No abstract available.
Birth Certificates* ; Parturition*

OBJECTIVE: Multiple birth implicates the important health and social problems such as preterm birth, low birth weight, high perinatal mortality, and increased medical cost. This study was performed to investigate the multiple birth rate in Korea using the birth certificate data. METHODS: Retrospective review and analysis of data from Korean birth certificate in 1996. RESULTS: Multiple birth rate was 1.4% of total births(683,043 cases). Mean birth weight was 3.29+/-0.47kg for singleton birth and 2.57+/-0.58kg for multiple birth. Mean gestational age was 39.56+/-1.32 weeks for singleton birth and 37.47+/-2.41 weeks for multiple birth. Rate of low birth weight (< 2.5kg) was 14 times higher for multiple birth compared with that of singleton birth, and rate of preterm birth(< 37 weeks) was 10 times higher. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between multiple birth and selected variables including maternal age, job and birth order. As the odds ratio(OR) was 2.47(95% CI: 2.34 - 2.59, p<0.001) for the second birth, and 5.31(95% CI: 4.99 - 5.65, p<0.001) for the third and over birth compared with the first birth, there was a significant correlation between multiple birth and birth order. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the birth certificate data in 1996, the incidence of twin and higher order multiple birth was 1.7%, and a significant correlation between multiple birth and birth order was revealed. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the etiology and prognosis of multiple birth and the developmental problems from birth to adolescence.
Adolescent ; Birth Certificates* ; Birth Order ; Birth Weight ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Maternal Age ; Multiple Birth Offspring* ; Parturition* ; Perinatal Mortality ; Pregnancy ; Premature Birth ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Social Problems ; Twins

BACKGROUND: The cell mediated immunity has an important role in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis. sIL-2R has been known as a sensitive marker of T lymphocyte activation. Elevated serum levels of sIL-2R have been found in patients with lymphoproliferative disorders, organ transplantation, autoimmune diseases, and various granulomatous diseases. Elevated levels of sIL-2R have been also found in the seam and pleural fluid of the patients with tuberculosis. To evaluate the diagnostic value of sIL-2R in the differentiation of tuberculous pleurisy and. nontuberculous pleurisy. We measured the level of sIL-2R in the sera and pleural fluids of 12 patients with tuberculous pleurisy and 32 patients with nontuberculous pleurisy. METHOD: Samples of pleural fluid and serum were centrifuged at 2500 rpm for 10 min to remove cell pellets. Soluble R-2R was measured with a sandwitch enzyme immunoassay using the Cellfree r Interleukin-2 Receptor Test kit( T-cell science, Inc. Cambridge, MA). RESULTS: The results obtained were as follows: 1) The sIL-2R level in pleural fluid of the patients with tuberculous pleurisy was higher than that of patients with nontuberculous pleurisy(P<0.005). 2) When the sIL-2R level above 5,000 u/ml in pleural fluid was used as the cut-off value to diagnose tuberculous pleurisy, it had a sensitivity of 84.6% and a specificity of 90.9%. 3) The sIL-2R level in the sera of the patients with tuberculous pleurisy was higher than that of patients with bacterial pleural effusions and normal control group(P<0.05) and there was no difference of levels compared with malignant pleural effusions and transudative pleural effusions(P>0.05). 4) In patients with tuberculous pleurisy, the mean concentration of sIL-2R in pleural fluid was higher than that in serum(P<0.005). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the measurement of elevated levels of pleural fluid sIL-2R in tuberculous pleurisy may be useful in the differential diagnosis between patients with tuberculous pleurisy and nontuberculous pleurisy.
Autoimmune Diseases ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Interleukin-2* ; Lymphocyte Activation ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders ; Organ Transplantation ; Pleural Effusion ; Pleural Effusion, Malignant ; Pleurisy* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; T-Lymphocytes ; Transplants ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pleural*

