No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Visual Acuity*

Tetanus is a neurologic disease which features the muscle spasm as the hallmark. It is an infectious disease with high mortality rate triggered by tetanospasmin produced by Clostridium tetani. This report concerns incidence of tetanus consequent to oriental medical care such as acupuncture and moxibustion. Although the tetanus occurrence has shown a remarkable decline since nationwide vaccinations in some of the developed countries, including Korea, it still remains to be an important issue, to be dealt within Korea, as the majority of the patients are old aged and Korean population is rapidly becoming an aging society. Furthermore, since more elders are coming to rely on Oriental medicine in Korea, the Korean elders are at a higher risk than elsewhere. The lack of medical experiences, including those in oriental medical field, has been hindering early diagnosis of Tetanus. This study aims to encourage rapid and accurate decisions in diagnosis and treatment through reviewing symptoms particularly specific to tetanus, and also to arouse attention to the riskiness of invasive procedures involving skin puncture.
Acupuncture ; Aged ; Aging ; Clostridium tetani ; Communicable Diseases ; Developed Countries ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Medicine, East Asian Traditional ; Metalloendopeptidases ; Moxibustion ; Punctures ; Skin ; Spasm ; Tetanus ; Tetanus Toxin ; Vaccination

No abstract available.
Echocardiography* ; Mass Screening*

OBJECTIVE: Minocycline, a second-generation tetracycline-class antibiotic, has been well established to exert a neuroprotective effect in animal models and neurodegenerative disease through the inhibition of microglia. Here, we investigated the effects of minocycline on motor recovery and neuropathic pain in a rat model of spinal cord injury. METHODS: To simulate spinal cord injury, the rats' spinal cords were hemisected at the 10th thoracic level (T10). Minocycline was injected intraperitoneally, and was administered 30 minutes prior surgery and every second postoperative day until sacrifice 28 days after surgery. Motor recovery was assessed via the Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan test. Mechanical hyperalgesia was measured throughout the 28-day post-operative course via the von Frey test. Microglial and astrocyte activation was assessed by immunohistochemical staining for ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) at two sites: at the level of hemisection and at the 5th lumbar level (L5). RESULTS: In rats, spinal cord hemisection reduced locomotor function and induced a mechanical hyperalgesia of the ipsilateral hind limb. The expression of Iba1 and GFAP was also increased in the dorsal and ventral horns of the spinal cord at the site of hemisection and at the L5 level. Intraperitoneal injection of minocycline facilitated overall motor recovery and attenuated mechanical hyperalgesia. The expression of Iba1 and GFAP in the spinal cord was also reduced in rats treated with minocycline. CONCLUSION: By inhibiting microglia and astrocyte activation, minocycline may facilitate motor recovery and attenuate mechanical hyperalgesia in individuals with spinal cord injuries.
Animals ; Astrocytes ; Calcium ; Extremities ; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein ; Horns ; Hyperalgesia ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Microglia ; Minocycline ; Models, Animal ; Motor Neurons ; Neuralgia ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Rats ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Injuries

No abstract available.
Mercury Poisoning*

BACKGROUND: In Korean traditional medicine, human beings are classified into 4 groups accordance with the characteristics of physical constitution, named; Taeum, Taeyang, Soum, and Soyang. Most of Korean traditional doctors believe that the back ground of pathophysiology is differ among each group in many diseases. HLA is the most polymorphic gene and related with human immune response. It has been used for determination of individual identification, genetic diversity and a study of disease association in different ethnic group. It has well known that the most human inflammatory disease which thought to have some autoimmune basis are in some way promoted by genes of the HLA region. The purpose of this study is to observe the distribution of HLA-DR genotypes in 4 types of physical constitution in Korean traditional medicine. METHODS: Three hundred and ten Korean subjects(Soyang : 58cases, Soum :142cases, Taeum : 92cases, Taeyang : 18cases) were enrolled for this study. Genomic DNAs extracted by phenol/chroloform were amplified with allele specific primers and determined by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis with ethidium bromide staining for analysis of HLA-DR polymorphism. RESULTS: The genotype frequency of HLA-DR in a total or 310 Koreans was DR1 ; 7.2%, DR 2; 10.5%, DR 3;1.7%, DR 4; 19.9%, DR 5; 11.9%, DR 6;19.9%, DR 7; 7.0%, DR 8; 10.6%, DR 9; 8.7%, DR10;1.9%. There was no significant diffrence of HLA-DR genotype distribution among four physical constitution groups classified by Korean traditional medicine. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the classification of physical constitution in Korean traditional medicine is not related to HLA-DR genotypes.
Alleles ; Classification ; Constitution and Bylaws* ; DNA ; Electrophoresis, Agar Gel ; Ethidium ; Ethnic Groups ; Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; HLA-DR Antigens* ; Humans ; Medicine, Korean Traditional*

