STUDY DESIGN: Review of the literature on the epidemiology and importance of osteoporotic spinal fractures. OBJECTIVES: To determine the epidemiology and importance of osteoporotic spinal fractures. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: Osteoporotic spinal fractures have been increasing in recent years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Review of the literature. RESULTS: Osteoporotic spinal fractures can lead to a reduced quality of life and reduced life expectancy with increasing morbidity. They can also be a major cause of additional spinal fractures or secondary fractures. CONCLUSIONS: In an aging society, osteoporotic spinal fractures are considered a social problem. Preventive care should be emphasized.
Aging ; Epidemiology* ; Fractures, Compression* ; Korea* ; Life Expectancy ; Osteoporosis ; Quality of Life ; Social Problems ; Spinal Fractures

OBJECTIVES: This study is designed to discuss the pros and cons related to the 'separation of drug prescription and dispensation' system when 5 years have passed by since the introduction of this system. METHODS: The 592 psychiatrists from 1,107 working places took part in nationwide survey by mail or E-mail from June to September, 2005. The response rate was 23.8%, most of respondents came from private clinics. RESULTS: The average age of psychiatrist was 44.6 years old, ranging from 25 to 75, most of them was predominantly male. The main results were as followings: 1) The ratio of psychiatric prescription out of hospital based on out-patients departments was the lowest in clinics, following by hospitals, general hospitals and university hospitals by order. 2) The main reasons of customer's preference for out of hospital prescription were economic advantage and self-awareness of prescription. As for the disliking for it, the most complaints were the anxiety about disclosure of psychiatric treatment, in convenience for delay and concern about drug change. CONCLUSION: Five years didn't seem to give a change on how the psychiatrists perceive the 'separation of drug prescription and dispensation' system at all. The confidentiality and human right issues on the part of psychiatric patients should never be ignored in order to manage this system successfully.
Anxiety ; Confidentiality ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Disclosure ; Drug Prescriptions* ; Electronic Mail ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Hospitals, General ; Hospitals, University ; Human Rights ; Humans ; Male ; Outpatients ; Postal Service ; Prescriptions ; Psychiatry

PURPOSE: The extraction of nucleic acid is initially a limiting step for successful molecular-based diagnostic workup. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of three automated DNA extraction systems for clinical laboratory use. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Venous blood samples from 22 healthy volunteers were analyzed using QIAamp(R) Blood Mini Kit (Qiagen), MagNA Pure LC Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit I (Roche), and Magtration-Magnazorb DNA common kit-200N (PSS). The concentration of extracted DNAs was measured by NanoDrop ND-1000 (PeqLab). Also, extracted DNAs were confirmed by applying in direct agarose gel electrophoresis and were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for human beta-globin gene. RESULTS: The corrected concentrations of extracted DNAs were 25.42 +/- 8.82 ng/microLiter (13.49-52.85 ng/microLiter) by QIAamp(R) Blood Mini Kit (Qiagen), and 22.65 +/- 14.49 ng/microLiter (19.18-93.39 ng/microLiter) by MagNA Pure LC Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit I, and 22.35 +/- 6.47 ng/microLiter (12.57-35.08 ng/microLiter) by Magtration-Magnazorb DNA common kit-200N (PSS). No statistically significant difference was noticed among the three commercial kits (p > 0.05). Only the mean value of DNA purity through PSS was slightly lower than others. All the extracted DNAs were successfully identified in direct agarose gel electrophoresis. And all the product of beta-globin gene PCR showed a reproducible pattern of bands. CONCLUSION: The effectiveness of the three automated extraction systems is of an equivalent level and good enough to produce reasonable results. Each laboratory could select the automated system according to its clinical and laboratory conditions.
Automation/methods ; DNA/blood/*isolation & purification ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; *Reagent Kits, Diagnostic ; Reproducibility of Results

PURPOSE: Early identification of causative agents in lower respiratory infection of pediatric patients can reduce morbidity and prevent an overuse of antimicrobials. Two kinds of multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and a commercial shell vial viral culture were performed to identify causative agents in pediatric patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nasopharyngeal aspirates of 220 children diagnosed with viral pneumonia were obtained. Two kinds of multiplex PCR (Seeplextrade mark RV detection kit, and Labopasstrade mark RV detection kit), and a shell vial culture by R-Mix were performed. RESULTS: Positive samples from 220 total samples by two multiplex PCRs were 52.7% and 46.4%, respectively. We also cultured 103 samples that showed positive results of the adenovirus, influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) by two multiplex PCR. The RSV was most frequently detected in 53.0% (Seeplex) and 51.7% (Labopass) of patients. The detection rate of adenovirus (AdV) was 10.3% and 12.1%, influenza virus (IFV) A and B was 12.5% and 3.4%, and parainfluenza virus (PIFV) 1, 2, and 3 were 2.9% and 2.6%. Shell vial cultures showed concordant results with each multiplex PCR by 96.1% and 77.7%, respectively. Sequencing results were 90% consistent with multiplex PCR. CONCLUSION: Multiplex PCR showed more positivity than the shell vial culture and it can be an effective primary test. Other complementary efforts such as viral cultures and sequencing analysis could be considered, according to clinical and laboratory conditions.
Adenoviridae/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Orthomyxoviridae/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Pneumonia, Viral/*virology ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/*methods ; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Respirovirus/genetics/*isolation & purification

