No abstract available.

The excitatory influence on heart rate is generally considered by beta-adrenergic neuroreceptors of Ahlquist's classificantion. Blockade of the beta adrenergic system would therefore be expected to alter heart rate and consequently to have an effect of patients with a variety of cardiac arrhythmias. In 1964 a clinically useable agent was produced by the name of propranolol which would effectively block beta action of adrenergic system and safe from side effects. The purpose of this study is to determine and estimate the immediate therapeutic effects of propranolol on 29 cases with various cardiac arrhythmias, administered intravenously. The following results were obtained: 1. It is apparent that propranolol by the intravenous route offers a rapid means of inducing A-V block and hence a reduction of the ventricular response in atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter. 2. Propranolol may be of value in improving digitalis-resistant atrial tachyarrhythmias with the therapeutic supplement. 3. Propranolol diminishes the automaticity of ectopic pacemakers because this is evident in the slowing of atrial rate or conversion of paroxysmal atrial tachycardia to sinus rhythm and the abolition or diminution of ventricular extrasystoles. 4. Digitalis-induced ventricular arrhythmias respond to propranolol well, and propranolol may well be the drug of choice in treating digitalis-induced ventricular arrhythmias. 5. Ventricular arrhythmias not related to digitalis were not satisfactorily treated with propranolol in our series. 6. Side effects associated with propranolol treatment were not remarkable except for development of transient hypertension in 2 cases.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Atrial Flutter ; Digitalis ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Propranolol* ; Sensory Receptor Cells ; Tachycardia ; Ventricular Premature Complexes

Two rare cases of human infection with parvum (dwarf) type of Diphyllobothrium latum [syn. D parvum (Stephens,1908)], were discovered in Korea. The first case was a 46-year old houseife, from whom a kind of pseudophyllidean tapeworm eggs was detected in the feces. She was treated with praziquantel and purged, and a complete strobila with scolex, 120 cm in total length, was recovered. She recalled that she had eaten raw trouts at a raw-fish restaurant near the Chungju Lake. Another patient was a 22-year old medical student (male), who used to eat raw sea-foods. He discovered a chain of tapeworm proglottids, 15 cm in length, discharged spontaneously in his stool and brought it for identification. The worms from the two cases were compatible with D. parvum (Stephens, 1908) of which the taxonomic significance has long been questioned. After a detailed morphological study and review of literature, we designated the worms as D. latum parvum type. This is the first report on the occurrence of this rare type of D. latum infection in Korea.
parasitology-helminth-cestoda ; Diphyllobothrium latum parvum type ; sea-food ; human ; case report

We experienced a case of retrobular hemorrhage during cardiopulmonary bypass. Following factors are suspected as the cause retrobulbar hemorrhage in this patient; l ) Rupture of preexisting AV malformation or aneurysm. 2) Accidental high flow to innominate artery by Coanda effect or miscannulation, 3) Obstruction of right jugular venous drainage and therefore cerebrofacial flow is increased, 4) Increase bleeding tendency during cardiopulmonary bypass. Fortunetely, patient has no neurologic complication and well recovered from retrobulbar hemorrhage.
Aneurysm ; Brachiocephalic Trunk ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass* ; Drainage ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Retrobulbar Hemorrhage* ; Rupture

PURPOSE: The objective of the study was to identify preoperative predictive factors of prolonged bladder catheterization after anterior vaginal wall sling operation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-seven patients who had undergone vaginal wall sling to treat stress urinary incontinence were reviewed retrospectively. All had got preoperative evaluations that included history, physical examination, voiding cystourethrography and urodynamic study. Voiding difficulty was the main outcome measure. This was determined by the time of suprapubic catheter removal. According to the catheter removal time, we divided the patients into 3 groups: Group A(<10 days), Group B(10-20days), Group C(>20 days). Fourteen parameters of the patients in 3 groups were compared. RESULTS: Median duration of postoperative catheterization was 10 days (range 2 to 50). There was no case of permanent urinary retention. Forty-five patients(52%) were free of catheter within 10 days after operation(Group A). Group B consisted of 24 patients (27%) and group C consisted of 18 patients(21%). There was no significant relationship between preoperative parameters and the duration of catheterization. CONCLUSIONS: We could not find any preoperative predictive factors that prolonged the duration of postoperative catheterization. Risk of prolonged catheterization did not depend on the patients characteristics. Other factors which have not been assessed in this study, such as the amount of tension applied to the sling, should be evaluated as the predictive factors in the further study.
Catheterization ; Catheters ; Humans ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Physical Examination ; Retrospective Studies ; Urinary Bladder ; Urinary Incontinence ; Urinary Retention ; Urodynamics