BACKGROUND: Association of arterial stiffness and osteoporosis has been previously reported in women. However, this association is still controversial for men. Therefore, we investigated correlation of arterial stiffness and osteoporosis by measuring brachial-ankle (ba) pulse wave velocity (PWV) and bone mineral density (BMD). METHODS: We reviewed medical charts of 239 people (women: 128, men: 111) who visited the Health Promotion Center, retrospectively. ba-PWV was measured by automatic wave analyzer. Lumbar spine (L1-L4) BMD and femur BMD were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Metabolic syndrome was based on the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP)-Adult Treatment Panel (ATPIII) definition. Body mass index (BMI)>25 kg/m2 was used instead of waist circumference. RESULTS: In Pearson's correlation analysis, PWV and femur BMD (Neck, total) had a significant inverse relationship in men (r=-0.254, P=0.007; r=-0.202, P=0.034). In women, PWV and the L-spine, femur (Neck, total) had a significant inverse relationship. (r=-0.321, P<0.001; r=-0.189, P=0.032; r=-0.177, P=0.046) Age and PWV showed the greatest association in both men and women (r=0.46 P<0.001; r=0.525, P<0.001) In multiple regression analysis, the L-spine BMD and PWV had an independent relationship in women after adjusting for age, metabolic syndrome, BMI, smoking, drinking and exercise. (r=-0.229, P=0.015). No independent association was found between PWV and BMD in men. CONCLUSIONS: The association between arterial stiffness and BMD was confirmed in women. However, this association was not statistically significant for men.
Absorptiometry, Photon ; Body Mass Index ; Bone Density ; Cholesterol ; Drinking ; Education ; Female ; Femur ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening* ; Osteoporosis* ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; Retrospective Studies ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Spine ; Vascular Stiffness* ; Waist Circumference

No abstract available.
Cardiac Catheterization* ; Cardiac Catheters* ; Echocardiography* ; Exercise Tolerance* ; Humans ; Tetralogy of Fallot*

BACKGROUND: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is characterized by optic neuritis and longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis. Generally, the brain had been considered healthy in NMO patients, though recent studies have demonstrated that T2-weighted abnormalities may be observed in various brain regions. Logically, NMO brain lesions are localized at sites of high aquaporin-4 expression. CASE REPORT: A 68-year-old right-handed man with dysuria, weakness in the bilateral upper and lower limbs, and decreased sensation of the lower extremities, was diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica. The patient was gradually speaking less, was showing reduced interest in hobbies, and had undergone changes in character and behavior. An examination was performed using the Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery (SNSB), which revealed that the profile of frontal lobe dysfunctions was prominent as compared with other cognitive domains. The patient was treated with prednisolone and azathioprine for about 1 year without recurrence, and showed prognostic improvement according to further SNSB testing. CONCLUSIONS: Further studies are considered necessary in order to find the most effective medication regimen for improving cognitive functions in those accurately diagnosed with NMO, and to develop systematic treatment using even more diversified immune-related agents.
Aged ; Azathioprine ; Brain ; Dysuria ; Frontal Lobe* ; Hobbies ; Humans ; Logic ; Lower Extremity ; Mass Screening ; Myelitis, Transverse ; Neuromyelitis Optica* ; Optic Neuritis ; Prednisolone ; Recurrence ; Sensation ; Seoul

PURPOSE: We assessed the efficacy and safety of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib in Korean patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between September 2007 and December 2009, all twenty-one patients who had mRCC with a clear-cell component were retrospectively reviewed. Sunitinib was administered orally at a dose of 50 mg daily until disease progression or intolerance to treatment occurred. The primary end point of this study was the objective tumor response assessed by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST), and the secondary end points were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates as well as assessment of adverse effects. RESULTS: After a median of 17.4 months (range, 5.7-33.1 months) of treatment, 11 patients (52.4%) had an objective response with a complete response in 1 patient (4.8%), and a partial response in 10 patients (47.6%) as the best tumor response. The median PFS was 13.4 months (95% confidence interval [CI], range, 12.3-14.5 months), and the median OS was 28.1 months (95% CI, 21.8-34.4 months). All patients experienced adverse events of some sort, but the studied treatment protocol was well tolerated and most patients experienced reversible grade 1 or 2 toxicities. CONCLUSIONS: Sunitinib was efficacious in the treatment of metastatic clear-cell RCC, and was well tolerated in Korean patients. Although sunitinib treatment-related adverse events such as hand-foot syndrome and facial/generalized edema were observed with a higher incidence than in Western trials, they were mainly mild to moderate, and readily managed.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Clinical Protocols ; Disease Progression ; Disease-Free Survival ; Edema ; Hand-Foot Syndrome ; Humans ; Incidence ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Retrospective Studies