Cardiac relaxation is impaired in many cardiac disorders and is the subject of extensive investigation. Though measurement of isovolumic relaxation time ought to prove a simple means of quantifying such abnormalities in clinical practice, the problem of defining the timing of mitral valve opening at the onset of ventricular filling has been a difficulty. previous studies have used the 'O' point of the apexcardiogram, but more recently it has been shown that this may be open to considerable error. It was the purpose of the present study to determine the duration of true isovolumic relaxation and the factors influencing its duration, and to evaluate its use as a simple noninvasive measurement of cardiac dynamics in terms of the present approach. True isovolumic relaxation time (IRT) was measured noninvasively from the onset of the aortic component of the second heart sound to the onset of rapid opening of the mitral leaflets from simultaneous recording of echocardiogram, phonocardiogram, electrocardiogram and carotid tracing in 60 normal subjects, 30 male and 30 female and in 50 with hypertension, 28 male and 22 female ranging in age from 20 to 45 years. 1. The duration of IRT was 53.6+/-9.9 msec in normal subjects with no relation to sex. 2. IRT was related to heart rate, systemic blood pressure, and systolic and diastolic time intervals. 1) IRT tended to decrease with increasing heart rate and a regression equation for predicting it in relation to heart rate was 'IRT(msec)=88.97-0.466xH.R.(beats/min)' (P<0.01). 2) IRT tended to increase with increasing systemic blood pressure and a regression equation for predicting it in relation to aortic closing pressure was 'IRT(msec)=5.09+0.459xaortic closing pressure(mmHg)' (P<0.01). IRT was prolonged in patient with hypertension. 3) IRT was in close relation to left ventricular contraction indices such as preejection period(PEP), isovolumic contraction time and preejection period/left ventricular ejection time ratio. 4) There was no relation between IRT and left ventricular pump performance indices such as stroke volume, ejection fraction, fractional shortening and left ventricular dimension. 5) There was strong association between IRT and diastolic time intervals. Authors were impressed through this study that IRT is a useful measurement of left ventricular dynamics in early diastole.
Blood Pressure ; Diastole ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Heart Rate ; Heart Sounds ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Male ; Mitral Valve ; Relaxation* ; Stroke Volume

Human wart diseases are benign skin tumors caused by viruses of the papova group which usually affect children and almost always regress until adulthood. Various therapeutic modalities have been tried for the treatment of warts, however there is no single satisfactory method and the clinical course as well as the prognosis is always variable. The spontaneous regression of warts may represent an increase in the activity of host immune responses. Recent studies have tended to confirm that serum antiviral antihodies and cellular immune responses occur in relation to regression of warts, but there is no convincing evidence of a correlation between the appmrance of immune responses and resolution of the warts. BCG and some of similar extra,cts have becn known to be capable of initiating a wide range of non-specific immune reactions to cancerous diseases. The aim of the present investigation has been to study no-specific irnmune response of Tubercin-3 in patients with svarts, based on the findings that RCG and some of similar extracts were found to be a potent reticuloendothelial stimulant. Taventy casee attending a, dermatolo-ical out-ptient department consists of eight verrua plana juvenilis, seven verruca vulgaris, one verruca plxntaris and four molluscurn contagiosum were trezted with Tubercin-R. The results revealed complete cure in six(37. 5.) and clinical improvemeat in nine. (56. %) of sixteen cases of various warts, and one of four czses of molluscum contagiosurn showed a slight decrea,se in size and nu!nber of the lesions. There is no eviclence of a correlation among the age of patient, type of verruca and therapeutic effect. On the basis of our findings, we can state that non-specific immune response of BCG .and some of similar extracts may be facilitate the involution of warts. The relationship of thes immune respons to the involution of warts clezrly require further study.
Child ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; Mycobacterium bovis ; Prognosis ; Skin ; Warts*

No abstract available.
Malaria* ; Plasmodium vivax* ; Plasmodium*

Traumatic hyphema accounts for about 6.7% of ocular trauma and its visual threatening associated ocular injuries are commotio retinae, retinal detachment, macular hole. cataract and rebleeding. The authors reviewed the medical records of 98 patients (98 eyes) having been admitted to the Joongang Gil Hospital between March 1989 and February 1991 with the diagnosis of nonperforating traumatic hyphema. Prospective study was performed as to the effect of epsilon-aminocaproic acid (EACA) in the clearance time of blood clot in the anterior chamber and the frequency of rebleeding. The avlrage clearance time of blood clot was significantly longer in the EACA treated group (5.8 days) than in the control group (3.5 days)(t-Test P<0.01). The frequency of rebleeding was not statistically significantly different between the EACA treated group (3.9%, 2/52 patients) and the control group (87%, 4/46 patients)(X2-Test P>0.05).
Aminocaproic Acid ; Anterior Chamber ; Cataract ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Hyphema* ; Medical Records ; Prospective Studies ; Retina ; Retinal Detachment ; Retinal Perforations

