No abstract available.
Blood Donors* ; Hepacivirus* ; Hepatitis C* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans

OR = 1mm). Serial lateral cephalometric radiographs were taken within 2 weeks preoperatively, within 1 week postoperatively and at a follow up period that ranged from 7 to 24 months postoperatively. All cephalometric radiographs were traced and digitized using the Quick ceph image Pro for analysis. And then, horizontal and vertical changes of reference points(B point, Pogonion, L1) were assessed by the linear measurements in millimeters on both axes. The results were as follows: 1. Mean horizontal relapses were 0.67+/-0.93mm (11%) at B point (P<0.05) and 0.81+/-1.01mm (13.2 %) at Pogonion (P< .01). 2. Mean vertical relapses were 0.63+/-1.62mm (33.3%) at B point and 0.53+/-1.95mm (31.4%) at Pogonion (P>0.05). 3. The mean angular change of occlusal plane to SN was 0.24+/-1.19 (P>0.05) and that of mandibular plane to SN was 1.03+/-1.85 (P<0.05). 4. There was correlation between the extent of preoperative overbite and the postsurgical relapse at B point and Pogonion. 5. There was no correlation between the amount of surgically produced horizontal movement and the postoperative horizontal relapse at B point.]]>
Dental Occlusion ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Open Bite ; Osteotomy, Sagittal Split Ramus ; Overbite ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies

Spinal cord herniation is a rare condition that has become increasingly recognised in the last few years. The authors report a case of idiopathic spinal cord herniation in a 33 year old woman performed with progressive Brown-Sequard syndrome. The diagnosis was made on MR imaging. After repairing the herniation, the patient made a gradual improvement. Potential causes are discussed, including a possible role of dural defect. In conclusion, idiopathic spinal cord herniation is a potentially treatable condition that should be more readily diagnosed that increasing awareness and improved imaging techniques.
Brown-Sequard Syndrome* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Spinal Cord*

Dengue fever is an acute febrile disease caused by the dengue virus, which belongs to the family Flaviviridae. The increasing number of people traveling abroad has increased the number of cases of imported dengue fever in Korea. The most common symptoms in patients with dengue fever are malaise, fever, musculoskeletal pain, headache, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Neurological manifestations such as myelitis, encephalitis, and cranial nerve palsies have been recognized as clinical consequences of dengue infection, but meningitis is a rare complication. We report the case of a 38-year-old man who presented with fever, headache, and nuchal rigidity while traveling in Vietnam. The etiology of meningitis was confirmed by the presence of dengue IgM antibody in his serum. This case report highlights the potential of dengue infection as a cause of meningitis.
Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Cranial Nerve Diseases ; Dengue ; Dengue Virus ; Encephalitis ; Fever ; Flaviviridae ; Headache ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin M ; Korea ; Meningitis ; Muscle Rigidity ; Musculoskeletal Pain ; Myelitis ; Nausea ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Vietnam ; Vomiting

PURPOSE: Influenza is a respiratory disease which prevails widely every year and shows high morbidity and mortality among not only chronic invalids and the old, but also among infants and young children. To prevent community-acquired influenza infection, to facilitate prompt antiviral therapy and to avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics, an easy, rapid diagnostic method for the influenza virus is needed. We evaluated a lateral-flow immunoassay (QuickVue Influenza Test), compared to viral culture. METHODS: During two consecutive years from Jan. 2004 to June 2004 and from Feb. 2005 to Jan. 2005, 408 patients who were suffering from fever, cough and/or sore throat and myalgia were enrolled in our study. A total of 408 patients were tested with QuickVue (R) (Quidel Co., San Diego, USA) influenza rapid antigen test and virus cultures at the same time. RESULTS: Of the 408 patients tested, children who showed positive results at the virus culture numbered 77; among them, 55 (71.4 percent) were type A/H3N2 and 22 (28.5 percent) were type B. QuickVue influenza test had a sensitivity of 71.4 percent and a specificity of 95.8 percent. The positive and negative predictive values were 79.7 percent and 93.5 percent, respectively. CONCLUSION: In our study, this test had comparable high sensitivity and high specificity and many advantages, such as being easy to perform and simple to interpret, and showing rapid results. If rapid influenza antigen tests are widely applied in the clinic, we can begin treatment more rapidly and reduce influenza complications and the abuse of antibiotics.
Infant ; Child ; Male ; Female ; Humans ; Mortality ; Predictive Value of Tests

