BACKGROUND: One of prominent cardiovascular effects of imipramine is postural hypotension. The present study was to verify whether imipramine has a central hypotensive action and futher to investigate its mechanism of action. METHODS: Rats(male, Sprague-Dawley) weighing 250-300g were anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium(50mg/kg, ip). Imipramine was administered into the left lateral cerebral ventricle. Mean arterial pressure(MAP) and heart rate(HR) were continuously monitored from the right femoral artery. RESULTS: Intracerebroventricular(icv) imipramine(3micromol/kg) caused decrease in MAP without significant alterations in HR, of which safety dose-range was very narrow. 1micromol/kg did not affect MAP and 10micromol/kg caused deaths of animals within 10min. Intravenous infusion of the same dose(3micromol/kg) of imipramine caused only a transient hypotension within 5min. Hexamethonium-treated(1mg/kg/min) rats did not respond to icv imipramine. Regitine pretreatment(2mg/kg, iv) prevented the hypotensive response to icv imipramine. Yohimbine pretreatment(500microg/kg, icv) not only blocked the hypotensive effect, but it caused a transient pressor response to icv imipramine. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that imipramine has a separate hypotensive effect which is mediated through central alpha2-adrenoceptors.
Animals ; Blood Pressure ; Cerebral Ventricles ; Femoral Artery ; Heart ; Hypotension ; Hypotension, Orthostatic ; Imipramine* ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Pentobarbital ; Phentolamine ; Rats* ; Yohimbine

PURPOSE: Defecography is a technique of examining the rectum and anal canal by using fluoroscopy during defecation. This study was done to determine the range of normal findings of defecography in young asymptomatic Korean volunteers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-nine asymptomatic young volunteers underwent defecography. Anorectal angle, perineal descent, length and width of anal, rectocele, rectal intussusception and incontience were evaluated. RESULTS: The range of anorectal angle was 82 degrees-149 degrees in resting state, compared to the 63 degrees -116 degrees in squeezing state, and 95 degrees -116 degrees in straining state respectively. The pelvic floor in straining state descended on average of 1.62cm from the inferior margin of ischial tuberosity that its broad range of position from --5.2cm to 0.8 cm implies a wide variation of anorectal angle and periheal descent. Mild degree of rectocele with less than 2cm of depth was found in 12 out of 29 cases. Rectal intussusception was noted in six and rectal incontinence was seen in one case. Formation of rectocele and intussusception during defecation was common in asymptomatic young volunteers. CONCLUSION: The wide range of defecographic measurements warrants the necessity of other complementary studies on anorectal function to improve the diagnostic accuracy. The interpretation of defecographic measurement should therefore be made with caution and should not be used as the sole criteria for seliction of treatment modality.
Anal Canal ; Defecation ; Defecography ; Fluoroscopy ; Intussusception ; Pelvic Floor ; Rectocele ; Rectum ; Volunteers*

No abstract available.
Asthma* ; Asthma, Exercise-Induced ; Bronchoconstriction* ; Child* ; Humans

PURPOSE: This study was to evaluate the effect of repeated ultrasonic scaling and surface polishing with intraoral polishing kits on the surface roughness of three different restorative materials. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 15 identical discs were fabricated with three different materials. The ultrasonic scaling was conducted for 20 seconds on the test surfaces. Subsequently, a multi-step polishing with recommended intraoral polishing kit was performed for 30 seconds. The 3D profiler and scanning electron microscopy were used to investigate surface integrity before scaling (pristine), after scaling, and after surface polishing for each material. Non-parametric Friedman and Wilcoxon signed rank sum tests were employed to statistically evaluate surface roughness changes of the pristine, scaled, and polished specimens. The level of significance was set at 0.05. RESULTS: Surface roughness values before scaling (pristine), after scaling, and polishing of the metal alloys were 3.02±0.34 µm, 2.44±0.72 µm, and 3.49±0.72 µm, respectively. Surface roughness of lithium disilicate increased from 2.35±1.05 µm (pristine) to 28.54±9.64 µm (scaling), and further increased after polishing (56.66±9.12 µm, P<.05). The zirconia showed the most increase in roughness after scaling (from 1.65±0.42 µm to 101.37±18.75 µm), while its surface roughness decreased after polishing (29.57±18.86 µm, P<.05). CONCLUSION: Ultrasonic scaling significantly changed the surface integrities of lithium disilicate and zirconia. Surface polishing with multi-step intraoral kit after repeated scaling was only effective for the zirconia, while it was not for lithium disilicate.
Alloys* ; Ceramics* ; Lithium ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Ultrasonics*

