PURPOSE: To investigate the efficacy of age, International Prostate Symptom Score(I-PSS), quality of life(QOL) score, various parameters obtained by transrectal ultrasonography(TRUS) as predictors of the onset of acute urinary retention in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 1996 to December 1997, 101 men(mean age 70years, range 52-92) with symptoms of BPH were enrolled in this study. Among them, 36 patients had suffered from acute urinary retention. TRUS was used to calculate the total prostate(TP) volume, the transitional zone(TZ) volume, the transitional zone index(TZ index=TZ volume/TP volume). To compare the usefulness of various indices, the area under the receiver-operator characteristic(ROC) curve was calculated for each index. RESULTS: There were significant differences in age, TP volume, TZ volume, TZ index between patients with and without acute urinary retention, but no significant differences in I-PSS and QOL score. In patients with acute urinary retention, the area under the ROC curve was 0.911 for the TZ index, 0.892 for the TZ volume, 0.769 for the TP volume and 0.660 for the age. CONCLUSIONS: The TZ index is a useful predictor of acute urinary retention in patients with BPH and may be a useful parameter for decision of surgical intervention.
Humans ; Prostate ; Prostatic Hyperplasia* ; ROC Curve ; Urinary Retention*

No abstract available.
Hemangioma, Cavernous*

Renal leiomyoma, a rare benign tumor, is a challenging diagnostic and therapeutic condition. The preoperative diagnosis of renal leiomyoma is very difficult, and the only definite method to distinguish between a leiomyoma and other renal tumor is postoperative microscopic evaluation. We report a case of leiomyoma of the kidney which was managed by radical nephrectomy under the impression of malignant renal mass which was incidentally found by ultrasonographic examination for health check in a 43-year-old woman.
Adult ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Kidney* ; Leiomyoma* ; Nephrectomy

No abstract available.
Gaucher Disease* ; Humans ; Siblings*

OBJECT: This study was designed to evaluate the effects of olanzapine on the schedule-induced polydipsia(SIP) which is one of animal model of obsessive-compulsive disorder in rats. We administered olanzapine as a serotonin and dopamine blocking agent, fluoxetine as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, and haloperidol for the dopamine antagonist to rats which showed schedule-induced polydipsic behavior. METHODS: Spraque-Dawley rats weighing 200-250gm were individually housed and maintained and allowed free access to water. The rats were placed on a restricted diet. To induce polydipsia, rats were placed in the cage where a pellet dispenser automatically dispensed 90mg pellets on a fixed-time 60 seconds(FT-60s) feeding schedule over 150 minute test session per day. Water was available at all times in the cage. After 4 weeks of daily exposure to the FT 60s feeding schedule, experimental rats met a predetermined criterion for polydipsic behavior(greater than 3 times of water per session on average). 5 groups of rats were administered olanzapine(3mg/kg, i.p), olanzapine(10mg/kg, i.p), fluoxetine(5mg/kg, i.p.), haloperidol(0.1mg/kg, i.o), and vehicle(1cc/kg, i.p) for 3 weeks. The rats were tested once a week to access schedule induced polydipsic behavior. Water bottles were weighted before and after the 150-minute test session. The chronic effects of administration of experimental drugs on schedule induced polydipsic behavior were analyzed with ANOVA and Scheffe test as a post-hoc comparison. In order to measure water consumption in non-polydipsic food-deprived rats, a separate group of rats(N=8) were individually housed and given a single bolus(14.5gm) of food per day which maintained them at their average body weight. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: There results were as follows : 1) After 4 weeks of scheduled feeding procedure, the experimental group showed significant differences than the bolus control in the amount of water consumption as compared with their average water intakes for 4 weeks. At the same periods, there were no differences between the experimental group and the bolus control in the body weight. 2) The fluoxetine group showed significant decrease in the amount of water intake over the 3 weeks of drug treatment as compared with their average amount of polydipsic water intakes. The olanzapine 3mg group showed significant decrease in the amount of water intake at 3rd weeks of drug treatment as compared with their average amount of polydipsic water intakes. The olanzapine 10mg group showed significant decrease in the amount of water intake at 2nd and 3rd weeks of drug treatment as compared with their average amount of polydipsic water intakes. However, the haloperidol group and the vehicle control group showed no changes of amounts of water intake for 3 weeks of treatment as compared with their average amount of polydipsic water intakes. 3) The fluoxetine group showed significantly lower amounts of water intake than the haloperidol group at 2nd weeks of drug treatment. And also the fluoxetine group showed significantly lower amounts of water intake than the haloperidol group and the vehicle control at 3rd weeks of drug treatment. The olanzapine 3mg group and the olanzapine 10mg group showed significantly lower amounts of water intake than the haloperidol group and the vehicle control at 3rd weeks of drug treatment. Above findings suggest that the fixed time feeding procedure for schedule-induced polydipsia as an animal model of obsessive compulsive disorder was effective to the evaluation of pharmacological challenge study. The authors assume that the serotonin hypothesis and the serotonin-dopamine interaction hypothesis are preferred to the dopamine hypothesis in the biological etiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Animals ; Appointments and Schedules ; Body Weight ; Diet ; Dopamine ; Drinking ; Fluoxetine ; Haloperidol ; Models, Animal ; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder ; Polydipsia ; Rats* ; Serotonin ; Water

