No abstract available.

OBJECTIVES: The low benefit coverage rate of South Korea's health security system has been continually pointed out. A low benefit coverage rate inevitably causes catastrophic health expenditure, which can be the cause of the transition to poverty and the persistence of poverty. This study was conducted to ascertain the effect of catastrophic health expenditure on the transition to poverty and the persistence of poverty in South Korea. METHODS: To determine the degree of social mobility, this study was conducted among the 6311 households that participated in the South Korea Welfare Panel Study in both 2006 and 2008. The effect of catastrophic health expenditure on the transition to poverty and the persistence of poverty in South Korea was assessed via multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The poverty rate in South Korea was 21.6% in 2006 and 20.0% in 2008. 25.1 - 7.3% of the households are facing catastrophic health expenditure. Catastrophic health expenditure was found to affect the transition to poverty even after adjusting for the characteristics of the household and the head of the household, at the threshold of 28% or above. CONCLUSIONS: 25.1% of the households in this study were found to be currently facing catastrophic health expenditure, and it was determined that catastrophic health expenditure is a cause of transition to poverty. This result shows that South Korea's health security system is not an effective social safety net. As such, to prevent catastrophic health expenditure and transition to poverty, the benefit coverage of South Korea's health security system needs to the strengthened.
Aged ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; *Health Expenditures ; Housing ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Poverty ; Republic of Korea ; *Social Mobility ; *Social Security

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cardiac troponin T (cTnT) has been used as a very sensitive marker of cardiac injury caused by ischaemia, myocarditis, and cardiomyopathy. After cardiac injury, the fetal cTnT isoform expression in the heart and serum cTnT increases. To investigate the increased levels of serum cTnT, and the expression of fetal cTnT isoform in the heart, that can predict myocardial injury, we measured serum cTnT levels and the fetal cTnT isoform expression at various time points during the early phase of myocardial toxicity induced by adriamycin (ADR) in rat. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected, intraperitoneally, with ADR (5 mg/kg) twice a week for 2 weeks. Control rats were injected with saline. Serum cTnT levels were measured by ELISA. The ratio of fetal/adult (F/A) cTnT isoform expression (%) was semi-quantified by RT-PCR using total RNA from frozen hearts. RESULTS: Serum cTnT levels did not increase by 1 week after ADR injection, but increased significantly after 2 weeks. The ratio of F/A cTnT in the heart significantly increased from day 1, peaked at 1 week and persisted until the end of 2 week. CONCLUSION: The expression of the fetal cTnT isoform occurred from 1 day after ADR injection when the serum cTnT levels were still normal. Although the serum cTnT level is a very sensitive, and an early marker, of cardiac damages, the fetal cTnT isoform expression in the endomyocardial biopsy specimen may be a more sensitive and an earlier marker in the ADR-induced myocardial damage.
Animals ; Biopsy ; Cardiomyopathies ; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated ; Doxorubicin ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Heart ; Humans ; Male ; Myocarditis ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; RNA ; Troponin T* ; Troponin*

Myotonic dystrophy is a multisystemic disorder inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. The characteristic clinical features include the presence of myotonia, atrophy of the muscles of the face and the sternocleidomastoids and numerous nonmusclar manifestations such as cataracts, frontal baldness, gonadal dysfunctions and cardiac abnormalities. We experienced one case of myotonic dystrophy with prolonged atrial flutter in 30-year-old male who was admitted because of palpitation. We present this case with reviewing literatures.
Adult ; Alopecia ; Atrial Flutter* ; Atrophy ; Cataract ; Gonads ; Humans ; Male ; Muscles ; Myotonia ; Myotonic Dystrophy*

Indolent T-lymphoblastic proliferation has been rarely reported in the upper aerodigestive tract. The lymphoid cells associated with this condition have the morphological and phenotypical features of immature thymocytes. However, their pathogenesis and biology are unknown. We present an unusual type of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in a case with hepatocellular carcinoma, presumed to be a T-lymphoblastic proliferation. A 58-yr-old female patient presented with indigestion and a palpable epigastric mass. The abdominal computed tomography revealed a mass in the S6 region of the liver. A hepatic segmentectomy was performed. Microscopic examination showed dense isolated nests of monomorphic lymphoid cells within the tumor. Immunohistochemically, the lymphoid cells were positive for CD3, terminal deoxymucleotide transferase (TdT) and CD1a. In addition, they showed dual expression of CD4 and CD8. The polymerase chain reaction used to examine the T-cell antigen receptor gamma gene rearrangement showed polyclonal T-cell proliferation. This is the second case of hepatocellular carcinoma combined with indolent T-lymphoblastic proliferation identified by an unusual tumor infiltrating lymphocytes.
Antigens, CD3/metabolism ; Antigens, CD4/metabolism ; Antigens, CD8/metabolism ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*diagnosis/pathology/secondary ; DNA Nucleotidylexotransferase/metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/*diagnosis/immunology/pathology ; Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating/*pathology ; Mastectomy, Segmental ; Middle Aged ; Precursor Cells, T-Lymphoid/*pathology ; Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/complications/metabolism/*pathology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.
Staphylococcus aureus* ; Staphylococcus*