PURPOSE: We evaluated the therapeutic effects of phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) with or without amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) in patients who had symptomatic bullous keratopathy with poor visual potential. METHODS: Twenty-five eyes of 25 patients with bullous keratopathy were reviewed retrospectively. Ten eyes (group A) were treated with PTK, and the other 15 eyes (group B) were treated with combined PTK and AMT. Changes of vision and symptoms, re-epithelization time, recurrence of bulla, central corneal thickness measured by anterior segment optical coherence tomography, and postoperative complications were analyzed. RESULTS: At post-operative 3 months, visual acuity improved in 2 patients in both A and B groups. Nine patients in group A (90%) and 13 patients in group B (86.7%) showed symptom improvement. Mean re-epithelization time was 12.40 +/- 4.33 days in group A and 8.13 +/- 1.19 days in group B (p > 0.05). In both groups, central corneal thickness decreased postoperatively without statistically significant difference between groups. At the final follow-up visit, epithelial bulla had not recurred in 7 eyes (70.0%) in group A and 12 eyes (80.0%) in group B. No postoperative complication was detected. CONCLUSIONS: PTK alone appears comparable to the combined treatment of PTK and AMT in terms of symptom improvement, re-epithelization time and recurrence rate.
Amnion ; Blister ; Eye ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Postoperative Complications ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Transplants ; Vision, Ocular ; Visual Acuity

The upper gastrointestinal bleeding is to be controlled and prevented for recurrent bleeding with several endoscopic methods. The sapphire contact probe in Nd: YAG laser photocoagulation was compared to conventional non-contact probe in hemostatic efficacy. (continue...)
Aluminum Oxide ; Arteries* ; Hemorrhage ; Lasers, Solid-State* ; Light Coagulation* ; Rabbits*

OBJECTIVES: Slow transit type of chronic constipation can be divided into two types, colonic constipation, and generalized gastrointestinal dysmotility. However, it is debatable whether generalized GI dysmotility should be considered as upper gastrointestinal dysmotility secondary to colonic constipation or independent type of chronic constipation. In this study, we compared gastric emptying time(T1/2) of patients of chronic constipation with that of normal controls, and tried to find out any relationship between segmental colonic transit time and gastric emptying time. METHODS: Twenty three patients with chronic slow transit constipation who either visited or admitted to Youngdong Severance Hospital between september 1995 to lune 1997, and 27 normal controls were recruited. Both the patients and normal controls were fed with radioopaque material and colonic transit time and gastric emptying time were measured. RESULTS: 1) Seventy four percent of patients with chronic slow transit constipation showed a delayed gastric emptying time. Patients group showed a significantly delayed gastric emptying time compared with that of normal controls(110.9+/-32.3 min vs. 72.1+/-11.4 min, p<0.05). Gastric emptying time in respect to gender showed significant differences in normal controls(M=65.5+/-9.6 min, F=78.7+/-10.4 min). However, no significant difference was found in patient group(M=97.8+/-11.8 min, F=114.5+/-35.4 min). 2) In chronic slow transit constipation, colonic transit time was 48.8+/-11.7 hr. Each segments of colon showed a different transit time: Right colon 19.3+/-7.3 hr, left colon 21.2+/-12.3 hr, and rectosigmoid 8.3+/-9.2 hr. All of which were significantly delayed, compared with those of normal controls. 3) In patients group, colonic transit time of the whole colon had no significant correlation with gastric emptying time. 4) Seventy five percent of patients with chronic slow transit constipation whose right colonic transit time was delayed showed a delayed gastric emptying time. On the other hands, 63% of patients with delayed left colonic transit time had a delayed gastic emptying time. Patients with delayed gastric emptying time and those with normal gastric emptying time had no significantly different colonic transit time(49.1+/-13.2 hr vs 48.0+/-6.5 hr). CONCLUSIONS: Large number of patients with chronic slow transit constipation had a delayed gastric emptying time. When surgical treatment is considered in patients with chronic slow transit constipation, it seems to be beneficial to estimate such parameters as manometry or gastric emptying time in order to evaluate functional derangement of UGI tract. These parameters may provide a guideline in treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation.
Colon ; Constipation ; Gastric Emptying* ; Hand ; Humans ; Manometry