PURPOSE: This questionnaire study was conducted to examine sexual problems and assess the effect of sexual rehabilitation education on the marital intimacy in patients with spinal cord injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 45 male patients with spinal cord injuries were evaluated for sexual problems using a questionnaire. The patients were divided into two groups: control group (n=16) and trial group (n=16). Sexual rehabilitation education for patients, using manual and video tapes, was provided. The effect of sexual rehabilitation education on marital intimacy was assessed in the two groups. Using Student's t-test (paired), Student's t-test the scores of marital intimacy measured before and after the sexual rehabilitation education were compared. RESULTS: After one year, 80% (36/45) of the subjects recovered normal sexual desire, and 51% (23/45) recovered normal erectile function, most of who had been proved to have sustained a spinal cord injury at the cervical or thoracic level. Normal erectile function was more frequently seen in patients with incomplete spinal cord injury than in those with complete spinal cord injury. 31% (14/45) were able to ejaculate and 29% (13/45) experienced orgasm. After sustaining a spinal cord injury, 87% (39/45) were aware of sexual rehabilitation education. However, only 13% (5/45) were informed by their healthcare professionals. After sexual rehabilitation education, a significant increase in marital intimacy was found in the trial compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, our results indicate that sexual rehabilitation education is effective at increasing the marital intimacy of patients with a spinal cord injury. Moreover, these patients must receive relevant care and education from their healthcare professionals, which must also be in a persistent manner.
Delivery of Health Care ; Education* ; Humans ; Male* ; Orgasm ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rehabilitation* ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; Spinal Cord*

BACKGROUND: Nasalance is used to evaluate the velopharyngeal incompetence in clinical diagnoses using a nasometer. The aim of this study is to find the nasalance differences between Vietnamese cleft palate children and Korean cleft palate children by measuring the nasalance of five oral vowels. METHODS: Ten Vietnamese cleft palate children after surgery, three Vietnamese children for the control group, and ten Korean cleft palate children after surgery with the same age participated in this experimentation. Instead of Korean control, the standard value of Korean version of the simplified nasometric assessment procedures (kSNAP) was used. RESULT: The results are as follows: (1) the highest nasalance score among the Vietnamese normal vowels is the low vowel /a/; however, that of Korean normal vowels is the high vowel /i/. (2) The average nasalance score of Korean cleft palate vowels is 18% higher than that of Vietnamese cleft palate vowels. There was a nasalance score of over 45% among the vowels /e/ and /i/ in Vietnamese cleft palate patients and /i/, /o/, and /u/ in Korean cleft palate patients. CONCLUSION: These different nasalance scores of the same vowels seem to cause an ethnic difference between Vietnamese and Korean cleft palate children.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Child ; Cleft Palate* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Velopharyngeal Insufficiency