BACKGROUND: Heat shock proteins (HSPs), or stress proteins, are immunodominant antigens of many microorganisms. In this study, we have detected the anti-HSP 70 antibody and tried to explain the role of the antibody with respect to the pathogenesis of SLE. Furthermore, we have attempted to find out the possibility to link the presence of the autoantibody with the monitoring and diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: A total of 80 samples from 55 SLE patients were screened for the presence of anti-HSP 70 antibodies. Simultaneously 59 healthy people were tested as a control group. The anti-HSP 70 antibodies were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and confirmed by western blot in anti-HSP 70 antibody ELISA positive samples. The activity of disease state was confirmed by the patients' medical record and systemic lupus activity measure (SLAM). RESULTS: The mean optical density (O.D.450) of ELISA in healthy controls and SLE patients were 0.15+/-0.18 (mean+/-S.D.) and 0.13+/-0.14. The correlation of SLAM Score and ELISA O.D. was r2=0.19, P=0.014. And, the mean O.D. value of ELISA was 0.18+/-0.02 and 0.11+/-0.01 before and after treatment (P <0.05). We compared samples with SLAM Score. The O.D. of anti-HSP 70 ELISA in these patients were 0.20+/-0.02 and 0.08+/-0.002 before and after treatment respectively (n=10, mean+/-S.D., P <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Anti-HSP 70 antibody was not a clinically useful diagnostic marker in SLE patients. However, the titer of anti-HSP 70 antibody can be used for the monitoring of the therapeutic effectiveness in these patients.
Antibodies ; Blotting, Western ; Diagnosis ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; Humans ; Immunodominant Epitopes ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* ; Medical Records

Previously, we reported that epigallocatechin 3-O-gallate (EGCg) has growth-inhibitory effect on clinical isolates of Candida species. In this study, we investigated the antifungal activity of EGCg and antifungal agents against thirty-five of dermatophytes clinically isolated by the international guidelines (M38-A2). All isolates exhibited good susceptibility to EGCg (MIC50, 2-4 microg/mL, MIC90, 4-8 microg/mL, and geometric mean (GM) MICs, 3.36-4 microg/mL) than those of fluconazole (MIC50, 2-16 microg/mL, MIC90, 4-32 microg/mL, and GM MICs, 3.45-25.8 microg/mL) and flucytosin (MIC50, MIC90, and GM MICs, >64 microg/mL), although they were less susceptible to other antifungal agents, such as amphotericin B, itraconazole, and miconazole. These activities of EGCg were approximately 4-fold higher than those of fluconazole, and were 4 to 16-fold higher than flucytosin. This result indicates that EGCg can inhibit pathogenic dermatophyte species. Therefore, we suggest that EGCg may be effectively used solely as a possible agent or combined with other antifungal agents for antifungal therapy in dermatophytosis.
Antifungal Agents/*pharmacology ; Arthrodermataceae/*drug effects/isolation & purification ; Catechin/*analogs & derivatives/pharmacology ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to investigate on the genotypic frequencies of p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and the prevalence of p53 codon 249 mutation in hepatocellular carcinoma patients. METHODS: Plasma DNAs were extracted from the samples of 44 early HCC cases, 24 chronic B-viral hepatitis patients and 27 healthy individuals. Serum levels of AFP, PIVKA-II, and HBV DNA-positive rates among the study groups were also compared. PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism method was used to determine p53 Arg72Pro genotype and to detect codon 249 mutation. RESULTS: Serum AFP and PIVKA-II level, Edmondson grade, tumor size and frequency of HBV DNA-positivity among HCC group according to Arg72Pro genotypes showed no statistically significant difference. The frequencies of Arg72Pro genotypes (Arg/Arg, Arg/Pro, Pro/Pro) were respectively as follows: 34.1%, 47.7%, 18.2% in HCC group; 29.2%, 54.2%, 16.7% in hepatitis group; 29.6%, 55.6%, 14.8% in control group. Pro homozygote genotype had a higher risk for developing HCC by adjusted OR (1.529, 95% CI 0.325-7.193), but not statistically significant (P=0.591). No codon 249 mutation was found among 44 HCC cases. CONCLUSIONS: Pro homozygote was around 16% in all study groups, and did not statistically increase risks to developing HCC. We suggest that Arg72Pro polymorphism of p53 gene is not a significant risk factor in early hepatocarcinogenesis.
Biomarkers ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Codon ; DNA ; Exons ; Genes, p53 ; Genotype ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis B ; Hepatitis B virus ; Homozygote ; Humans ; Plasma ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Prevalence ; Protein Precursors ; Prothrombin ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical factors that contribute to femoral neuropathy subsequent to abdominal hysterectomy. METHODS: From March 1993 to March 2000, retrospective study on 17 cases of femoral neuropathy subsequent to abdominal hysterectomy was performed. Sixty eight patients who had normal neurologic finding on the lower extremities after the same operation were used as a control group. RESULTS: The incidence of femoral neuropathy subsequent to abdominal hysterectomy was 1.67%. Age, body weight, parity and type of skin incision were significantly different between study and control group. The mean age of the study group was 38.1+6.1 years and that of the control group was 43.2+/-8.9 years(p<0.05). The mean body weight of the study group was 52.9 6.4kg, while that of the control group was 57.8+/-7.4kg(p<0.05). The mean parity of the study group was 1.9+/-0.7 as opposed to 2.6+/-1.3 for the control group(p<0.05). Pfannenstiel`s incision was performed in 13 cases(76.5%) in the study group as opposed to 34 cases(50%) in the control group(p<0.05). There were no correlation between these two groups with respect to patient height, operative time, transfusion and change in hemoglobin level. In the study group, 13 cases(76.5%) with femoral neuropathy on the left side were found, 3 cases(17.6%) on the right side and 1 case(5.9%) on both side. Left side femoral neuropathy was more common than the right(p<0.05). Spontaneous recovery occurred in 16 cases of the study group within 4 months and, although residual symptoms were noted in the remaining 1 case, no serious sequelae have been observed. CONCLUSION: It was suggested that pelvic retractor compresses the femoral nerve during the abdominal hysterectomy. The patients age, body weight, parity and a type of skin incision could be contributing factors to femoral neuropathy.
Body Weight ; Female ; Femoral Nerve ; Femoral Neuropathy* ; Humans ; Hysterectomy* ; Incidence ; Lower Extremity ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Operative Time ; Parity ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin

PURPOSE: The Infertility Self-Efficacy scale (ISE) is an instrument used to identify infertility-related self-efficacy. The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the ISE developed by Cousineau et al. in 2006. METHODS: The translated instrument was pilot-tested and administered to 314 women and men with a diagnosis of infertility. For estimating reliability, testeretest and the internal consistency reliability coefficients were calculated. Validity was evaluated through content validity, concurrent validity, and construct validity with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. RESULTS: The internal consistency reliability was satisfactory (Cronbach's alpha = .92, item-total correlations = .44–.80), and the intra-class correlation coefficient was .84 (p < .001). The overall content validity index was 98.1%, and the concurrent validity coefficient (correlations between the ISE scale and general self-efficacy scale) was .31 (p < .001). The final model's fit indexes were acceptable (CFI = .96, NFI = .93, RMSEA = .07, GFI = .94, and SRMR = .03), indicating good construct validity. CONCLUSION: The Korean version of the ISE has high reliability (stability and homogeneity), and good content, concurrent, and construct validity (EFA and CFA). Validated Korean version of the ISE may help nurses identify infertility-related self-efficacy.
Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility* ; Male ; Psychometrics* ; Reproducibility of Results

PURPOSE: To investigate the neuroprotective effect of Ginexin (Ginkgo biloba extract) on rat retinal ganglion cell in the optic nerve crush injury model. METHODS: From 1 week before the optic nerve injury, Ginexin 100 mg/kg/day (100 mg group), 200 mg/kg/day (200 mg group) or carboxymethylcellulose as a control group (CMC group) was administrated orally 4 weeks in Spraque-Dawley rats. At 3 weeks after the optic nerve injury, the RGCs were counted and the concentration of intravitreal glutamate was measured. RESULTS: The RGC density of CMC group (103+/-22 cells/mm2) was significantly lower than that of 100 mg group (182+/-39 cells/mm2) and 200 mg group (201+/-63 cells/mm2). There was no difference between the 100 mg group and 200 mg group. The concentration of invtravitreal glutamate did not significantly differ among normal, CMC group, 100 mg group and 200 mg group. CONCLUSIONS: Ginexin increased the survival of the retinal ganglion cell in rat optic nerve crush injury model, but, did not influence on the concentration of intravitreal glutamate.
Animals ; Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium ; Glutamic Acid ; Neuroprotective Agents* ; Optic Nerve Injuries ; Optic Nerve* ; Rats* ; Retinal Ganglion Cells* ; Retinaldehyde*