Background: The continuous brachial plexus block brings about the prolongation of surgical anesthesia, postoperative pain relief, and sympathectomy. Methods: The twenty-five patients scheduled for upper extremity operations had been taken the continuous axillary brachial plexus block procedure to relief postoperative pain and, to get the sympathetic block effect. We used local anesthetics less than maximum recommended dose, 0.125% bupivacaine continuously infused at 4 ml/hour via catheter. We adopted the faces pain rating scale to evaluate postoperative pain degree. The faces pain rating scale composed of six faces, based upon the degree of pain. The patients has been asked to choose these rating scale according to their painfulness three times a day for five days. Results: Clinically, we have found the effective decrease in the degree of pain. Systemic toxic reactions, hematoma and infection sign at injected site were not found. Conclusion: The pain of upper extremity after operation was controlled by continuous infusion of 0.125% bupivacaine, 4 ml/hr, usually.
Anesthesia ; Anesthetics, Local ; Brachial Plexus* ; Bupivacaine ; Catheters ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Pain, Postoperative ; Sympathectomy ; Upper Extremity*

Succinylcholine-induced prolonged neuromuscular blockade may occur in patients with either a low level of plasma cholinesterase activity or genotypically abnormal form of that enzyme. We experienced a case of succinylcholine-induced prolonged apnea due to a low level of plasma cholinesterase activity. A 31-year-old woman, full term primigravida, underwent cesarean section for breech presentation under general anesthesia. Familial and past medical history were nonspecific and preoperative physical and laboratory findings were within normal range. After operation, delayed apnea was detected and lasted for about one hour. We performed controlled and assisted ventilation for two and half hours. Plasma cholinesterase activity measured 30.00 IU/L (colorimetric method, normal value: 1130~1960 IU/L) at the first postoperative day. She was discharged on 7th postoperative day without any sequelae. From follow-up study after six months, it measured 1.02 U/ml (EIA, normal value: 7~9 U/ml).
Adult ; Anesthesia, General ; Apnea* ; Breech Presentation ; Cesarean Section* ; Cholinesterases* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Neuromuscular Blockade ; Plasma* ; Pregnancy ; Reference Values ; Ventilation

BACKGOUND: Mass casualties from organophosphorus inhalation die from respiratory depression. Gas supplies and equipment are limited for mechanical ventilation of multiple subjects in emergency situation. Endobronchial insufflation of air (EIA) can be simply performed with air compressor and catheter. The author tried to examine the usefulness of EIA in five apneic dogs induced by tetrodotoxin (TTX) infusion. METHOD: Five anesthetized dogs were intubated with endotracheal tube and endobronchial insufflation catheter and instrumented with arterial catheter and ventilated with controlled mechanical ventilation (CMV) while 12 microgram/kg TTX was infused intravenous over 90 minutes to produce apnea. EIA of 1 microliter/kg/min was delivered through a 35 cm long, 0.8 cm ID catheter with a forked end placed astride the carina. During conventional ventilation, arterial blood gases and pH were measured (base line, BL). The data were measured after confirmation of apnea for 1 minute (time=0, control value), and then measured serially for 4 hours of EIA. RESULT: All animals survived and were alert and neurologically normal within 24 hours. The changes of arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) were no significant difference between control value and 10, 20, 30 minute (p<0.05), and arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) were significant increase in control value compared to base line (p<0.05), and pH were no significant difference in all values (p<0.05). Spontaneous respiratory efforts slowly returned after 45 minute of EIA and resulted in the improvement of gas exchange. CONCLUSION: EIA recognized as a sort of ventilatory technique is useful only when other equipments could not be available. The EIA catheter can be placed by cricothyroidotomy. EIA is very helpful in supporting ventilation, and it also helps the apneic dogs stay in normal condition.
Animals ; Apnea ; Carbon Dioxide ; Catheters ; Dogs* ; Emergencies ; Equipment and Supplies ; Gases ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Inhalation ; Insufflation* ; Mass Casualty Incidents ; Oxygen ; Respiration, Artificial ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Tetrodotoxin ; Ventilation*