From march, 1983 to May, 1987, we experienced 17 patients of Marfan syndrome. The clinical profile and course of 17 patients of Marfan syndrome were reviewed. 1) Their ages ranged from 13 to 50 years with a mean age of 30 years and 16 patients were male and 1 patient was female. 2) musculoskeletal features were present in 14(88%) of the 16 examined. Ocular features were found in 5(42%) of 12 examined. Familial features were present in 7(47%) of 15 examined. 3) Among cardiovascular manifestations dissecting aneurysm was present in 10(59%) patients, aortic annuloectasia in 15(94%), MR in 4(24%) and MVP in 1(6%). 4) Modified Bentall operation was performed to 8 patients. Two of them died. The other 8 patients took a conservative medical therapy. Four of them died.
Aneurysm, Dissecting ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Marfan Syndrome*

Pulsed Doppler echocardiography was performed before and five to fifteen days (mean, 9.3 days) after mitral valve surgery to evaluate the change of pulmonary arterial pressure in 80 patients (29 males and 51 females) with mitral valve disease by preejection period (PEP)/acceleration time (AT) ratio at the right ventricular outflow tract. In 13 patients with pulmonary hypertension (mean pulmonary arterial pressure equal to or greater than 20mmHg), Doppler echocardiography was followed three to twelve months after operation. In 76 patients with a mitral valve prosthesis (15 patients with the Bjork-Shiley valve, 28 patients with the Ionescu-Shiley valve, and 33 patients with the St. Jude valve), mean transmitral pressure gradient and pressure-half time were estimated by continuous wave Doppler echocardiography five to fifteen days after operation. 1) PEP/AT Ratio by pulsed Doppler echocardiography correlated well with the mean pulmonary arterial pressure gradient by cardiac catheterization (r=0.83, p<0.001). 2) After mitral valve surgery, PEP/AT ratio decreased significantly (p<0.001). In group with mean pulmonary arterial pressure equal to or greater than 40mmHg, immmediate postoperative PEP/AT ratio was greater (P<0.05) than that in group with mean pulmonary arterial pressure less than 20 mmHg, but, difference between the preoperative and postoperative PEP/AT ratio was much greater (P<0.001) than that in group with mean pulmonary arterial pressure between 20 and 39 mmHg. 3) In 13 patients, on whom repeated Doppler echocardiography performed, PEP/AT ratio decreased immediately after mitral valve surgery (p<0.001). After then, it decreased further, but, the amount of the decrease was much smaller than immediate one (p<0.001). 4) There was no significant difference in postoperative PEP/AT ratio among the different prosthesis. Mean transmitral pressure gradient and pressure half-time of the Bjork-Shiley, Ionescu-Shiley, and St, jude valves were 3.1 mmhg and 67.3 msec, 2.9 mmHg and 65.3 msec, and 2.7 mmhg and 60.2 msec, repectively. The St.Jude valve had somewhat smaller mean transmitral pressure gradient and pressure half-time, but there was no statistical significance. In conclusion, elevated pulmonary arterial pressure in patients with mitral valve disease decreased greatly within 15 days after operation, and Doppler echocardiography was a useful method in the follow-up of prosthetic mitral valve function.
Arterial Pressure ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Echocardiography* ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Echocardiography, Doppler, Pulsed ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Male ; Mitral Valve* ; Prostheses and Implants