Inflammatory mediators, such as oxidants, TNF-alpha, and IL-6, play a major role in the systemic response to bum injury It has been known that a continuing inflammatory response cause a sepsis and subsequent multiple organ failure. Recent studies have shown that burn patients receiving recombinant human growth hormone(rhGH) therapy have an improvement of the general condition, but the mechanism by which rhGH exerts its effects has not been clearly understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of rhGH on the early bum injury. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups : control group, bum group, burn plus rhGH treated group, and rhGH only treated group. Animals were killed at 30min., 3, 6, 24, and 48 hours after treatment. Histology and biochemical changes including malondialdehyde(MDA) content, tissue reduced glutathione(GSH) and catalase activity in the lung and liver, and plasma TNF-alpha and IL-6 levels were examined. Lung histology in the bum plus rhGH treated group showed decreased inflammtory response such as neutrophil and lymphocyte infiltrations, interstitial thickening, and edema compared with the bum group. Liver histology in the bum group revealed mild neutrophil and lymphocyte infiltrations, vacuolization .of hepatocytes, disrupted lobular structures, and dilated sinusoids. But liver histology of the bum plus rhGH was similar to control group. Lung and liver MDA in the burn plus rhGH and rhGH only treated groups were decreased with time compared with the burn group. Lung and liver GSH and catalase activities in the bum plus rhGH and GH only treated groups remained significantly increased compared with the bum group for the 48-hours period. Plasma TNF-alpha levels in the bum group remained elevated for the 48-hours period compared with the bum plus rhGH and rhGH only treated groups. Plasma IL-6 levels in the burn group were significantly increased only at first compared with the bum plus rhGH and rhGH only treated groups. These results suggested that rhGH showed inhibitory effects on the inflammatory cell infiltration and lipid peroxidation in the lung and liver after bum injury. Increased GSH levels and catalase activities seemed to be associated with the antioxidant effect of rhGH. But the inhibitory effect of rhGH on plasma TNF- and R-6 levels was not clearly demonstrated.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; Burns ; Catalase ; Edema ; Female ; Hepatocytes ; Human Growth Hormone* ; Humans* ; Interleukin-6* ; Lipid Peroxidation* ; Liver ; Lung ; Lymphocytes ; Multiple Organ Failure ; Neutrophils ; Oxidants ; Plasma* ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sepsis ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha*

BACKGROUND: Newly developed alpha-, beta-receptor blocker, Amosulalol HCI(YM-09538) was evaluated for its hypotensive efficacy, safety and usefulness in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension. METHODS: Thirty patients of essential hypertension(male 8, female 22), mean age 55 years were included for the study. Amosulalol HCI was administered 20-60mg daily for 10 weeks and initial starting dose was 10mg twice daily and dose was increased 40mg and 60mg daily in cases of insatisfactory hypotensive effect ever 2 weeks interval. Patients were evaluated every two weeks on blood pressure, pulse rate, improvement of subjective symptoms and side effects. Laboratory examinations were carried out routinely in principle two times before trial and after completion of study. RESULTS: Blood pressure began to fall significantly after tow weeks of administration and changed from initial 172.4mmHg of systolic pressure to final 149.3mmHg and from 104.7mmHg of diastolic pressure to final 92.5mmHg. The response rates were marked fall in 30%, satisfactory fall in 40%, thus overall hypotensive effect was observed in 70%. Pulse rate decreased slightiy but significantly from 4 weeks of administration. Improvement of subjective symptoms were observed in 7 cases out of 12 cases and no significant side effects were observedd except of two mild transitory cases of polyuria and indigestion. Laboratory examination also did not show any significant changes before and after medication. CONCLUSION: The daily administration fo 20-60mg of Amosulalol HCI to moderate essectial hypertension seems to be effective and safe with clinical usefulness.
Blood Pressure ; Dyspepsia ; Female ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Nifedipine ; Perindopril ; Polyuria