Corpus callsoum (CC) is the largest commissural fiber connecting the cerebral hemispheres. The gender difference in the size or the shape of CC is a long standing dispute. Some reported that adult female CC had more bulbous splenium and larger area considering brain size, but others failed to replicate this findings. There is no definite consensus on sexual dimorphism of CC yet, although extensive studies on sexual dimorphism has been expected to provide a clue to explain sociopsychological differences between male and female. This variable results are attributed to limited number of subjects, measured parameters, and method of measurement. We have employed comprehensive analytic parameters with large subjects to understand gender differences on CC of healthy Korean adults. We have analyzed the magnetic resonance image (MRI) in adults free from neurological disorders. The subjects were composed of 108 young people (3rd decade; male : 51, female : 57). Total area, its 5 sub-areas, linear parameters including height, length, and width and five specific angles of the CC were measured on the midsagittal MR images with NIH Image program (R) (Ver 1.6). The gender differences were observed in the area of splenium and length in the group. The male CC have larger splenium and longer length than female. The angle between neural axis and base of corpus callosum in female was significantly larger than that of male. This study reports not only gender difference of adult CC, but Korean adult standard morphometric data of CC research. These results might serve a useful basic data for various research in the fields of neuroanatomy, neuroradiology, and neuropsychiatry.
Adult* ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Brain ; Cerebrum ; Consensus ; Corpus Callosum* ; Dissent and Disputes ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Nervous System Diseases ; Neuroanatomy ; Neuropsychiatry

This study was undertake to assess the effect of 30% minocycline containing polycaprolactone strip to adult periodontitis patient with respect to utility as a monotherapy, effectiveness of this drug device compared to scaling and root planning, and their ability to enhance scaling and root planning. 48 teeth of 12 adult patients who had at least one teeth qualifying pocket> or =4mm at each quadrant were enrolled in this study by split mouth design. All patients received supragingival scaling and oral hygiene instruction 2 weeks prior to the study. At baseline(time 0), enrolled tooth at each quadrant randomly assigned following one of 4 treatment modalities: root planing only(RP); root planing and placement of minocycline strip into pocket for a week(RP+MC); placement of minocycline strip into pocket for a week with out root planing(MC); 2 consecutive placement of minocycline strip into pocket for 2 weeks by one week(MCx2). Each teeth was evaluated at baseline and months 1, 3 and 6. Clinical indices included plaque index, bleeding on probing, probing pocket depth and clinical attachment level. Among 4 groups, RP+MC group showed the lowest percent site of bleeding on probing at 1, 3 and 6 months. Compared to baseline, all group showed significant reduction of pocket depth at 1, 3 and 6 months. The average pocket depth reduction in RP+MC sites was significantly greater than in the sites receiving RP, MC, and MCx2 at 3 months and in sites receiving MC and MCx2 at 6 months. The reduction in clinical attachment at the sites receiving RP+MC was significantly greater than in the sites receiving RP, MC, and MCx2 at 3 months. Between MC and MCx2 groups, no statistically significances was shown in reduction of pocket depth and clinical attachment level at all period examined. This result suggest that the use of 30% minocycline containing strip may improve periodontal health and may be an effective adjunct to conventional nonsurgical therapy in the treatment of adult periodontitis.
Adult ; Chronic Periodontitis ; Dental Scaling ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Minocycline ; Mouth ; Oral Hygiene ; Root Planing ; Tooth

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the difference in hemodynamic change and in sensory or motor block between hyperbaric tetracaine and bupivacaine in spinal anesthesia. METHODS: The sixty-three patients, belonged to ASA class 1 and 2, were divided into tetracaine group and bupivacaine group. The patients were administered 0.5% hyperbaric tetracaine(Pantocaine ) in tetracaine group and 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine(Marcaine ) in bupivacaine group, intrathecally. After intrathecal injection of the agents, we measured the change of sensory block level according to pinprick test, the motor block by the modified Bromage score until fixations was achieved, and the blood pressure and heart rate. RESULTS: The two groups did not differ significantly with loss of sensory level and onset time. Bupivacaine group was revealed a slower fixations of motor block than tetracaine group(p<0.05). Changes of systolic blood pressure and mean arterial blood pressure of bupivacaine group were less than tetracaine group(p<0.05) in 2~25 minutes and 6~15 minutes, respectively. Diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were not different statistically in two groups. CONCLUSION: Spinal anesthesia with hyperbaric bupivacaine was revealed less changes of systolic blood pressure and mean arterial blood pressure than hyperbaric tetracaine, although fixation of motor block was delayed onset. Therefore, we thought that spinal anesthesia with hyperbaric bupivacaine may be used more safe than hyperbaric tetracaine in hemodynamical troublesome case.
Anesthesia, Spinal* ; Arterial Pressure ; Blood Pressure ; Bupivacaine* ; Heart Rate ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Injections, Spinal ; Tetracaine*

