For many years, healing membranous bone fractures have been known to show a persistent lucency at the fracture interface. Radiographic follow-up has proven to be of little value as a guideline for healing of mandibular fractures. Recently, a fracture has been treated by rigid internal fixation by metallic plate and screws rather than closed reduction and wire fixation, we expected that some difference in the radiographic features of fracture healing. To investigate these questions we undertook a retrospective radiographic and clinical analysis of 33 followed patients with fractures of the body and angle of the mandible from 1993 to 1997. There were 26 male and 7 female patients ranging in age between 5 and 74 years, with an average of 29.7 years. All patients were managed by open reduction with metallic plates and screws. The length of follow-up ranged from 9 to 187 weeks. Total 81 radiographic follow-up films were obtained and divided into 3 grades according to the degree of radiolucency of fracture lines; grade 0 radiolucent fracture line and no evidence of fracture interface calcification, grade 1 decreased radiolucent area and evidence of fracture interface calcification, and grade 2 disappearance of fracture line.Until follow-up of 8 weeks, all of the radiographs showed grade 0. From 8 weeks to 16 weeks, 62.5 percent showed grade 0 and 37.5 percent showed grade 1. From 16 weeks to 48 weeks, 38.5 percent showed grade 1 and 61.5 percent showed grade 2. After follow-up of 48 weeks, all showed grade 2.In this study we have shown that the radiographic disappearance of mandibular fracture lines was usually accomplished by 48 weeks. We feel that radiographic union of the mandible is lagging well behind clinical union, but disapperance of the fracture line in rigidly fixated mandibular fracture was occurred earlier than healed by fibrous union. We propose that radiographic union of the mandible by approximately 1 year can be a guideline for the normal mandibular bone healing.
Female ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Fracture Healing ; Fractures, Bone ; Humans ; Male ; Mandible ; Mandibular Fractures* ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: To report a successful case of intractable vernal keratoconjunctivitis treated by papillectomy and amniotic membrane transplantation. CASE SUMMARY: A 20-year-old female patient presented with repeated vernal keratoconjunctivitis in both eyes since the age of 14. Despite medical therapy, she developed severe itching, burning and foreign body sensations, and limbal nodules with mutiple giant papillae of the upper tarsal plate. Surgical resection of the giant papillae and amniotic membrane transplantation in her left eye was performed. One month later, the same procedure was performed in her right eye. The patient's symptoms then improved. Neither recurrence nor serious complication were observed during the 6 months follow up period after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: In intractable vernal keratoconjunctivitis, papillectomy with amniotic membrane transplantation may potentially be a good treatment option for better clinical outcome and low recurrence rates.
Amnion* ; Burns ; Conjunctivitis, Allergic* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Pruritus ; Recurrence ; Sensation ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To define an appropriate vitrification condition of preantral follicle that yields high survival and to evaluate growth and ovulation rate of mouse follicles during in vitro culture after vitrification. METHODS: Preantral follicles were isolated mechanically from mouse ovaries that were surgically recovered from mice aged 14 days. Retrieved preantral follicles were placed in EG (Ethylene Glycol) for 2, 5, 10 minutes and transferred to EFS-40 (40% EG, 18% Ficoll-70, 0.5 M sucrose) for 0.5, 1, 2 minutes. And then, preantral follicles were placed onto an EM grid and submerged immediately in liquid nitrogen. Thawing was carried out at room temperature. After defining the most appropriate vitrification condition that yields high survival, in vitro growth and ovulation rate of follicles were evaluated. RESULTS: Appropriate vitrification condition that yield high survival rate (83.2+/-2.1%) of preantral follicle was EG for 5 minutes and EFS-40 for 0.5 minutes. In vitro survival rate of the vitrified preantral follicles were 85.5+/-0.5%, 67.9+/-0.8% and 40.2+/-0.5% on day 2, 6 and 10. And in vitro growth of the vitrified preantral follicles were 107.1+/-16.1 micrometer, 117.1+/-18.4 micrometer, 178.4+/-45.6 micrometer and 325.4+/-54.4 micrometer on day 0, 2, 6 and 10. Although in vitro survival rate and growth of vitrified preantral follicles were lower than that of non-vitrified preantral follicles, the patterns of survival and growth were similar in vitrified and non-vitrified preantral follicles. The ovulation rate of antral follicles that was grown from vitrified preantral follicles was 32.6+/-1.2%. CONCLUSION: Vitrified preantral follicles could be grown to antral sizes, and mature oocytes that can be used for IVF-ET programs were produced successfully. These data suggest that cryopreservation of preantral follicle by vitrification can be used for the preservation of the fertility.
Animals ; Cryopreservation ; Female ; Fertility ; Mice* ; Nitrogen ; Oocytes ; Ovary ; Ovulation* ; Survival Rate ; Vitrification*