The purpose of this study was to investigate the width of attached gingiva of 414 subjects with healthy gingiva, or early stage of gingivitis. We compared the differences according to the tooth location, age (Yonger group : 14~30, Older group : 31~67) and gender. In addition, we compared the width of attached gingiva in the subjects with less than 2 sites of gingival recession(Re< or =2) and the subjects with more than 3 sites of gingival recession(Re> or =3) to study the relationship between the gingival recession and the width of attached gingiva. The results were as follows : 1. The width of keratinized gingiva was widest in maxillary incisors(5.3+/-1.4mm) and narrowest in mandibular right 1st bicuspid and mandibular right and left 2nd molars(3.5+/-1.1mm). 2. The width of attached gingiva was widest in maxillary right central incisor(3.8+/-1.5mm) and narrowest in mandibular right 2nd molar(1.2+/-1.0mm). 3. In the comparison between the age groups, the width of keratinized in older group was significantly(p<0.05) wider than that in younger group in maxillary right and left 1st bicuspids, mandibular right and left 1st and 2nd molars, maxillary right and left cuspids and mandibular right 1st bicuspid. There was no significant difference in the width of attached gingiva between the two groups except for maxillary right and left 1st molars and maxillary left 2nd molar. 4. In the comparison between male group and female group, in maxillary right and and left lateral incisors and cuspids, mandibular right and left cuspids and 1st bicuspids, the width of attached gingiva in female was significantly(p<0.05) wider than that in male group. 5. In the comparison between the Re 3 group and Re 2 group, there was no significant difference except for maxillary right and left 2nd molars and maxillary left 1st molar. 6. The frequency of gingival recession was in the order of mandibular right 1st bicuspid(16.6%), maxillary right 1st bicuspid(13.7%), maxillary and mandibular left 1st bicuspids(13.4%), mandibular left cuspid(10.5%), maxillary left and mandibular right cuspids(10.1%) and maxillary right cuspid(7.9%).
Bicuspid ; Cuspid ; Female ; Gingiva* ; Gingival Recession ; Gingivitis* ; Humans ; Incisor ; Male ; Molar ; Tooth

Traumatic tricuspid insufficiency(TI) is a relatively uncommon disorder. We experienced a case in which traumatic TI was suspected by history and the diagnosis was confirmed nonivasively by 2-D echocardiography with Doppler technique. Tricuspid valve in this case showed flail anterior leaflet during systole and Doppler echocardiography demonstrated the presence of tricuspid insufficiency.
Diagnosis ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Systole ; Tricuspid Valve

PURPOSE: Many pediatric urologists perform diagnostic laparoscopy for the evaluation of the patients with impalpable testis. While laparoscopic procedure is very useful for accurate localization of the impalpable testis, it has potentially significant complications especially in the less experienced hands. Previous studies demonstrated that the contralateral testicular hypertrophy (CTH) could be induced by hemicastration in prepubertal animals. The CTH can occur in the cases of the testicular nubbin (TN), which is usually removed by inguinal approach. If we can perfectly predict the TN by confirming the CTH, the diagnostic laparoscopic procedure could be omitted in case of unilateral impalpable testis with the CTH. Therefore, we studied to determine the correlation between CTH and TN in children with unilateral impalpable testis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From May 1995 to May 1998, 22 boys (1-13y) with unilateral impalpable testis were evaluated at our institution. Preoperative ultrasonography was performed to measure the size of the descended palpable testis. The CTH was defined if the longitudinal diameter of the descended testis was greater than the mean +2 S.D. of the normal testicular size in Korean children. RESULTS: In cases with the CTH, the sensitivity and specificity for prediction of the TN were 82% and 91%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values for TN using the CTH were 90% and 83%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The correlation between CTH and TN in unilateral impalpable testis was significantly high (p=0.015), but there were a few exceptional cases. Therefore, we could not replace the diagnostic laparoscopic procedure using the CTH in the evaluation of the children with unilateral impalpable testis.
Animals ; Child ; Hand ; Humans ; Hypertrophy* ; Laparoscopy ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Testis* ; Ultrasonography

