No abstract available.

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to investigate the effect of experimental muscle pain on the stretch reflex through electrophysiologic measuring of H-reflex and ankle tendon reflex. METHOD: Muscle pain was produced by the continuous infusion of 5% hypertonic saline into the soleus and tibialis anterior muscles respectively in the fourteen healthy, male volunteers. Control was made with infusion of 0.9% isotonic saline. H-reflex and ankle tendon reflex were recorded at the soleus before, during and 30 minutes after infusion of saline. RESULTS: The amplitude of ankle tendon reflex increased significantly during soleus and tibialis anterior muscle pain by the infusion of hypertonic saline as compared with those of before and after injection. But the H-reflex showed no significant changes during the infusion in either muscles. CONCLUSION: These results have demonstrated a muscle pain increased the amplitude of the stretch reflex without a corresponding increase of the H-reflex amplitude. One explanation could be an increased dynamic sensitivity of the muscle spindles during muscle pain caused by an increased firing of the dynamic gamma-motor neurons.
Ankle ; Fires ; H-Reflex ; Humans* ; Male ; Muscle Spindles ; Muscles ; Myalgia* ; Neurons ; Reflex, Stretch* ; Volunteers

Allopurinol is one of the causative drugs that induce fixed drug eruption (FDE). The lymphocyte transformation test (LTT) is a safe and reliable diagnostic procedure for drug allergy, but is reported to be rarely positive in patients with FDE. In the current case, we performed an LTT and successfully confirmed allopurinol as the offending drug. This case report suggests that an LTT should be an optional diagnostic tool for FDE or delayed reaction due to allopurinol.
Allopurinol ; Drug Eruptions ; Drug Hypersensitivity ; Humans ; Lymphocyte Activation ; Lymphocytes

Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) is a common enzyme for the evaluation of the hepatic, muscular and cardiac diseases and is produced also at kidney, brain, pancreas, lung, leukocytes, erythrocytes, etc. The elevation of its activity is usually caused by the necrosis of hepatocytes when there are not muscular injuries or myopathies. Recently, it is found that AST can exist as a macroenzyme by forming a complex with an immunoglobulin and this complex is erroneously considered to indicate the presence of liver disease as a result of elevation of AST activity on routine blood chemistry analysis. We experienced the patient with isolated AST elevation due to the formation of AST-mmunoglobulin complex confirmed by AST isoenzyme electrophoresis (EP).
Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Brain ; Chemistry ; Electrophoresis ; Erythrocytes ; Heart Diseases ; Hepatocytes ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Kidney ; Leukocytes ; Liver Diseases ; Lung ; Muscular Diseases ; Necrosis ; Pancreas

Monitored anesthesia care (MAC) is an anesthesia technique combining local anesthesia with parenteral drugs for sedation and analgesia. The use of MAC is increasing for a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in and outside of the operating room due to the rapid postoperative recovery with the use of relatively small amounts of sedatives and analgesics compared to general anesthesia. The purposes of MAC are providing patients with safe sedation, comfort, pain control and satisfaction. Preoperative evaluation for patients with MAC is similar to those of general or regional anesthesia in that patients should be comprehensively assessed. Additionally, patient cooperation with comprehension of the procedure is an essential component during MAC. In addition to local anesthesia by operators or anesthesiologists, systemic sedatives and analgesics are administered to provide patients with comfort during procedures performed with MAC. The discretion and judgment of an experienced anesthesiologist are required for the safety and efficacy profiles because the airway of the patients is not secured. The infusion of sedatives and analgesics should be individualized during MAC. Many procedures in and outside of the operating room, including eye surgery, otolaryngologic surgery, cardiovascular procedures, pain procedures, and endoscopy are performed with MAC to increase patient and operator satisfaction.
Analgesia ; Analgesics ; Anesthesia* ; Anesthesia, Conduction ; Anesthesia, General ; Anesthesia, Local ; Comprehension ; Endoscopy ; Humans ; Hypnotics and Sedatives ; Judgment ; Operating Rooms* ; Patient Compliance

Adult worms of Parvatrema spp. (Digenea: Gymnophallidae) were found in the intestines of 2 species of migratory birds, i.e., a great knot, Calidris tenuirostris, and 2 Mongolian plovers, Charadrius mongolus, in the coastal area of Gunsan-si, Jeollabuk-do in October 2009. The recovered Parvatrema worms were 79 in total number and composed of 2 species. The worms from a great knot were 289 micrometer in length with the oral and ventral sucker ratio of 2 : 1. They had a single vitellarium, and their intrauterine eggs were 25.0 x 17.5 micrometer in size. These findings were compatible with P. duboisi (Dollfus, 1923) Bartoli, 1974 (syn. P. timondavidi Bartoli, 1963). The worms recovered from the Mongolian plovers were smaller in length than P. duboisi and had 2 vitellaria. The oral and ventral sucker ratio was 2.5 : 1, and the eggs were 17.5 x 8.8 micrometer in size. These worms were assigned to be P. homoeotecnum James, 1964. This is the first report on the natural final hosts of Parvatrema spp. in Korea.
*Animal Migration ; Animals ; Bird Diseases/*parasitology ; Charadriiformes/*parasitology/physiology ; Trematoda/anatomy & histology/*isolation & purification ; Trematode Infections/parasitology/*veterinary