Asthma is a complex and heterogeneous disease, which is comprised of seperate phenotypes sharing common characteristics, such as airway inflammation, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and variable airflow limitation. Traditionally, asthma phenotypes have been described by combinations of clinical characteristics, according to the expert's recommendation, but they are now focusing on the pathobiologic mechanisms often using exploratory statistical methods. Several phenotypes and endotypes have been suggested by biased or unbiased phenotyping approaches. However, more detailed studies are still needed. In the future, more integrated large-scaled consortium of cohorts, including clinical information, genetics, molecular biology, and experiments will promote to understand the pathobiologic mechanisms of asthma phenotypes for the personalized therapy.
Asthma ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Biology ; Cluster Analysis ; Cohort Studies ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Molecular Biology ; Phenotype

The uptake of glucose for metabolism and growth is essential to most animal cells and is mediated by glucose-transporter (GLUT) proteins. The aim of this study was to determine which class of glucose transporter molecules was responsible for uptake of glucose in the mouse early embryo and at which stage the corresponding genes were expressed. In addition, co-culture system with vero cell was used to investigate the effect of the system on GLUT expression. Two-cell stage embryos were collected from the superovulated ICR female and divided into 3 groups. As a control, embryos were cultured in 0.4% BSA-T6 medium which includes glucose. For the experimental groups, embryos were cultured in either co-culture system with vero cells or glucose-free 76 medium supplemented with 0.4% BSA and pyruvate as an energy substrate. 2-cell to blastocyst stage embryos in those groups were respectively collected into microtubes (50 embryos/tube). Total RNA was extracted and RT-PCR was performed. The products were analysed after staining ethidium bromide by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. Blastocysts were collected from each group at 120hr after hCG injection. They were fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde, stained with hoechst, and mounted for observation. In control, GLUT1 was expressed from 4-cell to blastocyst. GLUT2 and GLUT3 were expressed in morula and blastocyst. GLUT4 was expressed in all stages. When embryos were cultured in glucose-free medium, no significant difference was shown in the expression of GLUTI1, 2 and 3, compared to control. However GLUT4 was not expressed until morular stage. When embryos were co-cultured with vero cell, there was no significant difference in the expression of GLUT1, 2, 3 and 4 compared to control. To determine cell growth of embryos, the average cell number of blastocyst was counted. The cell number of co-culture (93.8+/-3.1, n=35) is significantly higher than that of control and glucose-free group (76.6 +/- 3.8, n=35 and 68.2+/-4.3, n=30). This study shows that the GLUT genes are expressed differently according to embryo stage. GLUTs were detectable throughout mouse preimplantation development in control and co-culture groups. However, GLUT4 was not detected from 2- to 8-cell stage but detected from morula stage in glucose-free medium, suggested that GLUT genes are expressed autocrinally in the embryo regardless of the presence of glucose as an energy substrate. In addition, co-culture system can increase the cell count of blastocyst but not improve the expression of GLUT. In conclusion, expression of GLUT is dependent on embryo stage in preimplantation embryo development.
Animals ; Blastocyst ; Cell Count ; Coculture Techniques ; Electrophoresis, Agar Gel ; Embryonic Development ; Embryonic Structures* ; Ethidium ; Female ; Glucose Transport Proteins, Facilitative* ; Glucose* ; Glutaral ; Humans ; Metabolism ; Mice* ; Morula ; Pregnancy ; Pyruvic Acid ; RNA ; Vero Cells

PURPOSE: To evaluate clinical features and therapeutic modality of conjunctival nevi in Korean patients. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 197 patients (75 males and 122 females) with nevi who were diagnosed by slit lamp examination from 1997 to 2008. RESULTS: Nevi occurred most commonly on bulbar conjunctiva (88%), followed by caruncle and plica semilunaris (7%). The nevi involved temporal (71%), nasal (21%), inferior (2.8%) and superior (0.7%) quadrants of the conjunctiva. The mean horizontal length was 4.3+/-2.0 mm and the mean vertical 4.45+/-2.2 mm. Thirty-five patients (7.8%) received no treatment. Excisional biopsy was performed in 38 patients (19.3%). Argon laser photoablation of conjunctiva nevi was performed in 124 patients (62.9%). CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of conjunctival nevi in Korean patients was similar to Caucasian patients. The biopsy was performed according to appropriate guidelines however, nevus which does not require a biopsy, could be treated by argon laser photoablation.
Argon ; Biopsy ; Conjunctiva ; Humans ; Male ; Nevus ; Retrospective Studies

A total of 80 cases undergone the routine phacoemulsification and the posterior chamber lens implantation under various topical anesthetics have been studied. The patients were divided into four groups from A to D and administered as follows : 4% lidocaine for 20 patients in group A, 4% lidocaine plus 0.5% proparacaine for 20 patients in group B, 0.1% diclofenac sodium plus 4% lidocaine for 20 patients in group C, 0.1% diclofenac sodium plus 0.5% proparacaine for 20 patients in group D. They were instilled into conjunctival sac at 20 minutes, 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes and just before surgery. We also measured corneal thickness preoperatively, immediately after the operation, postoperative one week and observed corneal status during the operation and the pain score during surgery using a visual analogue scale. There was no statistical difference of corneal thickness among the groups. The pain score during surgery did not show any statistical significance. The topical anesthetics is a safe and convenient method for cataract surgery.
Anesthetics* ; Cataract ; Diclofenac ; Humans ; Lidocaine ; Phacoemulsification*

BACKGROUND: Pregabalin is an anticonvulsant and analgesic agent that interacts selectively with the voltage-sensitive-Ca(2+)-channel alpha-2-delta subunit. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the analgesic action of intrathecal (IT) pregabalin is associated with KATP channels in the rat formalin test. METHODS: IT PE-10 catheters were implanted in male Sprague-Dawley rats (250-300 g) under inhalation anesthesia using enflurane. Nociceptive behavior was defined as the number of hind paw flinches during 60 min after formalin injection. Ten min before formalin injection, IT drug treatments were divided into 3 groups: normal saline (NS) 20 microl (CON group); pregabalin 0.3, 1, 3 and 10 microg in NS 10 microl (PGB group); glibenclamide 100 microg in DMSO 5 microl with pregabalin 0.3, 1, 3 and 10 microg in NS 5 microl (GBC group). All the drugs were flushed with NS 10 microl. Immunohistochemistry for the KATP channel was done with a different set of rats divided into naive, NS and PGB groups. RESULTS: IT pregabalin dose-dependently decreased the flinching number only in phase 2 of formalin test. The log dose response curve of the GBC group shifted to the right with respect to that of the PGB group. Immunohistochemistry for the KATP channel expression on the spinal cord dorsal horn showed no difference among the groups 1 hr after the formalin test. CONCLUSIONS: The antinociceptive effect of pregabalin in the rat formalin test was associated with the activation of the KATP channel. However, pregabalin did not induce KATP channel expression in the spinal cord dorsal horn.
Anesthesia, Inhalation ; Animals ; Catheters ; Dimethyl Sulfoxide ; Enflurane ; Formaldehyde ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid ; Glyburide ; Horns ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; KATP Channels ; Male ; Pain Measurement ; Prostaglandins B ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord ; Thienamycins ; Pregabalin

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical features of retinopathy in chronic hepatitis B patients treated with peginterferon. METHODS: Chronic hepatitis B patients treated with peginterferon were evaluated during regular routine ophthalmic examinations including fundus examination before and during the 1-year follow-up after treatment. A total of 88 patients were included in the study. RESULTS: Retinopathy developed in 11 (12.5%) out of 88 patients at a mean of 7 weeks after initiation of treatment. Peginterferon treatment was continued in all patients and retinal abnormalities including cotton wool spot, retinal hemorrhage and microaneurysm resolved without visual impairment. The incidence of hypertension between the retinopathy group and the group without retinopathy was significantly different (P = 0.020). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of retinopathy with peginterferon in chronic hepatitis B patients was low and the prognosis was benign. Thus, routine screening for peginterferon retinopathy is not necessary.
Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Mass Screening ; Prognosis ; Retinal Hemorrhage ; Retinaldehyde ; Vision Disorders ; Wool

Presbyopia is an aging eye. All parts of our body may lose their function with aging. The representative aging diseases in the field of ophthalmology are cataract and macular degeneration. Presbyopia is also a natural aging phenomenon that people has difficulty in focusing on near subject. There is a structure called lens in our eye and the function of lens is a refraction of lignt. Lens helps us focusing an object that we want to see with changing its thickness. When we try to focus on near subjects, ciliary muscle contracts to release the lens zonule and the lens becomes thicker. When we try to see far subjects, ciliary muscle relaxes and lens becomes thinner. These changes of lens thickness occurs very fast in young people, but with aging, the speed of changing the thickness of lens becomes slow. Finally, aged people can't change the lens thickness and can't focus on near subject without the help of near glasses and so on. In this case, we call it presbyopia.
Aging ; Cataract ; Eyeglasses ; Glass ; Macular Degeneration ; Ophthalmology ; Presbyopia