OBJECTIVE: The patients of endometriosis may complain of dysmenorrhea, pelvic pain, and dyspareunia, but may be asymptomatic. We studied on the correlation between the pain and the psychologic stress, Also, we studied on the correlation between serum CA-l25 levels and the psychologic stress. METHODS: The data was obtained from il7 endometriosis patients. Psychological stress was studied with STAI(Stait-Trait Anxiety Inventory) and BDI(Beck Depression Inventory). We compared the degree of anxiety and depression according to existence of pain and the duration of pain. Also we examed the scores of STAI and BDI according to the level of serum CA-125. RESULTS: The pain group had more depression and anxiety, in comparison to the pain-free group. And the depression and anxiety significantly increased in long-term pain group. There was no correlation between the level of serum CA-125 and the depression,or axiety. CONCLUSION: The pain of endometriosis may play a role of pychological stress to the patients, so it seems to increase depression and anxiety.
Anxiety ; Depression ; Dysmenorrhea ; Dyspareunia ; Endometriosis* ; Female ; Humans ; Interleukin-7 ; Pelvic Pain ; Stress, Psychological*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The objective of this research was to study the change of lung volume after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Eight OSA patients were participated in this study. These patients were treated with UPPP at Seoul adventist hospital. Vital capacity (VC), inspiratory capacity (IC), expiratory residual volume (ERV) and FEV1, FEV1/FVC, FEV25-75% were determined by standard spirometry at the preoperative, at 3 postoperative days and 1 postoperative month. RESULTS: Vital capacity (VC) was significantly larger at 3 post-operative days (3.58+/-0.87 L, mean+/-SD) than those at pre-operative (3.12+/-0.69 L, mean+/-SD) in the patient with OSA (p=0.047). FEV 1 (L) was larger at 3 post-operative days (2.91+/-0.76 L, mean+/-vSD) than those at pre-operative (2.68+/-0.85 L, mean+/-vSD), but was not significantly correlated statically (p=0.249). CONCLUSION: We found significant correlation between preopeative and postoperative VC, IC.
Humans ; Inspiratory Capacity ; Lung* ; Residual Volume ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Seoul ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive* ; Spirometry ; Vital Capacity

Three parameters (lumbar lordosis, lumbosacral and sacral inclination angle) were measured on 512 normal plain lateral radiographs of lumbosacral spine and the patterns of change during aging were studied. The following results were obtained. 1. The lumbar lordosis angle showed a tendency to increase with age. But a brief decrease was observed after the 6th decade in both sexes, between the 2(nd) and 3(rd) decades in males, and between the 3(rd) and 4(th) decades in females. The lumbar spines of females were generally more lordotic than those of males. 2. The lumbosacral angle appeared to increase with age. The angle in males showed a decline between the 2nd and 4th decades while the angle in females decreased after the 6th decade. Males usually had greater angles than females. 3. The sacral inclination angle continued to increase until the 6th decade, after which a decrease was noted. The angle in females was generally greater than that in males. These results showed that all three angles varied with age, and the pattern of change differed between male and female.
Aging* ; Animals ; Female ; Humans ; Lordosis* ; Male ; Spine

Segmentally distributed cutaneous eruptions and neuralgia are common manifestations of herpes zoster. However, motor loss is another aspect of this manifestation, which is less well known and considered a rare finding. In many cases the loss of motor function may be easily overlooked because the pain is the more prominent feature and the weakness probably goes unrecognized with only a mild impairment of the motor function. We experienced a 71-year-old male patient with a herpes zoster-related motor paralysis of right arm whose clinical features of a weak limb mimicked other spinal motor diseases and confirmed motor involvement using electromyographic (EMG) and motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) studies.
Aged ; Arm ; Extremities* ; Herpes Zoster* ; Humans ; Male ; Neural Conduction ; Neuralgia ; Paralysis*

Among the elderly, affective disorders constitute the most commenly encountered psychiatric illness. Evaluation of Mood in the elderly patients is important because of uniqueness of senile depression. Depression in the elderly may present with various clinical symptoms such as chronic pain, multiple somatic complaints, or even dementia (pseudodementia). Also the seriousness of depression in the elderly is shown by the increase in and success of suicidal attempts among this group. About 15% of the total deaths of patients with affective disorder are due to suicide. Although some elderly depressed individuals presently atypically, most can be diagnosed according to the Washington University research criteria, which form the basis for the DSM-IV. In view of the effective therapies available for depression, it is especially crucial to make the diagnosis and proceed with treatment. The auther also reviewed rating scales of depression.
Aged ; Chronic Pain ; Dementia ; Depression ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Humans ; Mood Disorders ; Suicide ; Washington ; Weights and Measures