No abstract available.
Twins, Conjoined*

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical outcomes of single frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer cycles according to the hatching status of frozen-thawed blastocysts. METHODS: Frozen-thawed blastocysts were divided into three groups according to their hatching status as follows: less-than-expanded blastocyst (≤EdB), hatching blastocyst (HgB), and hatched blastocyst (HdB). The female age and infertility factors of each group were evaluated. The quality of the single frozen-thawed blastocyst was also graded as grade A, tightly packed inner cell mass (ICM) and many cells organized in the trophectoderm epithelium (TE); grade B, several and loose ICM and TE; and grade C, very few ICM and a few cells in the TE. The clinical pregnancy and implantation rate were compared between each group. The data were analyzed by either t-test or chi-square analysis. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in average female ages, infertility factors, or the distribution of blastocyst grades A, B, and C in each group. There was no significant difference in the clinical pregnancy and implantation rate of each group according to their blastocyst grade. However, there was a significant difference in the clinical pregnancy and implantation rate between each group. In the HdB group, the clinical pregnancy and implantation rate were similar regardless of the blastocyst quality. CONCLUSION: There was an effect on the clinical outcomes depending on whether the blastocyst hatched during single frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer. When performing single frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer, the hatching status of the frozen-thawed blastocyst may be a more important parameter for clinical outcomes than the quality of the frozen-thawed blastocyst.
Blastocyst* ; Embryo Transfer* ; Epithelium ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility ; Pregnancy ; Retrospective Studies* ; Single Embryo Transfer ; Vitrification

BACKGROUND: More attention is given to oxidative hypothesis which causes atherosclerosis to be recognized as inflammatory response. The relationship between serum ferritin which catalyzes lipid peroxidation and high sensitivity C-reactive protein which reflects vascular inflammation was investigated among adults in a health promotion center. METHODS: The study group consisted of 297 men and women (men 86, women 211) who visited the health promotion center of a hospital in Seoul to have a health checkup from October 1, 2004 to April 1, 2005. These subjects answered the questionnares and were measured in the following; blood tests, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity and several anthropometric measurements. Statistical analysis was performed on 111 subjects after exclusion of those subjects who were taking antihypertensive agents or antidiabetic agents, and who had acute inflammatory diseases, acute liver diseases, anemia, and who had a WBC > or =11,000x10(3)/mm3 or a serum ferritin > or =200 ug/L or a ABI (Ankle Brachial Index) <0.9. RESULTS: The average serum ferritin concentration of men against women was 132.57+/-43.12 ng/ml to 78.23+/-38.10 ng/ml which means that men have about 1.7 times as high concentration than women (P<0.001). Serum ferritin was significantly correlated with high sensitivity C-reactive protein (r=0.332). Even in multiple stepwise regression analysis, there was a independent relationship between serum ferritin and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (beta=0.138, P=0.010). When we analyzed with distinction of sex, this relationship in women was constant (beta=0.131, P=0.031), but serum ferritin in men just showed the trend of correlation with BMI (beta=9.510, P=0.059). CONCLUSION: There is a significant relationship between the increase of serum ferritin and high sensitivity C-reactive protein in healthy women; furthermore, studies in men need to be confirmed.
Acute Disease ; Adult ; Anemia ; Antihypertensive Agents ; Atherosclerosis ; C-Reactive Protein ; Female ; Ferritins ; Health Promotion ; Hematologic Tests ; Humans ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; Inflammation ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Liver Diseases ; Male ; Oxidative Stress ; Pulse Wave Analysis

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to compare the effects of static culture, dynamic culture, and the combination of dynamic culture with specialized surfaces involving co-culture on human embryonic development. Embryos cultured using conventional static culture (SC) techniques served as a control group. We compared dynamic culture using micro-vibration culture (MVC) and micro-vibration with co-culture (MCoC), in which autologous cumulus cells were used as a specialized surface. METHODS: We conducted a chart review of patients who were treated between January 2011 and November 2014 in order to compare embryonic development rates and pregnancy rates among the groups. Zygotes were cultured in micro-droplets, and embryos were subsequently selected for transfer. Some surplus embryos were cryopreserved, and the others were cultured for blastocyst development. A micro-vibrator was set at the frequency of 42 Hz for duration of 5 seconds per 60 minutes to facilitate embryo development. RESULTS: No significant differences among the groups were present in patient's characteristics. However, the clinical pregnancy rates were significantly higher in the MVC group and the MCoC group than in the SC group. No significant differences were found in the blastocyst development rate between the SC group and the MVC group, but the blastocyst development rate in the MCoC group was significantly higher than in the SC and MVC groups. CONCLUSION: The clinical pregnancy rate was significantly increased by the application of micro-vibration to the embryonic cultures of poor responders. The blastocyst development rate was significantly increased by the application of MCoC to surplus embryos.
Blastocyst ; Coculture Techniques* ; Cumulus Cells ; Embryo Culture Techniques ; Embryonic Development ; Embryonic Structures ; Female ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Zygote