OBJECTIVES: Given the roles of bcl-2, bax and p53 in apoptosis, we investigated the effect of their expression on the response to cisplatin in order to understand the molecular events of cisplatin-resistance in lung cancers. METHODS: Three parental human lung cancer cell lines (PC9, PC14 and H69) and their in vitro selected cisplatin-resistant sublines were examined. Cells treated with cisplatin were processed for acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining and DNA gel electrophoresis for the morphologic detection of apoptosis. The endogenous levels of bcl-2, bax and p53 protein expression in lung cancer cells were assessed by Western blot analysis and DNA of polymerase chain reaction-amplified exon 5 to 8 of p53 gene was directly sequenced. RESULTS: H69, which had bcl-2 expression, p53 mutation and decreased expression of p53 and bax, was relatively resistant to cisplatin and delayed and reduced apoptosis. Although apoptosis was markedly reduced in cisplatin-resistant sublines compared to their parental cells, there were no significant differences in the expression of p53, bcl-2 and bax. CONCLUSIONS: Cisplatin-resistance was associated with the reduced cellular susceptibility to apoptosis. Cancer cells with the natural expression of bcl-2 and p53 mutation may be more resistant to cisplatin and less susceptible to apoptosis.
Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology* ; Apoptosis/genetics ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Cisplatin/pharmacology* ; Drug Resistance ; Gene Expression ; Genes, bcl-2 ; Genes, p53 ; Human ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology ; Lung Neoplasms/genetics ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins/genetics ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

No abstract available.
Root Planing* ; Smoke* ; Smoking*

Mitochondrial calcium overload is a crucial event in determining the fate of neuronal cell survival and death, implicated in pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. One of the driving forces of calcium influx into mitochondria is mitochondria membrane potential (ΔΨ(m)). Therefore, pharmacological manipulation of ΔΨ(m) can be a promising strategy to prevent neuronal cell death against brain insults. Based on these issues, we investigated here whether nobiletin, a Citrus polymethoxylated flavone, prevents neurotoxic neuronal calcium overload and cell death via regulating basal ΔΨ(m) against neuronal insult in primary cortical neurons and pure brain mitochondria isolated from rat cortices. Results demonstrated that nobiletin treatment significantly increased cell viability against glutamate toxicity (100 µM, 20 min) in primary cortical neurons. Real-time imaging-based fluorometry data reveal that nobiletin evokes partial mitochondrial depolarization in these neurons. Nobiletin markedly attenuated mitochondrial calcium overload and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in glutamate (100 µM)-stimulated cortical neurons and isolated pure mitochondria exposed to high concentration of Ca²⁺ (5 µM). Nobiletin-induced partial mitochondrial depolarization in intact neurons was confirmed in isolated brain mitochondria using a fluorescence microplate reader. Nobiletin effects on basal ΔΨ(m) were completely abolished in K⁺-free medium on pure isolated mitochondria. Taken together, results demonstrate that K⁺ influx into mitochondria is critically involved in partial mitochondrial depolarization-related neuroprotective effect of nobiletin. Nobiletin-induced mitochondrial K⁺ influx is probably mediated, at least in part, by activation of mitochondrial K⁺ channels. However, further detailed studies should be conducted to determine exact molecular targets of nobiletin in mitochondria.
Animals ; Brain ; Calcium* ; Cell Death ; Cell Survival ; Citrus ; Fluorescence ; Fluorometry ; Glutamic Acid ; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial ; Membrane Potentials ; Membranes* ; Mitochondria ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Neurons ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Rats ; Reactive Oxygen Species