PURPOSE: To compare ocular biometry and refractive results measured using conventional applanation ultrasonography and 3 different optical interferometries, Lenstar LS900(R), AL-Scan(R) and OA-2000(R). METHODS: The biometries of 31 cataractous eyes were measured using ultrasonography, Lenstar LS900(R), AL-Scan(R) or OA-2000(R). The axial length, anterior chamber depth and keratometry were measured. The SRK/T formula was used to calculate intraocular lens power. Two months after cataract surgery, the refractive outcome was determined and results from the 4 different biometry methods were compared. RESULTS: Axial lengths were 23.39 +/- 0.95 mm, 23.42 +/- 0.98 mm, 23.43 +/- 0.98 mm and 23.44 +/- 0.98 mm measured using ultrasonography, Lenstar LS900(R), AL-Scan(R) and OA-2000(R), respectively with no statistically significant differences observed (p = 0.996). The anterior chamber depth and keratometry were 3.14 +/- 0.41 mm, 3.10 +/- 0.38 mm and 3.13 +/- 0.39 mm (p = 0.936) and 44.41 +/- 1.52 D, 44.54 +/- 1.57 D and 44.44 +/- 1.52 D (p = 0.937) for Lenstar LS900(R), AL-Scan(R) and OA-2000(R) respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between the 3 optical devices. The mean absolute error of the 4 different devices were not statistically significant (p = 0.722). CONCLUSIONS: The ocular biometric measurements and prediction of postoperative refraction using ultrasonography, Lenstar LS900(R), AL-Scan(R) or OA-2000(R) showed no significant differences.
Anterior Chamber ; Biometry ; Cataract ; Interferometry* ; Lenses, Intraocular ; Optical Devices ; Refractive Errors ; Ultrasonography*

Distortion of vowels in dysarthria associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis can be detected at the perceptual, physiological, and acoustical levels of analysis. Sound spectrography was used to analyse the formants of vowels which reflect position and space of articulatory organs. We analyse status and progression of dysarthria in 54 year old women with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using sound spectrography. Target formant frequencies were measured from select words containing the vowels /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/. Results revealed that dysarthric patient exhibited smaller vowel space areas and less systematic changes in vowel spaces for pronouncing different vowels in comparison with normal control. Changes of vowel formants in sound spectrographic analysis reflected progression of dysarthric symptom in this patient. We conclude that acoustic analysis of vowels using sound spectrography is a useful tool to visualize and quantitatively analyse the severity and progression of dysarthria due to paralytic articulatory organ.
Acoustics ; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ; Bulbar Palsy, Progressive* ; Dysarthria ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Sound Spectrography*

OBJECTIVES: The main purpose of this study was to investigate relationship between cumulative trauma disorders(CTDs) and the types of workstation and chair in workers with repetitive motion tasks. METHODS: The study subjects were 77 repetitive motion tasks workers at small manufacturing industries in Seoul and Gyung-gi district area. A questionnaire was used to obtain about health practice for prevention and prevalence of CTDs by worker. The type of Workstations and chairs in workers were measured and analyzed with prevalence of CTDs by logistic regression. RESULTS: Eighty-six percent of workers recognized that work posture was related to workstation and chair. Most employers and employees didn't follow the work practice guidelines for workers with repetitive motion tasks. The prevalence of CTDs was 64% by questionnaire. The prevalence of pain in shoulder, neck, back, and arm were 38%, 15%, 6%, and 5%, respectively, and the pain started after working an average duration of 16.5 months. The CTDs symptoms were significantly related to thickness of workstation, height of workstation, length of knee depth under workstation, height of back rest, height of seat pan, depth of sitting surface, width of sitting surface, and length from workstation surface edge to shoulder. By multiple regression analysis of each risk factor, prevalence of CTDs was highly correlated with height of back rest, height of seat pan, and depth of sitting surface. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that workstations should be made adjustable for height and chairs should be equipped with seat pan height control, enough sitting surface for depth and width, back rest height and angle control. The workers should use the right working postures, exercise for health, occupational health education, and rest breaks and the manager of company should be educated for the preventing of CTDs.
Arm ; Cumulative Trauma Disorders* ; Health Education ; Knee ; Logistic Models ; Neck ; Occupational Health ; Posture ; Prevalence ; Questionnaires ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Shoulder