OBJECTIVE: This study was to compare the characteristics between parthenogenetic mES (P-mES) cells and in vitro fertilization mES cells. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Mouse oocytes were recovered from superovulated 4 wks hybrid F1 (C57BL/6xCBA/N) female mice. For parthenogenetic activation, oocytes were treated with 7% ethanol for 5 min and 5microgram/ml cytochalasin-B for 4 h. For IVF, oocytes were inseminated with epididymal perm of hybrid F1 male mice(1x106/ml). IVF and parthenogenetic embryos were cultured in M16 medium for 4 days. Cell number count of blastocysts in those two groups was taken by differential labelling using propidium iodide (red) and bisbenzimide (blue). To establish ES cells, blastocysts in IVF and parthenogenetic groups were treated by immunosurgery and recovered inner cell mass (ICM) cells were cultured in LIF added ES culture medium. To identity ES cells, the surface markers alkaline phosphatase, SSEA-1, 3, 4 and Oct4 staining were examined in replated ICM colonies. Chromosome numbers in P-mES and mES were checked. Also, in vitro differentiation potential of P-mES and mES was examined. RESULTS: Although the cleavage rate (> or =2-cell) was not different between IVF (76.3%) and parthenogenetic group (67.0%), in vitro development rate was significantly low in parthenogenetic group (24.0%) than IVF group (68.4%) (p<0.05). Cell number count of ICM and total cell in parthenogenetic blastocysts (9.6+/-3.1, 35.1+/-5.2) were significantly lower than those of IVF blastocysts (19.5+/-4.7, 63.2+/-13.0) (p<0.05). Through the serial treatment procedure such as immunosurgery, plating of ICM and colony formation, two ICM colonies in IVF group (mES, 10.0%) and three ICM colonies (P-mES, 42.9%) in parthenogenetic group were able to culture for extended duration (25 and 20 passages, respectively). Using surface markers, alkaline phosphatase, SSEA-1 and Oct4 in P-mES and mES colony were positively stained. The number of chromosome was normal in ES colony from two groups. Also, in vitro neural and cardiac differentiation derived from mES or P-mES cells was confirmed. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that P-mES cells can be successfully established and that those cell lines have similar characteristics to mES cells.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Animals ; Antigens, CD15 ; Bisbenzimidazole ; Blastocyst ; Cell Count ; Cell Line ; Embryonic Stem Cells* ; Embryonic Structures ; Ethanol ; Female ; Fertilization in Vitro* ; Humans ; Male ; Mice* ; Oocytes ; Propidium

Facial paralysis was first described in a hypertensive patient by Moxon in 1869. Subsequently, there have been reports and facial palsy is mentioned as a rare feature of hypertension. Recently, we experienced a case of recurrent facial paralysis in a severe hypertensive child. A 13-month-old boy was admitted because of right peripheral facial paralysis. Two months ago, transarterial embolization of his left renal aneurysm with coils was performed due to left renal dysplasia and renal artery aneurysm. On admission, his blood pressure was 200/110 mmHg. He was treated conservatively with antihypertensive agents and his facial paralysis completely resolved during the next two months. One year later, he experienced facial paralysis again. He was admitted and treated with antihypertensive agents. And his paralysis resolved in the next two months. After his left nephrectomy, performed three years later, there was no additional episode of facial paralysis during the next seven years. We report this case with a brief review of literatures.
Aneurysm* ; Antihypertensive Agents ; Blood Pressure ; Child ; Facial Paralysis* ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Infant ; Kidney* ; Male ; Nephrectomy ; Paralysis ; Renal Artery*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Constitution and Bylaws* ; Mice* ; Oocytes*