RRP may exert a beneficial effect in those patients with severe LUTS, and may also have adverse effects on some individuals with no or mild symptoms. We believe that these results might be utilized when counseling patients about treatment options for localized prostate cancer.
Counseling ; Humans ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; Male ; Prostate ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Residual Volume ; Urinary Tract