Despite epidemiological studies reporting no negative effects of mild to moderate alcohol drinking on cognitive functioning, a recent well-controlled study showed that chronic mild drinking diminished the volume of the brain and was associated with cognitive decline that worsened as a function of the amount of alcohol consumed. Animal studies have demonstrated that neural cell damage follows chronic alcohol intake and withdrawal. In addition, acute excessive alcohol intake has been shown to result in temporary impairment of memory, and chronic alcohol drinking is often related to neuronal damage and cognitive disorders. Even though a diverse spectrum of cognitive disorders can develop after sustained alcohol drinking, no definite diagnostic criteria existed before those proposed by Oslin; the availability of these criteria will provide more structured clinical and academic approaches to alcohol-related cognitive decline, including dementia. In general, diminished cognitive functioning has been related to excessive alcohol consumption, with cognitive functioning gradually recovering over time. With the exception of the administration of thiamine in Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, only supportive pharmacotherapies have been provided for patients with alcohol-related cognitive disorders. However, experimental trials with rivastigmine or donepezil have been conducted for special populations with persistent cognitive impairments, and these studies reported favorable outcomes. We administered memantine for alcohol-related dementia and observed improvements in verbal memory and scores on the mini-mental status exam. We anticipate that novel and appropriate therapeutic agents for various conditions in this domain will be developed based on systematic diagnostic criteria and the accumulation of neurobiological evidence about alcohol-related cognitive decline.
Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholism ; Animals ; Brain ; Dementia ; Drinking ; Humans ; Indans ; Korsakoff Syndrome ; Memantine ; Memory ; Neurons ; Phenylcarbamates ; Piperidines ; Thiamine ; Rivastigmine

PURPOSE: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in many parts of the world, however the molecular mechanisms underlying liver cell transformation remain obscure. The instability of microsatellite sequences dispersed in the genome has been linked to a deficiency in cellular mismatch repair. This phenotype has been frequently observed in various human neoplasms and is regarded as a major factor in tumorigenesis. To investigate cumulative genetic changes related with apoptosis during development and progression of HCC, we examined DNAs isolated from 12 Korean HCCs and their adjacent non-tumorous parts to look for evidence of microsatellite instability (MSI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve microsatellite loci (D6S271, D6S426, D13S153, D13S263, D17S849, D17S938, D17S945, D18S474, D18S64, D19S420, D.19S418 and D19S210) were amplified by PCR from 12 Korean HCCs, and analyzed using an automated DNA analyzer. RESULTS: The high percentages of the MSI were found for the loci of D6S426 (33.3%) and D17S945 (25.0%). The related genes with high frequency of MSI were noted in the wafl (41.7%) and p53 (25.0%). From this study, fifty eight percent of HCCs (7/12) showed MSI with at least one marker. CONCLUSION: This results suggest that the analysis of MSI in HCC might be useful for identifying genes whose loss of function contributes to the development of liver cancer. Furthennore, this method may give a more rapid and accurate sizing of the PCR products of microsatellite; making the routine assessment of MSI possible in many clinical fields.
Apoptosis ; Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; DNA ; DNA Mismatch Repair ; Genome ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Neoplasms ; Microsatellite Instability* ; Microsatellite Repeats* ; Phenotype ; Polymerase Chain Reaction*