The diurnal variation of introcular pressure was measured in 40 eyes of 20 healthy Koreans and in 50 eyes of 25 patients with chronic open angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension with and without levobunolol and dipivefrine. The intraocular pressure was measured every 1 hour from 8:00 o'clock by the same examiner using with Goldmann applanation tonometry. The levobunolol, a new beta-adrenoceptor antagonist effective in the long-term treatment of glaucoma and the dipivefrine, a prodrug of epinephrine which is alpha-and beta-adrenergic agonist, both decrease intraocular pressure despite of opposite pharmacologic actions. Several clinical studies have demonstrated additional effect when an epinephrine compound is added to timolol, a beta-blocker antagonist, theraphy. It is the most important issue that determination of the time of instillatiolt related to the time of maximum effec: of the drugs and the time of the highest intraocular pressure in a day in every each patient. The authors obtained the following results; 1) In the control group, the mean intraocular pressure was 15.3 +/- 1.377 mmHg, the highest was 17.3 +/- 0.924 mmHg at 10 o'clock AM and the lowest was 13.7 +/- 1.764 mmHg at 3 o'clock PM. The diurnal variation was 3.60 +/- 1.743 mmHg.(p=0.002). 2) In the patient group, the mean intracular pressure was 28.5 +/- 1.606 mmHg, the highest was 31.4 +/- 2.986 mmHg at 10 o'clock AM and the lowest was 26.1 +/- 0.836 mmHg at 4 o'clock PM. The diurnal variation was 5.31 +/- 1.101 mmHg.(p=0.0001). 2) The lowering effect of intraocular pressure by the instillation of 0.5% levabunolol and 0.1% dipivefrine was statistically significant(p=0.0001) both in the control group and patient group. In the patient group, the maximum effect was made at 5 hours after instillation of the drugs with 28% decrease. 4) The distribution of the highest intraocular pressure in the patient group was as following: 23 eyes at 10 o'clock AM, 11 eyes at 9 AM, 9 eyes at 11 AM, 3 eyes at 8 AM, 3 eyes at noon and 1 eye at 4 o'clock PM.
Adrenergic beta-Agonists ; Epinephrine ; Glaucoma ; Glaucoma, Open-Angle* ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure ; Levobunolol* ; Manometry ; Ocular Hypertension ; Pharmacologic Actions ; Timolol

Magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) is accepted as a useful tool for the diagnosis of injury of the knee recently. The anterior cruciate ligament tear is accompanied by the damage of the osseous and soft tissue of the knee. The occult osseous lesion is found on magnetic resonance imaging as bone density change that is not found on the simple radiograph. From Jan. 1992 to Apr. 1994, magnetic resonance imaging was performed on 44 patients with acute anterior cruciate ligament tears. MRI was done within 6 weeks of the index anterior cruciate ligament injury. The criteria of decreased signal intensity on the Tl weighted image and increased signal intensity on the T2 weighted image was applied for the incidence assessment of the occult osseous lesion. After arthroscopy with or without ACL reconstruction, follow-up simple radiograph was checked every 3 months. Occult osseous lesions were documented in 32(73%) of the 44 patients. Of the 32 patients with bony lesion, 81% had lesions of the lateral compartment. Lateral femoral condyle was involved in 15 cases(46.9%), and lateral tibial plateau in 22 cases (68.8%). Follow-up X-ray revealed no joint deperession in all of the 32 patients with the occult osseous lesion. This result suggests that there is a high correlation between the occult osseous lesion of lateral compartment of the knee on magnetic resonance imaging and anterior cruciate ligament tear. The presence of the occult osseous lesion in the patient with acute anterior cruciate ligament tear did not affect rehabilitation and weight bearing.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament ; Arthroscopy ; Bone Density ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Joints ; Knee ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Rehabilitation ; Tears ; Weight-Bearing

