No abstract available.
Child* ; Fistula* ; Humans

Recombinant DNA vaccines, based on plasmid vectors expressing an antigen under the control of a strong promotor, have several advantages over traditional vaccines. They have been shown to induce a full spectrum of immune responses for humoral and cellular systems and to secure the higher safety and the simplicity of administration. Thus, establishment of DNA vaccines against Newcastle disease virus (NDV) in poultry has been widely investigated using various virus strains and vector systems. In this study, the F and HN genes of NDV CBP-1 strains isolated from diseased pheasants and attenuated by serial passages in egg embryos were cloned using pSLIA vector and constructed two recombinants of pSLIA-tsF and pSLIA-tsHN. The recombinant plasmids were transfected into COS-7 cell and the expression of HN and F proteins were verified by immunofluorescence, SDS-PAGE and Western blot. The recombinant plasmids were injected intramuscularly and intradermally into C57B/6 mouse and a significant increment of HN and F antibodies was detected by ELISA. According to the results, it was implicative that the recombinant DNA could be utilized for development of recombinant DNA vaccine for NDV.
Animals ; Antibodies ; Blotting, Western ; Clone Cells ; COS Cells ; DNA, Recombinant* ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Embryonic Structures ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Mice ; Newcastle disease virus* ; Newcastle Disease* ; Ovum ; Plasmids ; Poultry ; Serial Passage ; Vaccines ; Vaccines, DNA

PURPOSE: This study investigated the clinical course and prognostic factor of very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) with hemodynamically significant congenital heart defects (CHDs). METHODS: Medical records of 1,098 VLBWI with birth weight <1,500 g who had been admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Samsung Medical Center from October 1994 to December 2007 were reviewed retrospectively. The data for these patients with hemodynamically significant CHD (n=33) were compared with those without CHD (n=1,065). RESULTS: The incidence of CHD was 3.0% (33 patients) 7 patients (21%) had CHD combined with the congenital abnormalities or chromosomal disorders. The most common CHD was a ventricular septal defect. The incidence of intrauterine growth retardation was higher in patients with CHD than in patients without CHD (34% vs. 20%), but there were no significant differences in gestational age, birth weight, respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, necrotizing enterocolitis, severe intraventricular hemorrhage (> or =Gr III), and periventricular leukomalacia. Cardiac surgery was performed on 13 patients (39%). Nine patients received staged operations, and 10 patients received early intervention. The overall mortality in patients who had CHD was higher than in the patients who did not have CHD (27% vs. 16%). In patients with CHD, congenital abnormalities or chromosomal disorders were more important factors for increased mortality (86% vs. 11%) than the degree of complexity of CHD (19% vs. 42%). CONCLUSION: The most important prognostic factors of VLBWI with CHD are the associated congenital abnormalities or chromosomal disorders.
Birth Weight ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia ; Chromosome Disorders ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Gestational Age ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Leukomalacia, Periventricular ; Medical Records ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Thoracic Surgery

Persistent pulmonary hypertension in newborns (PPHN) is a disorder of the vascular transition from fetal to neonatal circulation. It results in cyanosis due to right-to-left shunting of the blood through the ductus arteriosus and/or foramen ovale manifesting as hypoxemic respiratory failure. We managed two cases of PPHN after meconium aspiration with high frequency oscillating ventilators and inhaled nitric oxide. They did not respond to conventional management. Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was provided, and ECMO weaning was possible resulting survivals in two cases. We report two PPHN cases, which were treated successfully with veno-venous ECMO for the first time in Korea.
Cyanosis ; Ductus Arteriosus ; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ; Foramen Ovale ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Meconium Aspiration Syndrome ; Nitric Oxide ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Ventilators, Mechanical ; Weaning

With rapid population aging, the socioeconomic burden caused by dementia care is snowballing. Although a few community-based studies of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been performed in Korea, there has never been a nationwide hospital-based study thereof. We aimed to identify the demographics and clinical characteristics of mild-to-moderate AD patients from the Clinical Research Center for Dementia of Korea (CREDOS) registry. A total of 1,786 patients were consecutively included from September 2005 to June 2010. Each patient underwent comprehensive neurological examination, interview for caregivers, laboratory investigations, neuropsychological tests, and brain MRI. The mean age was 74.0 yr and the female percentage 67.0%. The mean period of education was 7.1 yr and the frequency of early-onset AD (< 65 yr old) was 18.8%. Among the vascular risk factors, hypertension (48.9%) and diabetes mellitus (22.3%) were the most frequent. The mean score of the Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE) was 19.2 and the mean sum of box scores of Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR-SB) 5.1. Based on the well-structured, nationwide, and hospital-based registry, this study provides the unique clinical characteristics of AD and emphasizes the importance of vascular factors in AD in Korea.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Alzheimer Disease/complications/*diagnosis ; Brain/radionuclide imaging ; Caregivers ; Dementia/diagnosis ; Demography ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/etiology ; Female ; Hospitals ; Humans ; Hypertension/etiology ; Interviews as Topic ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Questionnaires ; *Registries ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Factors

The Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea (CREDOS), a nation-wide clinical dementia research group, has prepared clinical practice guidelines (CPG) for dementia tailored to the Korean population. In this article, a summary of the CREDOS CPG is presented with the Korean and English version of full report included in the appendix. The CREDOS CPG in intended not only for psychiatrists and neurologists, but also internists, family physicians, and other primary care physicians involved in the prevention and early diagnosis of dementia. While our CPG for dementia mainly covers Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD), it also includes mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and vascular MCI, which are currently known to be the preclinical stages of AD or VaD, respectively, with emphasis placed on early diagnosis. The CREDOS CPG aims to achieve the following goals by developing CPG for dementia: to establish evidence-based, objective and clear clinical standards for dementia; to improve the clinical decision-making process for patients with dementia; to provide scientific and systematic scales to aid in the work of dementia specialists; to suggest comprehensive and systematic healthcare services tailored to each dementia subtype. The CREDOS CPG focuses on diagnosis and evaluation of clinical practice available domestically, and provides useful concepts of dementia. Its emphasis is on etiologies and epidemiology, diagnostic criteria and evaluation, neuropsychological tests, behavioral and psychological symptoms, the activities of daily living, laboratory tests, and brain imaging.
Activities of Daily Living ; Alzheimer Disease ; Appendix ; Delivery of Health Care ; Dementia ; Dementia, Vascular ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Mild Cognitive Impairment ; Neuroimaging ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Physicians, Family ; Physicians, Primary Care ; Psychiatry ; Republic of Korea ; Weights and Measures