No abstract available.
Child* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Facial Nerve* ; Fetus*

BACKGROUND: Glycolic acid is currently reported to have beneficial effects on the photoaged skin. These effects may be through the modulatory action of glycolic acid in the production of dermal extracellular matrix proteins of fibroblast. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the specific effect of glycolic acid on the collagen and elastic fiber gene expression in vitro. METHODS: Human skin fibroblasts were cultured from normal skins of excised specimens and glycolic acid (75 µg/ml) was treated. After 24 hours of treatment, six each cell lines were processed for extraction of RNA and subjected to Northern analysis. RESULTS: Type I collagen mRNA expression was significantly increased in the glycolic acid-treated fibroblasts. Elastin mRNA expression did not show any significant change. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that glycolic acid induced the increase of type I collagen mRNA expression and had the specific biologic effect on fibroblast.
Cell Line ; Collagen Type I ; Collagen* ; Elastic Tissue ; Elastin ; Extracellular Matrix Proteins ; Fibroblasts* ; Gene Expression* ; Humans* ; RNA ; RNA, Messenger ; Skin*

There have been many reports on cerebrovascular disease in Korea, almost all of which were done at the Department of Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Internal Medicine. It is established that hemorrhagic stroke(HS) occurs at a higher rate than ischemic stroke(IS) compared to Western societies. However, many patients with IS visit to Oriental Medicine in Korea. Because of the paucity of published information including stroke data of Oriental Medicine, it was our purpose to analyse characteristic pattern of stroke occurrence, clinical data, and outcome for 762 patients visited to emergency room or admitted to the University Hospital and Oriental Medicine for a twelve month period. The incidence of IS was at least 1.5 times that of HS(IS: 309, HS: 453). Among age groups, those in sixties and seventies were the most predominant. The distribution of patients according to each Departments and Oriental Medicine was 118(HS: 2, IS: 116) in Department of Internal Medicine, 286(HS: 251, IS: 35) in Neurosurgery, and 358(HS: 56, IS: 302) in Oriental Medicine. The overall outcome for HS are much poorer than those for IS: in HS, 69.6% good, 10.7% morbidity, and 19.7% mortality, and in IS, 83.2%, 13.0% and 3.8%, respectively. Considering the fact that many IS patients with mild symptoms and signs tend to visit private clinics, these results suggest the actual incidence of Is is much higher than HS in Korea, compared with previous reports. We expect that a multicentered cooperative study including Oriental Medicine will be motivated by this study for establishing more accurate characteristics of stroke in Korea in the future.
Emergency Service, Hospital ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence ; Internal Medicine ; Ischemia ; Korea ; Medicine, East Asian Traditional ; Mortality ; Neurology ; Neurosurgery ; Stroke

We have reported general principles of low vision aid prescription. But, we have not reported near vision aid prescription only. So, we analyse prescriptions of near low vision aid(diagnosis, type, magnification, etc) and present new near low vision aids that patients feels comfortable. We reviewed the clinical records of 100 patients who visited our low vision clinic more than twice and was prescribed near low vision aid for low vision. According to the data analysed, optic nerve atrophy was the most common etiology for low vision. Illuminated hand held magnifier(31.3%), telemicroscope with plus cap(27.7%), aspheric doublet sens(Clear Image II)(24.1%) were low vision aids most commonly used for near vision, but we knew new trend that newly prescribed aids(telemicroscope with plus cap, aspheric doublet lens) were prescribed more than illuminated hand held magnifier. After prescription of the low vision aid, visual acuity improved significantly (p<0.05). We examined contrast sensitivity test to measure the functional acuity and predict the visual prognosis after prescription of low visio aid.In addition,we studied the relationship between reading speed and the degree of contrast sensitivity and we knew that the relationship between degree of contrast sensitivity and reading speed was associated(p<0.05). Majority of patients(89%) were benefited from prescribed low vision aids.
Atrophy ; Audiovisual Aids ; Contrast Sensitivity ; Hand ; Humans ; Optic Nerve ; Prescriptions* ; Prognosis ; Vision, Low*

Urine specimens were obtained from one hundred and thirty nine patients in-out-patient and in-patient service of B.N.U.H., Dept. of Urology, with the presumptive diagnosis of urinary tract infections or indwelling catheter. These specimens were processed by Triphenyltetrazolium Chloride test, quantitative test and identification of the organisms. The results were as follows: 1. Triphenyltetrazolium Chloride test was an easily performable and a fairmely accurate method for screening of urinary tract infections. 2. The urine specimens showed false negative reactions to triphenyltetrazoium Chloride in some cases with moderate (10(4) to 10(6) bacteria per milliliter) growth of bacteria or in the antibiotics used patients. 3. The incidence of urinary tract infections with gram negative bacilli are ninety-two percent. In their series, incidence of E. coli decreased and that of other gram negative bacilli increased such as Enterobacter, Proteus and Serratia, etc. This shift in the pathogen spectrum occurs mostly in the patients of complicated or lower urinary tract infections, in-patients, antibiotics used patients and the patients with indwelling catheter.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteria ; Catheters, Indwelling ; Diagnosis ; Enterobacter ; False Negative Reactions ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mass Screening ; Proteus ; Serratia ; Urinary Tract Infections* ; Urinary Tract* ; Urology