No abstract available.
Ear* ; Papain*

BACKGROUND: The elderly ex-smokers are not free from the effect of previously exposed smoking, and have a tendency to participate in health promoting behavior eagerly. This study was designed to evaluate factors that affect pulmonary function in the elderly ex-smokers. METHODS: The ex-smokers with normal chest radiological findings who visited Seoul National University Hospital Health Promotion Center were analyzed. The effect of various factors including age, height, smoking amount, and duration of smoking cessation on pulmonary function indices were analyzed with bivariate correlation analysis. Multiple regression analysis was performed using factors indentified significant in bivariate correlation tests. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses were done for the all age group and the elderly group. Factors significantly affecting Forced vital capacity(FVC) were height,age and duration of smoking cessation for both grroups. Smoking amount was not significant. Forced expiratory volume in 1 second(FEV1) was significantly influenced by height, age, duration of smoking cessation, and smoking amount for both group. In the all age group, peak expiratory flow(PEF) was siginificantly influenced by age, regular exercise, and duration of smoking cessation. In the elderly group, PEF was significantly affected by height, age, regular exercise, and duration of smoking cessation. The factors significantly affectiong FEV1/FVC were age, smoking amount in the all age group, and regular exercise, smoking amount in the elderly group. CONCLUSION: Smoking amount was a significant factor decreasing FEV1 in the elderly ex-smoker. Duration of smoking cessation was significant in normalization of pulmonary function indices in both the all age group and the elderly group. It is inferred that smoking cessation is beneficial in reversing the adver sely affected pulmonary function indices even in the elderly.
Aged* ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Seoul ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Smoking Cessation ; Thorax

It is sufficient to justify distinguishing age-appropriate and age-inappropriate forms of age-related memory decline. The former, of which AAMI is an example, represents a normal age-related phenomenon, whereas the latter, the true descendent of benign senescent forgetfulness, is by definition abnormal and possibly, pathological. Whether age-inappropriate forgetfulness is progressive, whether it can be distinguished from other concepts of mild cognitive decline by virtue of being specific to memory, and whether it is qualitatively different from normal memory or merely worse is not yet certain. The prevalence of age-inappropriate forgetfulness is undetermined, but it is certainly less common than AAMI. The construct of AAMI was introduced by an NIMH work group. It was the group's declared intention to facilitate communication and stimulate research into late-life memory loss, particularly its treatment. Completely satisfactory diagnostic criteria do not yet exist for AAMI. Improved criteria would take an individual's overall level of intellectual functioning or educational background into account when setting the standard against which to rate memory, distinguish age-appropriate from age-inappropriate decline. AAMI differs from BSF in several points. First, the AAMI criteria define impairment with respect to healthy young adult levels, not to those of the older individual's age peers as was implied in the description of BSF. Second, the term AAMI is non-specific with regard to etiology and does not necessarily imply that the disorder is non-progressive. Thus, patients whose memory impairment is subsequently shown to be the earliest stage of a dementing illness are not necessarily excluded from the category of AAMI, and it is sensible to ask how often AAMI is, in fact, a dementia prodrome.
Aging ; Dementia ; Humans ; Intention ; Memory Disorders ; Memory* ; National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.) ; Prevalence ; Virtues ; Young Adult

The present study was carried out to clarify the anatomical changes of lumbar intervertebral discs by aging. Anterior height, posterior height, anteroposterior diameter of intervertebral discs were measured on 512 normal plain lateral radiographs of lumbosacral spine. And the indices of disc wedging and relative disc height were calculated. There was a cephalocaudal gradient of increase in the indices of disc wedging in all age groups. The indices of relative disc height were constant at all lumbar levels. These suggest that the lower disc is more wedge shaped and the height of discs changes in the constant ratio with that of vertebral body.
Aging* ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc* ; Spine

No abstract available.
Fungi* ; Plastics*