PURPOSE: Thumb hypoplasia gives rise to various derangement of hand functions, leading to various degrees of malformation. The treatment of choice for grade IV or V congenital hypoplasia of the thumb, classified by Buck-Gramcko's criteria, is the pollicization of the index finger. The purpose of this article is to review the clinical usefulness of pollicization for more than grade IV hypoplasia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three grade IV and 3 grade V hypoplastic thumbs in 6 patients, one with radial club hand, were reviewed retrospectively. They underwent pollicization between 1987 and 1997. The index metacarpi were osteotomized for shortening and readjusted by pronation. To evaluate postoperative function, authors used the criteria of Sundararaj and Mani. RESULTS: Except for the exclusion of one patient, four had excellent and one had good functional statuses. CONCLUSION: Pollicization was considered to be worthwhile for functional improvement of the hands in more than grade IV congenital hypoplasia of the thumb.
Fingers ; Hand ; Humans ; Pronation ; Retrospective Studies ; Thumb*

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to compare home care dental devices for their dental plaque removal ability. METHODS: A single blinded randomized crossover clinical study design was used to measure plaque index (Turesky Modification Quigley-Hein Plaque Index). RESULTS: All 3 groups showed a statistically significant decrease in the plaque index after usage (P<0.001). In manual tooth-brushing group, the teeth on the right dental arch showed a greater decrease in the plaque index than on the left arch (P=0.041). All appliances showed greater plaque reduction in the upper right posterior teeth than in the lower right posterior teeth (P=0.009, 0.004, 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support development of more effective oral hygiene appliances and emphasis on oral hygienic education.
Dental Arch ; Dental Devices, Home Care ; Dental Plaque Index ; Dental Plaque* ; Education ; Health Education ; Oral Hygiene* ; Tooth ; Vibration*

The purposes of this study is to evaluate the combination effects of TGF-beta1 and PDGF-BB on the periodontal ligament cells to use as a regeneration promoting agent of periodontal tissue. Human periodontal ligament cells were prepared from the first premolar tooth extracted for the orthodontic treatment and were cultured in DMEM/10% FBS at the 37degrees C, 5% CO2 incubator. Authors measured the DNA synthesis, total protein, collagen and noncollagenous protein synthesis according to the concentration of TGF-beta1, (1, 5ng/ml) and PDGF-BB (1, 10 ng/ml) in combination. To explore further this delayed effect of TGF-beta1, we preincubated human periodontal ligament cells with TGF-beta1 for 4 or 24 hours before PDGF-BB stimulation. The results were as follows: The DNA synthetic activity was increased dose dependently by TGF-beta1, PDGF-BB. The combination of TGF-beta1 and PDGF-BB consistently enhanced the DNA synthetic activity to PDGF-BB alone. The ability of TGF-beta1 to enhance DNA synthetic activity in PDGF-BB treated periodontal ligament cells was dose dependent. The maximum mitogenic effect was at the 5ng/ml of TGF-beta1 and 10ng/ml of PDGF-BB. Preincubation of cells with TGF-beta1 resulted in significantly greater response to PDGF-BB at all TGF-beta1 concentration studied, and may be useful for clinical application in periodontal regenerative procedures. The total protein, collagen and noncollagen synthesis was increased dose pendently by TGF-beta1, PDGF-BB. The % of collagen was slightly decresed according to the concentration of TGF-beta1, PDGF-BB. The effect of TGF-beta1, PDGF-BB were not specific for collagen synthesis since it also increased noncollagenous protein synthesis. This study demonstrates that PDGF-BB is major mitogens for human periodontal ligament cells in vitro, and supports a role for TGF-beta1 as a regulation of the mitogenic and total protein formation to PDGF-BB in these cells.
Bicuspid ; Collagen ; DNA ; Humans ; Incubators ; Mitogens ; Periodontal Ligament* ; Regeneration ; Tooth ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1*