We conducted a retrospective study of 20 penetrating keratoplasty (19patients) for corneal opacity due to herpes simplex keratitis from January 1992 to February 1997 at National Medical Center. We exaniined f requeuey of graft rejection and recurrence of herpetic keratitis after penetrating keratoplasty. The patients were grouped into control & treatinent, group according to the use of antivirial drug after penetrating keratoplasty and we examined the difference in rate of recurrence between two groups. The follow-up period was from 8 months to 68 months, mean follow-up period being 29.6 months. Graft rejection was seen in 3 eyes out of 20 eyes (15.0%) and recurrence was developed 3 eyes out of 20 eyes (15.0%). Recurrent herpetic keratitis developed in 15.4%(2 of 13) of the eyes in control group and 14.3% (1 of 7) of the eyes in treatment group. There was no statistically significant difference in recurrence rate between two groups (p)0.05). Postoperative prophylactic antiviral treatment is not associated with decreased rate of herpes simplex keratitis recurrence.
Corneal Opacity ; Follow-Up Studies ; Graft Rejection ; Herpes Simplex* ; Humans ; Keratitis, Herpetic* ; Keratoplasty, Penetrating* ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies

The authors have evaluated the effect of topically applied 1% cyclosporine A for four weeks after limbal allograft transplantation for ocular surface stability in severely ocular surface damaged rabbits. A total eleven severely damaged rabbits were subdivided into three groups of four limbal autograft (AUTO), three limbal allograft (ALLO), four limbal allograft with topical application of 1% cyclosporine A five times daily for four weeks (ALLO-C). We examined ocular surface smoothness, clarity, corneal vascularization before surgery and three months after surgery, and classified three grade (success, partial success, failure) according to result. In AUTO, three eyes were success, one eye was failure. In ALLO, one eye showed inferior graft detachment and one eye was success, two eyes were failire. In ALLO-C, no graft detachment detected and one eye was success, two eyes were partial success, one eye was failure. We knew that. ALLO-C show more effective ocular surface stability than ALLO. These result suggest ALLO-C can be used as alternative treatment of AUTO in ocular surface reconstruction. But, rnore study for duration and concentration of cyclosporin A will be need.
Allografts ; Autografts ; Cornea* ; Cyclosporine* ; Rabbits ; Transplants

BACKGROUND: Fundus photographs performed during health check-up were reviewed to determine the usefulness in mass screening. METHODS: Subjects consistine of 3017 people who had undergone physical health check up at the Health Clinic, Dong-Eui Medical Center in 1997 and whose fundus photographs of both eyes were taken showing clearly visible posterior pole and optic disc were chosen as subjects. Medical records which included cases of reported close exam and causes, actual cases of close exam and final diagnoses. RESULTS: Of the 3017 people, reported close exam was performed in 665 (22.0%). Among them glaucoma was suspected in 460 retinal hemorrhagic lesion in 63, retinal degenerative lesion in 67 and others in 75. There were 187 actual cases(28.1%) of close exam including glaucoma suspect in 79, retinal hemorrhagic lesion 47, retinal degenerative lesion 34 and others 27. Among 187 actual cases of close exam, 140 people (1.3%) were eventually diagnosed as glaucoma suspect (60), retinal hemorrhagic lesion (38), retinal degenerative lesion (21) and others (21). CONCLUSIONS: Fundus photographs are useful in mass screening, but performing close exam to enhance the usefulness of the fundus photographs is necessary.
Diagnosis ; Glaucoma ; Mass Screening* ; Medical Records ; Retinaldehyde

The congenital patent urachus is the failure of complete urachal lumen closure and results in a free communication between the bladder and the umbilicus. Embriologically the urachus represents the vestigial remnant of the allantois which, in the fetus, communicates with the cloaca. The first patient is a 6-day-old female infant, and she was transferred due to urine leakage from the reddish hen egg sized protruding mass on the umbilicus. The fistulogram showed a long fistulous tract which communicates with bladder and umbilicus. A complete resection of the patent urachus was done. The second patient is a 1-day-old male infant, and he was transferred for operation of omphalocele from local clinic. Urine leakage was detected from the urachus at operative field, and so complete resection of the urachus was performed, and the one stage repair was performed for treatment of mild intestinal herniation. Postoperative courses of the two cases were uneventful.
Allantois ; Cloaca ; Female ; Fetus ; Hernia, Umbilical ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Ovum ; Umbilicus ; Urachus* ; Urinary Bladder