PURPOSE: SA14-14-2 live attenuated Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine has been administered safely and effectively to more than 100 million children in China since 1988, and recently licensure of the vaccine in Korea has been sought. Immune response to the vaccine was investigated. MEHTODS: In the first clinical evaluation of the vaccine outside of China, we monitored side effects in 93 children and evaluated plaque reduction neutralizing test (PRNT) antibody and IgM antibody responses to a single dose given as primary JE vaccination in 74 children, 1-3 years old (mean age 27 months). RESULTS: No significant adverse events were noted. PRNT antibodies (geometric mean titer [GMT] of 183) were produced in 96% of the 74 subjects. In 10 other children who previously had been immunized with two or three doses of inactivated JE vaccine, the booster administration of SA14-14-2 vaccine produced an anamnestic response in all, with a GMT of 3378. In a comparison group of 25 children previously immunized with two doses of inactivated vaccine, neutralizing antibody titers were detected in 16 (64%). Viral specific IgM was detected in nine primary vaccinees (13%) but in others, IgM may have declined to undetectable levels in the four week postimmunization sample. CONCLUSION: Live attenuated SA14-14-2 JE vaccine is a promising alternative to the only commercially available live attenuated JE vaccine for national childhood immunization programs in Asia.
Antibodies ; Antibodies, Neutralizing ; Antibody Formation ; Asia ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Child ; China ; Encephalitis, Japanese* ; Humans ; Immunization Programs ; Immunoglobulin M ; Korea ; Licensure ; Vaccination

Adults of Maritrema obstipum (Digenea: Microphallidae) were found in the intestines of 4 species of migratory birds, including the sanderling (Crocethia alba), Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrines), Mongolian plover (Charadrius mongolus), and red-necked stint (Calidris ruficollis), collected from Yubu Island, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. The worms of were 451x265 microm in size, and were easily identifiable as Maritrema species by the presence of the cirrus sac, and the ring-like distribution of the vitellaria. More specifically, the ejaculatory duct curved posteromedially, and the 2 parts of vitelline follicles were found to be distinct at the posterior end. The eggs were brown-colored, and 19.8x12.3 microm in size. All these findings implicated M. obstipum as the pertinent species of the worms. Beside these, adult worms of Gynaecotyla squatarolae, Parvatrema duboisi, and Acanthoparyphium sp. were also discovered. This is the first report establishing migratory birds as the natural definitive hosts for M. obstipum.
Animals ; Bird Diseases/*parasitology ; Charadriiformes/*parasitology ; Host Specificity ; Intestines/parasitology ; Islands ; Republic of Korea ; Trematoda/anatomy & histology/classification/*isolation & purification ; Trematode Infections/parasitology/*veterinary

Retrorectal tumors are particularly rare among the adult population, occurring in 1 of 40,000 hospital admissions. Clinical diagnosis is difficult and is often delayed because of vague symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological features of retrorectal tumors. Between January 1999 and March 2005, 10 patients were diagnosed with retrorectal tumors at the Department of Surgery, Yonsei University Medical Center, and their medical records were reviewed. We analyzed chief complaints, imaging studies, surgical approaches and pathologic examinations. Out of 10 patients, 8 were female and 2 were male. The mean age was 42.8 years. Four patients had no symptoms. Perianal and abdominal pain were the most common presentations. CT and MRI were the most frequently performed imaging studies. Surgery was performed in 9 patients. Postoperative pathologic diagnosis was possible in 9 patients. An epidermal cyst was the most common tumor (4 patients); others included a mature teratoma, an adenocarcinoma from a tail gut cyst, a duplication cyst, a neurogenic tumor, and a smooth muscle cell tumor. Imaging techniques like CT scans, MRI and TRUS are helpful to determine the size and the extent of a tumor and its relationship to the surrounding anatomical structures for the operative approach. A surgical resection is the standard of treatment and demonstrates good results and a good prognosis.
Abdominal Pain ; Academic Medical Centers ; Adenocarcinoma ; Adult ; Epidermal Cyst ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Medical Records ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Prognosis ; Teratoma

The purpose of this study was to assess the diet diversity, food habit and nutrient intake of obese adults who were visiting the health promotion center. This study was accomplished with the 138 obese adults (men = 103, women = 35) aged over 20 years old whose BMI were above 25 kg/m2. Nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR), the number of foods (Dietary Variety Score, DVS), and food group consumed (Dietary Diversity Score, DDS) by using the data from the three days record were analyzed and the food habit and lifestyle were assessed by self reporting questionnaire. The average energy intake of men was 2150.2 kcal which was significantly higher than that of women (p < 0.05). The intake ratio of carbohydrate, protein and fat over total energy was 54.8% : 19.3% : 25.8% in men, 59.5% : 17.8% : 22.6% in women, respectively. Frequency of the breakfast in a week above 4, 2~3 time and under one time was 75.7%, 10.7% and 9.7% in men, 77.1%, 5.7% and 14.3% in women respectively. Frequency of eating between meals in a day under one time was 73.8% in men, 57.1% in women (p < 0.05). The average DDS and DVS was 3.63 +/-0.07 and 14.10 +/-3.45, respectively which was significantly correlated with MAR (r = 0.40 in DDS, r = 0.64 in DVS, p < 0.01). The most frequent style of food pattern was DMGFV = 01101 in 35% of men, and DMGFV = 01111 in 37.1% of women. Our results show that dietary diversity and variety are useful parameters for evaluating nutrient intakes in obese adults. These findings suggest that nutritional education based on obese persons' eating behavior and eating diversity may be required to increase educational efficiency of weight control programs.
Adult* ; Breakfast ; Diet ; Eating ; Education ; Energy Intake ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Food Habits ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Life Style ; Male ; Meals ; Obesity ; Self Report ; Young Adult