BACKGROUND: The relationship between type II diabetes and congnitive function has been explored in several studies. But the result was controversial. The purpose of the study was to determine whether diabetes mellitus in older patients(>or=65 years) is assiciated with cognitive dysfunction and to discover the related factors with th cognitive dysfunction. METHOD: Twenty patients with type 2 diabetes and twenty subjects with non-diabetes are studied with cognitive function test at Hwachun health center and county hospital. Cognitive function was assessed using Mini-Mental State Examination and Clock Drawing test and the score was analyzed. The diabetes groups were subdivided with duration of diabetes, HbAlc, chronic diabetic complications and then analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 6(30%) diabetic subjects scored below 24 on mini-mental state examination, compared with 3(15%) of controls(p=0.2560). The mean socres were 20.1+/-2.7 and 19.0+/-3.5 respectively. Clock drawing test demonstrated that 13(65%) diabetic subjects inconectly placed the numbers and hands, compared with 7(35%) of controls(p=0.0578>0.05). The duration of diabetes mellitus, HbAlc, chronic diabetic com- plications were not associated with cognitive dysfun- ction among diabetic subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that type 2 diabetes mellitus in the elderly is not associated with cognitive dysfunction, but further study should be done.
Aged ; Diabetes Complications ; Diabetes Mellitus* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Hand ; Hospitals, County ; Humans

No abstract available.
Pneumothorax*

No abstract available.
Foot* ; Polydactyly*

No abstract available.
Epidermal Growth Factor* ; Skin* ; Wound Healing* ; Wounds and Injuries*

Breast reconstruction following mastectomy has, become increasingly popular in recent years. Reconstruction surgeons have responded to patients' needs for effective and versatile procedures that will restore the normal shape and symmetry of breasts. Among the various techniques for these purpose, transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous(TRAM) flap is now cosidered as the most acceptable technique. However, there are some limitations to use the TRAM flap, such as heavy smoker, obesity, and previous abdominal surgery. Also TRAM flaps are not good candidates for the patients with absent anterior axillary fold. In these respects, latissimus dorsi flap can be used as an alternative method for successful breast reconstuction. Latissiomus dorsi flaps have several advantages as compared to TRAM flaps, such as reliable blood supply, versatility of skin paddle orientation, and low donor site morbidity. It is also available for patients without anterior axillary fold, such as radical mastectomy defect or Poland syndrome. Latissimus dorsi flaps, however, and implants to obtain projection and symmetry of the reconstructed breast. Main disadvantages of latissimus dorsi flap method are difference in color and texture between skins of flap and chest, and capsular contracture resulted in high riding implant or distortion of breast contour. In this study, we performed latissimus dorsi flap for reconstruction fo breast and anterior axillary fold in 10 cases. To minimize the above problems more fullness and natural shape, implants were completely covered with muscle and overexpanded for more than 3-months and then deflated to the desired volume. These maneuvers produced aesthetically acceptable results during the latissimus dorsi breast reconstruction.
Breast* ; Contracture ; Female ; Humans ; Mammaplasty* ; Mastectomy ; Mastectomy, Radical ; Obesity ; Poland Syndrome ; Rectus Abdominis ; Skin ; Superficial Back Muscles* ; Thorax ; Tissue Donors

No abstract available.
Drug Therapy* ; Lung*

No abstract available.
Antibodies* ; Mass Screening* ; Postpartum Period* ; Thyroid Gland*

No abstract available.
Dysentery, Bacillary*

A retrospective study was undertaken to define the factors that cause the neurogenic symptoms in 18 cases of spondylolytic spondylolisthesis who were operated for leg pain and neurologic deficits of motor functions documented by neurologic examination or electromyographic findings in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Fatima Hospital, Daegu for three years since June, 1986. The cases having other combined pathology to cause neurogenic symptoms were excluded. The causes were predetermined by preoperative x-rays, myelograms, electromyograms, and computerized tomograms and the causes were explored at surgery regarding the preoperative findings. The findings were compared with the avilable findings of 13 cases who were operated for low back pain only without any neurogenic pain in the leg during the same period. The cases were quite older and had narrower disc spaces than the back pain group but there were no significant differences in the degree of slipping and stability of slipped level between the two groups. The foraminal stenosis was found in all of the cases and a central stenosis was combined in a case. The intervertebral foramens were narrowed up-down in most of the cases between the bony prominence of proximal pars interarticularis above and the disc and vertebral body below but three cases had soft tissue mass only at the isthmic defect encroaching the foramen. There were hypertrophy of bone and/or soft tissue at the pars interarticularis in all cases. The nerve roots were mainly compressed up-down below pars interarticularis in the foramen in 8 cases and impinged at the anterior foramen in front of the pars interarticularis in 10 cases. The central stenosis was due to marked bony hypertrophy of pars interarticularis and osteophyte of vertebral body. The causes of neurogenic symptoms in spondylolytic spondylolisthesis were foraminal stenosis due to hypertrophy of bone and/or soft tissue at the pars interarticularis combined with narrowing of disc and seemed to be a process of degenerative changes occurring at the motion segment of slipped level.
Back Pain ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Daegu ; Hypertrophy ; Leg ; Low Back Pain ; Neurologic Examination ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Osteophyte ; Pathology ; Pheniramine ; Retrospective Studies ; Spondylolisthesis

Neomorphogenesis of cartilage using chondrocyte-polymer constructs is a potential source for development of cartilage reconstruction. Current tissue engineering techniques of neocartilage rely on in vivo implantation of polymer-chondrocyte constructs. The purpose of this study was to find a way to bioengineer cartilage in vitro by entrapping chondrocytes in a molded autologous fibrin glue. Chondrocytes isolated from the cartilage of rabbit joints were combined with fibrinogen extracted by a single cryoprecipitation of autologous plasma, and they were then polymerized with thrombin to create a fibrin glue with a final cell density of 2.5x10(6) cells/ml. The collagen for a control study was used as a polymer. The polymer-chondrocyte constructs were cultured for 4 weeks and the fibrin-chondrocyte constructs molded in the shape of a human ear were cultured for 6 weeks in vitro. Morphometric, histochemical, and histomorphometric analysis including glycosaminoglycan quantitation confirmed the following results: 1) Highly-concentrated autologous fibrinogen was easily extracted by a single cryoprecipition of autologous olasma. 2) The fibrin-chondrocyte constructs demonstrated the presence of actively proliferating chondrocytes with the production of cartilaginous matrix(collagen and glycosaminoglycan) at 1 week after culture, as well as gross and histologic evidence similar to those of normal cartilage at 3-4 weeks after culture. 3) The collagen-chondrocyte constructs demonstrated lower degrees of hardness and transparency, as well as a lower density of cells and glycosaminoglycan during the culture period. 4) Neocartilage generated from fibrin-chondrocyte constructs in the shape of a human ear nearly retained their original configuration and size without degeneration for 6 weeks of culture in vitro. This study demonstrated a novel method for bioengineering the molded cartilage in vitro using autologous fibrin glue as a matrix scaffold. The generated cartilage showed gross and histologic evidence similar to those of normal cartilage, retaining the original gross dimension. With further refinement, this may be a new application of tissue engineering for the reconstruction of cartilage.
Bioengineering ; Cartilage* ; Cell Count ; Chondrocytes* ; Collagen ; Ear ; Fibrin Tissue Adhesive* ; Fibrin* ; Fibrinogen ; Fungi ; Hardness ; Humans ; Joints ; Plasma ; Polymers ; Thrombin ; Tissue Engineering*