It has been known that estradial(E2) level is concerned with the quality, number and growing of follicles. Determination of the serum levels of E2 has been used to predict the oocyte maturity. We experienced the rare case who has significantly low serum E2 level(551.26 pg/ml) in spite of multiple ovarian responses by sonographic finding, but from her we obtained 23 oocytes on MCD#16 after COH with ultrashort protocol(HP-FSH 150 IU, daily). The numbers of retrieved oocyte were 23 and fertilization rate was 56.6%, so the result of IVF-ET was successful twin pregnancy. Serum estradiol level and sonographic finding are essential to measure the number and growing of follicles, but E2 levels may be too unreliable to be used as sole parameter for the number and maturity of oocytes.
Estradiol* ; Fertilization ; Humans ; Oocytes ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Twin ; Ultrasonography

In this study the in vitro protective effects of several antioxidant vitamins (vitamin C, alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene), fruits and vegetables (strawberry, tangerine, orange and 100% orange juice, carrot juice), on the levels of isolated human lymphocyte DNA damage was measured using Comet assay. Comet assay has been used widely to assess the level of the DNA damage in the individual cells. Lymphocytes were pre-treated for 30 minutes with antioxidant vitamins (10, 50, 100, 500 micrometer) or fruits. vegetables (10, 100, 500, 1000 microgram/ml), an4 then oxidatively challenged with 100 micrometer H2O2 for 5 min at 4degrees C. The protective effect of antioxidant vitamins against DNA damage at a concentration of 50 micrometer were 50% in vitamin C, 32% in alpha-tocopherol, whereas, beta-carotene showed a 55% protection at a dose as low as 10micrometer. The inhibitory effects of DNA damage by strawberry, tangerine, orange, orange juices, carrot juices were 50 - 60% with wide ranges of doses. The results of the present study indicate that most the antioxidant vitamins and fruits.vegetables juices produced a significant reduction in oxidative DNA damage.
alpha-Tocopherol ; Ascorbic Acid ; beta Carotene ; Citrus sinensis ; Comet Assay* ; Daucus carota ; DNA Damage* ; DNA* ; Fragaria ; Fruit* ; Humans* ; Lymphocytes* ; Vegetables* ; Vitamins*

BACKGROUND: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) are serious threats to worldwide tuberculosis control, but the national burden and the trends of infectious spread are largely unknown. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the results of drug sensitivity tests and medical records of patients that were diagnosed with culture-confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis and were admitted to the National Masan Tuberculosis Hospital between 2001 and 2005. RESULTS: From 2001 to 2005, the proportion of MDR-TB among new cases was 9.2%, 13.8%, 16.9%, 23% and 27.0% in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively, and the proportion of MDR-TB among previously treated cases was 58.5%, 60.2%, 62.7%, 61.7% and 71.3% in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively. A significant increasing trend could be discerned for MDR-TB among both new and previously treated cases (p<0.001, p=0.002 for trend, respectively). The proportion of XDR-TB among new cases was 0%, 2.3%, 3.1%, 2.5% and 6.3% in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively, and the proportion of XDR-TB among previously treated cases was 9.1%, 15.7%, 17.3%, 19.9% and 19.1% in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively. A significant increasing trend could be discerned for XDR-TB among both new and previously treated cases (p=0.005, p<0.001 for trend, respectively). CONCLUSION: Both MDR-B and XDR-TB were gradually increased among both new and previously treated cases. Integrated national surveillance, including the public and private sectors, will be needed to estimate the exact status of antituberculous drug resistance.
Drug Resistance ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis ; Hospitals, Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Nitroimidazoles ; Private Sector ; Referral and Consultation ; Retrospective Studies ; Sulfonamides ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary