No abstract available.

OBJECTIVE: To examine a normal range for nuchal translucency thickness between 9 and 14 weeks' gestation in normal fetuses. METHODS: Nuchal translucency was measured prospectively in 124 fetuses between 9 and 14 weeks' gestation resulted in normal pregnancy outcome. The nuchal translucency measurement was expressed as the median and the 5th, 25th, 75th, and 95th percentiles according to complete weeks of gestation based on ultrasound measurement. RESULTS: The median nuchal translucency thickness was 1.8 mm at 9 weeks' gestation and it declined to 1.6 mm at 10 weeks. But the median thickness increased from 1.95 mm at 11 weeks to 2.3 mm at 12 weeks, after which it slightly declined to 2.25 mm at 13 weeks. And then it increased to 2.5 mm at 14 weeks. A nuchal translucency thickness greater than 2.5 mm was not found at 9 and 10 weeks' gestation, but found in 21.8% of fetuses from 11 weeks to 14 weeks. CONCLUSION: In normal fetuses, there is a physiologic variation in the thickness of nuchal translucency between 9 and 14 weeks' gestation. The calculation of risk for trisomies based on this thickness should take this variation into account. The adoption of a gestational age-dependent cutoff point, based on the deviation of a given measurement from the median, may reduce the invasive procedure for karyotyping. And this study suggest that if the nuchal translucency measurement is greater than 2.5 mm before 10 weeks, it may advise the karyotyping.
Female ; Fetus* ; Karyotyping ; Nuchal Translucency Measurement* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Prospective Studies ; Reference Values ; Trisomy ; Ultrasonography

No abstract available.
Animals ; Rats* ; Transplants* ; Veins*

To evaluate the hypotensive effect of dilevalol which has a nonselective blocking action on beta receptors with selective beta2 agonist actcvity, We performed a prospective clinical study for 8 weeks in 31 patients with essential hypertension(mean age : 52+/-9, mean sitting blood pressure : 158/101mmHg) without concomitant heart failure, coronary heart disease, conduction disturbance or renal impairment. The daily dose of dilevalol was 200-400mg. The results were as follows ; 1) After 8 weeks of treatment with dilevalol, average sitting systolic and diastolic blood pressures reduced to 138+/-8mmHg(13%), 84+/-5mmHg(17%) respectively(p<0.01, 0.01). 2) After 8 weeks of treatment with dilevalol, 28(90%) out of the 31 hypertensives showed good hypotensive effect ie, : sitting diastolic blood pressure decreased to below 90mmHg. 3) Pulse rate decreased slightly from pretreatment average of 75+/-8 beats per minute to 70+/-6 beat per minute at the end of 6 weeks of treatment but went back to pretreatment value lastly. 4) Average body weight, serum levels of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglyceride, AST, ALT, BUN, creatinine, sodium and potassium were not significantly changed from the pretreatment values. 5) A few side effects in order of frequency were epigastralgia, fatigue, cold extremities and dizziness. These results suggest that dilevalil may be used as an effective first line monotherapeutic antihypertensive agent in mild to moderate hypertensives without significant limitations.
Blood Pressure ; Body Weight ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Coronary Disease ; Creatinine ; Dizziness ; Extremities ; Fatigue ; Heart Failure ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Labetalol* ; Potassium ; Prospective Studies ; Sodium ; Triglycerides

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of change of polyethylene resin type and manufacturing method on the wear of polyethylene tibial component. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen MG I and 10 MG II components were retrieved at revision surgery. Each polyethylene tibial component was graded for surface wear damage. Density profiles of the polyethylene were measured to examine the extent of oxidative degradation of the polyethylene. RESULTS: The primary damage mode of the MG I retrievals was scratching and metallic debris, but the primary damage mode of the MG II was delamination (P<0.05). For the implants with implantation time of 5 years or more, the MG II polyethylene had a higher density value (0.959+/-0.002 g/cc, n=7) compared with the MG I (0.948+/-0.004 g/cc, n=11). Both delamination and polyethylene degradation increased with length of implantation time for the MG II components (P<0.01). Even after gamma sterilization, the directly molded 1900 MG I components experienced significantly less delamination and degradation than the machined GUR 415 MG II tibial components. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that delamination of polyethylene tibial components is influenced by resin type and/or manufacturing method
Fungi ; Polyethylene* ; Sterilization

No abstract available.
Classification*

According to photothermolysis, the FPDL(flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser) treatment theoretically causes no epidermal damage, however, we have observed blister, crust and scars in clinical experiences, and we have also found that FPDL has limited effect on adults, specially, thick-skinned Asian people with rich melanin pigment. In order to explain these effects, we took biopsies and made a histologic observation and analyzed the results statistically. The biopsies were taken from 15 patients who received first treatment and stained with H&E and NBTC(nitroblue tetrazolium chloride). We measured epidermal melanin content, epidermal damage, vessel wall coagulation depth, RBC coagulation depth, mean vessel diameter and evaluated clinical results at post-treatment 6 weeks. The vessel diameter and darkness of lesion color were increased with ages. Complete vessel coagulation was restricted to small vessels. With increasing epidermal melanin content, epidermal damage increased accordingly. The clinincal results were enhanced with increasing coagulation depth of vessel walls, and deteriorated with increasing epidermal melanin content. The clinical result was not significantly correlated with RBC-coagulation depth or energy used. We observed that melanin pigments have an adverse effect on clinical results. The FPDL treatment can be a choice of treatment to children with light colored lesion, but has a limitation to Asian adults with rich melanin pigment. Therefore, repetitive treatment is necessary for improvement of clinical results.
Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Biopsy ; Blister ; Child ; Cicatrix ; Darkness ; Humans ; Lasers, Dye* ; Melanins

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Percutaneous transluminal septal myocardial ablation (PTSMA) and surgical septal myotomy-myectomy are two treatment options for patients with drug-resistant hypertrophic cardiomyopathy & a left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction. The clinical courses, after nonsurgical and surgical septal myotomy-myectomy, are described in 3 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that continued to be symptomatic following medical management. SUBJECTS AND MEHTODS: 3 patients (2 women, 1 man), with symptomatic drug-refractory obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, were the subjects of this study. One patient underwent a PTSMA by injection of ethanol into the septal perforator branches of the left anterior descending coronary artery, and 2 a surgical myotomy-myectomy. Examinations of the early and late follow-up echocardiographic results were performed. RESULTS: Both treatment modalities significantly reduced the peak gradient across the LVOT (ablation : 85 to 7.7 mmHg, myectomy : 104 to 10 mmHg), and led to similar improvements in the New York Heart Association class (ablation : NYHA IV to II, myectomy : NYHA III or IV to NYHA I or II). One patient, who underwent a successful PTSMA, showed a temporary right bundle branch block on the ECG for several days following the PTSMA. At the 1-year follow-up, 2 patients were observed to have persistent symptomatic improvements, with no cardiac complications. CONCLUSION: Both a percutaneous septal myocardial ablation and a surgical myotomy-myectomy resulted in similar degrees of significant improvements of the left ventricular outflow tract obstructions, with improvements of the symptoms. Prospective studies are necessary to compare the long-term efficacy of these two treatment modalities.
Bundle-Branch Block ; Cardiac Surgical Procedures ; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic* ; Catheter Ablation ; Coronary Vessels ; Echocardiography ; Electrocardiography ; Ethanol ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart ; Humans ; Ventricular Outflow Obstruction*

To evaluate the changes of Doppler echocardiographic parameters of left ventricular(LV) filling in hypertensive subjects, 34 patients(M : F=17 : 17) with and without LV hypertrophy and 19 healthy, age-matched control subjects(M : F=10 : 9) were examined by M-mode, 2 dimensional and Doppler echocardiography. From the Doppler recording, A2 D(time from second heart sound to the onset of early diastolic mitral flow), peak velocity at early diastole(E) and late diastole(A), ratio of E to A velocity, diastolic filling times, early diastolic deceleration rate(EDDR) and flow velocity integral(FVI) were measured. In the patients without LV hypertrophy, A2 D only was significantly prolonged(127+/-21 vs 83+/-24 msec P<0.01) as compared with the normal subjects, but the patients with LV hypertrophy had more prolonged A2 D(149+/-31 vs 83+/-24 msec P<0.01), higher late diastolic peak velocity(A : 0.58+/-0.17 vs 0.47+/-0.09m/sec, P<0.01) and lower E/A velocity ratio(0.95+/-0.19 vs 1.24+/-0.29, P<0.01) than the normal subjects. There was a significant correlation between A2 D and LV muscle mass index in entire patients with hypertension(r=0.42P<0.01). These data suggest that A2D is the earliest parameter indicating abnormality of LV diastolic function and E/A ratio is not likely to be a definite index of LV diastolic dysfunction but rather be a reliable index of LV hypertrophy in hypertensive patients with preserved LV systolic funtion.
Deceleration ; Echocardiography* ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Heart Sounds ; Humans ; Hypertrophy

A case of vesicorectal fistula, which occurred in 23 year-old male Korean soldier due to external violence was presented and literature was briefly reviewed.
Fistula* ; Humans ; Male ; Military Personnel ; Violence ; Young Adult