In order to investigate the factors associated with family burdens of schizophrenics, 92 primary caregivers and 68 siblings of 92 persons with schizophrenia were examined by means of self-report scales about the effect of positive and negative symptom behaviors, clinical and sociodemographic variables, and guilty feelings toward patient on the objective and subjective burden. The results were as follows. 1) There was no difference in the objective and subjective burden scores between the primary caregivers and siblings, even though the former showed a higher scores compared to the latter. 2) Burden scores were significantly affected by the factors such as age of patients, duration of illness, total duration of hospitalizations, monthly family income, and the experience of family education in the primary caregivers or siblings of schizophrenics. 3) Objective and subjective burden were related to both the severity of positive, negative, and the other symptom behaviors in the primary caregivers and siblings. The positive and negative symptom behaviors were more related to subjective burdens compared to objective burdens in the primary caregivers and siblings. The positive symptom behaviors were more related to perceived objective and subjective burdens compared to negative symptom behaviors in the siblings. 4) The correlations between guilty feelings toward patient and burden scores was significant only in the primary caregivers. These results could be used as useful datas to develop the more effective family intervention for reducing family burden.
Caregivers* ; Education ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Schizophrenia ; Siblings* ; Weights and Measures

Antihypertensive effect and side effect of Tripamide(Normonal(R)) was studied in 22 cases of essential hypertension using 15mg once daily regimen for average period of 9 weeks. 1) Antihypertensive effect Average reduction of 25mmHg in systolic and 19mmHg in systolic and 19 mmHg in diastolic pressure was observed and reduction rate was 15.7% and 17.6% respectively. The overall effect rate was 86%. The blood pressure lowered significantly in 1 week of treatment both in systolic and diastolic pressure and the extent of fall in systolic pressure approached near the level of maximum reduction in 2 weeks of administration and that of diastolic after 5 weeks of treatment. 2) Laboratory tests and side effect There was no significant changes in individual and mean value of Na, K, Cl, BUN, creatinine, uric acid, fasting blood sugar, cholesterol, GOT, GPT studied before and after treatment except one case showing elevation of uric acid. No significant side effect was observed during trial except of 2 cases of transient diuretic effect.
Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Cholesterol ; Creatinine ; Diuretics ; Fasting ; Hypertension ; Uric Acid

Arkinson's disease(PD) is a neurodegenerative disease involving mainly the loss of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra by several factors. The cause of dopaminergic cell death is unknown. Recently, it has been focused on that Parkinson's disease resulting from mitochondrial dysfunction. In the previous studies, it was found that a 5 kilobase(kb) deletion derived from mtDNA dysfunction. And this result leads to a reduction of ATP production, which ultimately causes result in cell death. Blood samples were collected from 6 positive control(PC) and 9 PD patients. Total DNA was extracted twice with phenol followed by chloroform:isoamylalcohol(24: 1). For the analysis of mtDNA, polymerase chain reaction(PCR) and long and accurate polymerase chain reaction(LA PCR) were performed by mitochondrial specific primers. As a result, a deletions of large quantity was detected within several regions of mtDNA in PD patients. The analysis of the partial sequence of the mitochondrial D-loop gene and restriction fragment length polymorphism(RFLP) technique were performed to investigate the point mutation and nucleotide sequence variations between PC and PD patients. Fragment variations between PC and PD were seen in the fragment digested by Hin d III, Eco R V. These variations are attributed to the presence or absence of recognition site by base substitution. Point mutation was observed in the D-loop region. Patients 1 and 2 had one point mutation. Patient 1 had a transition from T to C at 195, and patient 2 had a transversion from A to T. In addition to point mutation, the deletion of mtDNA occurred complexI, III, IV and V subunits in PD patients.
Adenosine Triphosphate ; Base Sequence ; Cell Death ; DNA ; DNA, Mitochondrial ; Dopaminergic Neurons ; Humans ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Parkinson Disease* ; Phenol ; Point Mutation ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Substantia Nigra

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to analyze the current problems in completing death certificates and to identify the correct method for completing death certificates. METHODS: We reviewed 262 death certificates in three hospitals from March 1 to April 30, 2000, and 119 death certificates in one hospital from March 1 to 31, 2000. We identified major and minor errors and analyzed and compared them retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 381 death certificates were reviewed: 59 in Seoul National University Hospital, 101 in Ewha Woman's University Hospital, and 102 in Gachon Medical College Hospital, which has no education program for completing death certificates in postgraduate training, and 119 in Samsung Medical Center which has an education program for completing death certificates. 358 certificates(94.0%) had at least one error. There were only 23 death certificates(6.0%) without an error. In 182 cases(47.8%), there was one major error. In 321 death certificates(84.3%), there were more than two errors. A comparison of Samsung Medical Center with the other hospitals showed that the number of total errors was statistically different(p=0.001). CONCLUSION: There were few death certificates without an error in this study. In a hospital which has postgraduate training in completing death certificates, there are fewer errors than in other hospitals which have no training course. Emergency physicians actually certify many deaths, so they must know the correct method of completing death certificates for statistics on morbidity and mortality.
Death Certificates* ; Education ; Emergencies ; Mortality ; Retrospective Studies ; Seoul