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and its role as a second-line imaging modality after gadoxetate-enhanced MRI (Gd-EOB-MRI) in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among at risk observations. Materials and Methods: We prospectively enrolled participants at risk of HCC with treatment-naïve solid hepatic observations (≥ 1 cm) of Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LR)-3/4/5/M during surveillance and performed Gd-EOB-MRI. A total of one hundred and three participants with 103 hepatic observations (mean size, 28.2 ± 24.5 mm; HCCs [n = 79], non-HCC malignancies [n = 15], benign [n = 9]; diagnosed by pathology [n = 57], or noninvasive method [n = 46]) were included in this study. The participants underwent CEUS with sulfur hexafluoride. Arterial phase hyperenhancement (APHE) and washout on Gd-EOB-MRI and CEUS were evaluated. The distinctive washout in CEUS was defined as mild washout 60 seconds after contrast injection. The diagnostic ability of Gd-EOB-MRI and of CEUS as a second-line modality for HCC were determined according to the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) and the Korean Liver Cancer Association and National Cancer Center (KLCA-NCC) guidelines. The diagnostic abilities of both imaging modalities were compared using the McNemar’s test. Results: The sensitivity of CEUS (60.8%) was lower than that of Gd-EOB-MRI (72.2%, p = 0.06 by EASL; 86.1%, p < 0.01 by KLCA-NCC); however, the specificity was 100%. By performing CEUS on the inconclusive observations in Gd-EOB-MRI, HCCs without APHE (n = 10) or washout (n = 12) on Gd-EOB-MRI further presented APHE (80.0%, 8/10) or distinctive washout (66.7%, 8/12) on CEUS, and more HCCs were diagnosed than with Gd-EOB-MRI alone (sensitivity: 72.2% vs. 83.5% by EASL, p < 0.01; 86.1% vs. 91.1% by KCLA-NCC, p = 0.04). There were no false-positive cases for HCC on CEUS. Conclusion The addition of CEUS to Gd-EOB-MRI as a second-line diagnostic modality increases the frequency of HCC diagnosis without changing the specificities.

Purpose: This study investigated whether the use of ultrasound (US) guidance in transient elastography (TE) improved the technical success and reliability of liver stiffness (LS) measurements and whether 2-dimensional (2D) shear wave elastography (SWE) provided reliable LS measurements if TE measurements failed. Methods: In this prospective study, 292 participants (male:female, 189:103; median age, 60 years) with chronic liver disease (CLD) were enrolled. LS was measured via the consecutive use of conventional TE, 2D-SWE, and US-guided TE. The technical success rates and reliable LS measurement rates of the three elastography techniques were compared. The risk factors for TE failure were assessed through univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Results: US-guided TE was associated with a higher technical success rate (281 of 292, 96.2%) and a higher reliable measurement rate (266 of 292, 91.1%) than conventional TE (technical success: 256 of 292, 87.7%; reliable measurements: 231 of 292, 79.1%; P<0.001 for both). In participants for whom conventional TE failed, 2D-SWE provided high rates of technical success (36 of 36, 100%) and reliable measurements (30 of 36, 83.3%). TE failure was associated with female sex (odds ratio [OR], 5.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.30 to 26.40), severe reverberation artifacts (OR, 8.79; 95% CI, 3.93 to 19.69), and high skin-to-liver capsule depth (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.39). Conclusion US guidance in TE improved the technical success and reliable measurement rates in the assessment of LS in patients with CLD. In participants for whom TE failed, subsequent 2D-SWE successfully delivered reliable LS measurements.

Pachymeningitis is an inflammatory process mainly involving the dura mater and is possibly associated with infectious, neoplastic, or autoimmune disease. However, in most cases, the etiology remains unknown. Clinical manifestations of pachymeningitis can vary, ranging from headache, cranial neuropathy, cerebellar dysfunction, to seizure. Here we report two cases of perinuclear anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies associated with pachymeningitis, in both the visual loss attributed to optic neuropathy was the primary sign.