To evaluate the usefulness of continuous wave Doppler echocardiography in the quantitative assessment of aortic regurgitation, the aortic regurgitant flow velocity curves taken by continuous wave Doppler echocardiography were analyzed to develop indexes such as the peak velocity(PV), the deceleration slope(SLOPE) and the pressure half time(PHT) in 66 patients with aortic regurgitation. The Doppler indexes were compared with the aortic regurgitation fraction(RF) obtained from gated radionuclide ventriculography in 33 patients without other valvular regurgitation, and were also compared with angiographic grading of aortic regurgitation in 47 patients who under went aortic angiography. The results were as follows : 1) The deceleration slope and the pressure half time were correlated well with the regurgitation fraction measured by gated radionuclide ventriculography (r=0.68, -0.78). 2) The deceleration slope increased significantly with increasing angiographic grading (rade 1+vs.2+ ; 1.89+/-0.61m/sec vs.2.64+/-0.39, P<0.05, Grade 2+ vs.3+ ;2.64+/-0.39 vs. 4.37+/-1.35, P<0.01, but statistical singnificance was not found between Grade 3+ and 4+(4.73+/-1.35vs. 5.00+/-0.39, P<0.05). 3) The pressure half time decreased significantly with increasing angiographic grading (Grade 1+vs.2+ ; 0.61+/-0.16 sec vs. 0.49+/-0.08, p<0.05, Grade 2+ vs.3+ ; 0.49+/-0.08vs. 0.29+/-0.07, p<0.01), but statistical significance was not found between Grade 3+ and 4+ (0.29+/-0.07vs. 0.26+/-0.08, p>0.05), either. 4) The pressure half time was independent of aortic or mitral stenosis associated with aortic regurgitation. 5) The peak velocity had no significant relationshop with the regurgitation fraction by gated radionuclide ventriculography or angiographic grading by aortic angiography. 6) A PHT threshold of 400 msec separated mild (Grade 1+ and 2+)and severe (grade 3+ and 4+) aortic regurgitation with sensitivity of 88%, specificity of 96% and predictive value of 95%. Therefore continuous wave Doppler echocardiographic method of anlyzing aoritc regurgitant flow velocity curve seemed to be useful for the noninvasive assessment of the severity of aortic regurgitation.
Angiography ; Aortic Valve Insufficiency* ; Deceleration ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Doppler* ; Gated Blood-Pool Imaging ; Humans ; Mitral Valve Stenosis ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Estrogen may promote osteoblast/osteocyte viability by limiting apoptotic cell death. We hypothesize that hsp27 is an estrogen- regulated protein that can promote osteoblast viability by increasing osteoblast resistance to apoptosis. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of estrogen treatment and heat shock on TNF alpha- induced apoptosis in the MC3T3-E1 cell line. Cells were treated with 0 - 100 nM 17betaestradiol (or ICI 182780) for 0 - 24 hours before heat shock. After recovery, apoptosis was induced by treatment with 0 - 10 ng/ml TNF alpha. Hsp levels were evaluated by Northern and Western analysis using hsp27, hsp47, hsp70c and hsp70i - specific reagents. Apoptosis was revealed by in situ labeling with Terminal Deoxyribonucleotide Transferase (TUNEL). A 5 - fold increase in hsp27 protein and mRNA was noted after 5 hours of treatment with 10 - 20 nM 17beta estradiol prior to heat shock. Increased abundance of hsp47, hsp70c or hsp70i was not observed. TUNEL indicated that estrogen treatment also reduced (50%) MC3T3-E1 cell susceptibility to TNF alpha-induced apoptosis. Treatment with hsp27-specific antisense oligonucleotides prevented hsp27 protein expression and abolished the protective effects of heat shock and estrogen treatment on TNF alpha-induced apoptosis. Hsp27 is a determinant of osteoblast apoptosis, and estrogen treatment increases hsp27 levels in cultured osteoblastic cells. Hsp27 contributes to the control of osteoblast apoptosis and may be manipulated by estrogenic or alternative pathways for the improvement of bone mass.
Apoptosis* ; Cell Death ; Cell Line ; Estradiol ; Estrogens* ; Hot Temperature ; HSP27 Heat-Shock Proteins ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Indicators and Reagents ; Oligonucleotides, Antisense ; Osteoblasts* ; RNA, Messenger ; Shock ; Transferases ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Objective: We compared the osteoblastogenesis by serially administrating recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) and osteoprotegerin-immunoglobulin Fc segment complex (OPG-Fc). Methods: The MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast cell line was differentiated for 1, 3, and 7 days with a treatment of OPG-Fc in 10~200 ng/mL concentration and the cell viability was evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8 analysis. The level of differentiation from MC3T3-E1 cells to osteoblasts was determined by alkaline phosphatase activity. The level of runt domain-containing transcription factor 2 (Runx2) and osteopontin (OPN) manifestation, involved in osteoblast differentiation, was examined by real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Results: During MC3T3-E1 cell differentiation, the differentiation level was high with 1-day treatment using 100 ng/mL OPGFc. The treatment with 50 ng/mL rhBMP-2 for 7 days, followed by 1-day treatment with 100 ng/mL OPG-Fc produced the highest differentiation level, which was approximately 5.3 times that of the control group (p<0.05). The expression of Runx2 mRNA significantly increased, reaching 2.5 times the level of the control group under the condition of 7-day treatment with rhBMP-2 and 1-day treatment with OPG-Fc (p<0.001). The expression of Runx2 protein significantly increased to approximately 5.7 times that of the control group under the condition of 7-day treatment with rhBMP-2, followed by 1-day treatment with OPG-Fc (p<0.01).The expression of OPN protein showed no change from that of the control group under various conditions of rhBMP-2 and OPGFc combinations. Conclusion These results imply that the treating preosteoblasts with rhBMP-2 first and then with OPG-Fc increased osteoblast differentiation efficacy.