OBJECTIVE: The golden standard of serodiagnosis of HFRS is IFA(indirect immunofluorescence antibody test). However, positive IFA for IgG antibody does not always correlate with current infection because IFA may be positive due to past exposure to Hantaan virus such as subclincal infection or due to vaccination in endemic area. So supplementary diagnostic method is needed to diagnosis of HFRS with more accuracy. METHODS: In this study, the usefulness of IgG avidity assay with 8 mole/l urea in diagnosis of HFRS was investigated. Serum samples from 45 patients with acute phase HFRS and 79 residents of endemic area, who had HFRS antibody were tested for IgG avidity. RESULTS: The distribution of IgG avidity index of HFRS antibody was different acute phase of HFRS patients from endemic area residents(p<0.001). Patients with acute phase HFRS exhibited lower avidity of Hantaan virus-specific IgG (mode of 64 of avidity index), in contrast endemic area resident had a higher avidity (mode of 4 of avidity index). CONCLUSION: The IgG avidity assay should assist in the diagnosis of acute phase HFRS and may be used to identify recent infection and past exposure to Hantaan virus.
Diagnosis* ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Hantaan virus* ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G* ; Serologic Tests ; Urea ; Vaccination

Epidural blood patch (EBP) is one of the treatments for spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH), and its complications have rarely been reported. We report a patient with SIH and developed intracranial hypertension after EBP. The mechanism of rebound intracranial hypertension was uncertain. If the patient presented with a different type of headache or newly developed neurological symptoms after treatment of SIH, rebound intracranial hypertension should be considered and the proper treatment needed quickly.
Blood Patch, Epidural* ; Headache ; Humans ; Intracranial Hypertension* ; Intracranial Hypotension*

OBJECTIVES: The study investigated the role of prenatal testosterone on the development of sexually dimorphic psychological phenotype. Finger length ratio (2nd digit/ 4th digit, 2D/4D), especially on the right hand, is thought to be influenced by prenatal exposure to testosterone. We evaluated the relationship between 2D/4D and psychological characteristics in college students. METHODS: Participants were 137 college students who completed 3 self-report measures : the Emotional Empathy Scale, Aggression Scale, and Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). After copying right ventral surface of the participant's hand, we measured the lengths of the 2nd and 4th fingers, from basal crease to tip, using vernier calipers. We performed statistical analyses using correlation tests and t-tests to examine the relationship between 2D/4D and psychological characteristics (empathy, aggression, and sex role) RESULTS: We observed significant correlations between sex differences and average 2D/4D ratio. Men had a lower 2D/4D ratio than women, confirming the typical sex difference in digit proportions. In women, there was a significant correlation between 2D/4D ratio and empathy. Women with higher, more feminine, finger length ratios had higher empathy scores. We found no correlation between 2D/4D and aggression or sex role. CONCLUSION: There was a positive correlation between 2D/4D and empathy, but in women only. Low prenatal testosterone might play important role in the development of an essential, typically feminine, psychological phenotype (empathy), in women.
Aggression ; Coat Protein Complex I ; Empathy ; Female ; Fingers ; Gender Identity ; Hand ; Humans ; Male ; Phenotype ; Sex Characteristics ; Testosterone

Fruiting bodies of Phellinus linteus were extracted by hot water and alkali methods. Sugar contents of PL-H (hot water extract) and PL-A (alkali water extract) were 81.1%, 37.4% and protein contents were 6.2%, 21.8%, respectively. Amino acid pattern showed that two extracts contained large amount of aspartic acid and alanine. Two extracts showed characteristic IR absorption pattern for glycosidic bond at 890 cm(-1). PL-H was divided two fractions by gel filtration chromatography and the molecular weights of each fraction were estimated to be about 10 kD and 225 kD, respectively and also PL-A was estimated 10 kD. Two extracts showed strong antitumor, immunomodulating and antioxidant activities, and were compared with commercialized glycopeptide anticancer drugs.
Absorption ; Alanine ; Alkalies ; Aspartic Acid ; Chromatography, Gel ; Fruit* ; Immunization ; Molecular Weight ; Water

Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCLs) are a group CD30-positive mature T-cell lymphomas, an uncommon subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphomas, characterized by diverse clinical and genetic features. Among the types of ALCL, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-negative ALCL, though typically involves the lymph nodes, can infrequently invade other tissues. When soft tissue involvement occurs, it may mimic the clinical presentation of infectious diseases, leading to potential misdiagnosis. Therefore, a histological examination is necessary to differentiate between ALK-negative ALCL and similar phenotypes associated with infectious conditions. This paper reports a case of ALCL, initially misdiagnosed as an infection.