BACKGROUND: Recently, the trend pursuing slimness is significantly increasing in adolescents. Because of distorted body image, excessive body weight control can cause problems of health. The goal of this study is to investigate the factors of distorted body image and its problems. METHODS: The survey was performed in a high school of Jindo island on May, 2000. All of 258 students in 1st and 2nd grade participated in this study by questionnaires. Thirteen truthless questionnaires were excluded in this study. Therefore 245 student were selected. RESULTS: Only 20% of 245 repliers were satisfied with their body figure. In male, 24.1% wanted weight loss, and 39.8% wanted weight gain. In female, 73% wanted weight loss. In a populations(BMI<20), 70 males wanted weight loss, whereas 35(52.2%) among 67 females want weight loss. According to these result, female stuedents wanted strongly weight loss than male. The factors which most influenced body figure were sports star in males(36.1%), and movie stars in female.(43.8%) A group of 58.4% of repliers has experienced body weight control. A group of 37% in male and 39.6% in female suffered from side effects. 77% of total hoped to be educated about adequate body weight control method. CONCLUSION: Almost of adolescents dissatisfied with their body figure, Many adolescent who is not obese attempt weight loss, and are sufferd from side effects. Therefore, it is required for effective education about body weight control and social attitude permitting adequate body image.
Adolescent ; Body Image* ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Education ; Female ; Hope ; Humans ; Male ; Sports ; Weight Gain ; Weight Loss ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-mediated neurotoxicity and oxidative stress have been implicated in the etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Memantine is a low-affinity, noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist that may protect against motor neuron degeneration. METHODS: Thirty transgenic mice expressing the G93A SOD1 mutation were randomly divided into control, low-dose memantine (30 mg/kg/day), and high-dose memantine (90 mg/kg/day) groups, with memantine supplied daily with drinking water beginning at 75 days of age. Body weight, survival, and behavioral performances including a rotarod test, paw grip endurance, and hindlimb extension reflex were assessed in the control and memantine-diet groups. RESULTS: Clinical symptoms were evident in the G93A transgenic mice by 11 weeks of age. Memantine was tolerated well. Compared to control, mice treated with memantine performed better in the rotarod test and hindlimb extension reflex. Moreover, low-dose memantine treatment significantly prolonged the survival of the transgenic mice relative to control mice (141 vs 134 days, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that memantine, even when administered at the time of symptom onset, has beneficial effects on patients with ALS.
Administration, Oral* ; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis* ; Animals ; Body Weight ; Drinking Water ; Hand Strength ; Hindlimb ; Humans ; Memantine* ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic* ; Motor Neurons ; N-Methylaspartate ; Oxidative Stress ; Reflex ; Rotarod Performance Test

Missed lung cancers on chest radiograph (CXR) may delay the diagnosis and affect the prognosis. CXR is the primary imaging modality to evaluate the lungs and mediastinum in daily practice. The purpose of this article is to review chest radiographs for common blind spots and highlight the importance of various radiologic presentations in primary lung cancer to avoid significant diagnostic errors on CXR.

Missed lung cancers on chest radiograph (CXR) may delay the diagnosis and affect the prognosis. CXR is the primary imaging modality to evaluate the lungs and mediastinum in daily practice. The purpose of this article is to review chest radiographs for common blind spots and highlight the importance of various radiologic presentations in primary lung cancer to avoid significant diagnostic errors on CXR.

BACKGROUND: A lung hyperinflation, or air trapping, caused by expiratory flow-limitation contributes to dyspnea in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) has served as an important diagnostic measurement of COPD, but does not correlate with patient-centered outcomes such as dyspnea. Therefore, this study was performed to investigate the role of radiologic quantity in evaluating the dyspnea in patients with COPD by measuring lung hyperinflation in chest x-ray and high resolution chest tomography (HRCT). METHODS: Fifty patients with COPD were enrolled in this study. Their subjective dyspnea score (modified Borg scale dyspnea index), spirometry, and lung volume were measured. Simultaneous hyperinflations of chest x-ray score ("chest score") and degree of emphysema of HRCT ("HRCT score") were measured. The "chest score" were composed of lung length, retrosternal space width, and height of the arc of the diaphragm and "HRCT score" were composed of severity and extent of emphysema. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 69 years old and their mean FEV1 was 51.7%. The Borg score significantly correlated with parameters of spirometry and lung volume, including FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, RV, RV/TLC, and DLCO. The Borg score correlated well with "HRCT score", but did not correlate with "chest score". Also, the Borg scale correlates inversely with body mass index. CONCLUSION: The quantity of emphysema on chest HRCT may serve as an objective marker of dyspnea in patients with COPD.
Diaphragm ; Dyspnea ; Emphysema ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Lung ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Spirometry ; Thorax

Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) or allergic granulomatous angiitis is a rare syndrome that is characterized by hypereosinophilic systemic necrotizing vasculitis affecting small- to medium-sized arteries and veins. In general, it occurs in individuals with pre-existing allergic asthma. When CSS appears in patients, it has the following characteristics: eosinophilia of more than 10% in peripheral blood, paranasal sinusitis, pulmonary infiltrates, histological proof of vasculitis with extravascular eosinophils, and mononeuritis multiplex or polyneuropathy. Therapeutic trials dedicated to Churg-Strauss syndrome have been limited due to the rarity of this disorder and the difficulty in making a histological diagnosis. Proper treatment of patients with CSS is not widely known. In this case study, we report on our experience with an unusual patient case, characterized by purpura and a perforation of the small intestine after inadequate steroid therapy.
Arteries ; Asthma ; Churg-Strauss Syndrome ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils ; Humans ; Intestinal Perforation ; Intestine, Small ; Mononeuropathies ; Polyneuropathies ; Purpura ; Sinusitis ; Vasculitis ; Veins

BACKGROUND: There are epidemiological clinical studies that describe the relationship of decreased serum cholesterol levels or their treatment with suicides, offensive actions and depression. METHODS: We studied 140 patients who were hospitalized at Asan Foundation Jeongup Hospital (in Korea) via emergency room after suicide attempts and whose serum cholesterol levels were acquired during 53 months (from Jan. 1. 1995 to May 31. 1999). They were evaluated with the use of t-test. The serum cholesterol levels were compared between the control group of 140 persons who underwent health check ups and 140 patients who were of similar age and sex ratios. RESULTS: Subjects showed significant decrease in serum cholesterol levels in comparison with the control group. Low serum cholesterol levels were related with the severity of suicidal attempts. 1) The subjects showed lower serum cholesterol levels than the control group(150.51+/-56.69mg/dl vs 185.61+/-31.94mg/dl; t= 6.382, df=278, P<0.001) (Table 3). 2) Those who killed themselves showed statistically significant decrease in serum cholesterol levels than those who survived after their suicidal attempts(169.13+/-49.29mg/dl vs 135.89+/-34.14; t=2.005, P<0.05) (Table 4). CONCLUSION: This study was carried out in farming and fishing villages of Korea. The result showed that the decrease in serum cholesterol levels increased the risk of suicide trials. This fact is similar to the results of the previous studies performed at other farming and fishing communities. In addition, those who killed themselves had lower serum cholesterol levels compared to those who survived suicide attempts. This relationship was associated with depression.
Cholesterol* ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Depression ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Korea ; Sex Ratio ; Suicide

Nodular fasciitis is rare and benign fibroblastic proliferative disease which tends to be confused microscopically with spindle cell sarcoma. It is a distinctive lesion and a very important one because of its ability to simulate a malignant process. Histopathologically, nodular fasciitis can be grouped into three subtypes based on their relation with the fascia: subcutaneous, fascial, intramuscular. We report a case of nodular fasciitis misdiagnosed as Baker's cyst in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Fascia ; Fasciitis* ; Fibroblasts ; Humans ; Popliteal Cyst* ; Sarcoma

Human anisakiasis may occur after ingestion of raw marine fish infected with the nematode larvae of Anisakidae. Clinical symptoms such as cramping abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and epigastric fullness, usually develop within 12 hours after having eaten infected raw sea fish. Anisakiasis is most commonly found in the stomach, and is rarely identified in the small intestine, large intestine, and esophagus. We report two cases of of anisakiasis, one with concurrent invasion of the stomach and esophagus, and the other case with esophageal anisakiasis. Both were treated by endoscopic extraction of the larvae.
Abdominal Pain ; Anisakiasis* ; Anisakis ; Diarrhea ; Eating ; Esophagus* ; Humans ; Intestine, Large ; Intestine, Small ; Larva ; Muscle Cramp ; Nausea ; Stomach* ; Vomiting

The mechanism and cause of acute eosinophilic pneumonia are largely unknown. Many factors including the smoking of cigarettes have been suggested, but none have been proven to directly cause acute eosinophilic pneumonia. The authors report a case of acute eosinophilic pneumonia in a young Asian male who recently started smoking. The diagnosis was made based on his clinical course and results of chest radiography, lung spirometry, bronchoalveolar lavage, and transbronchial lung biopsies. After administration of methylprednisolone, his clinical course rapidly improved. A provocation test was designed to establish a connection between cigarette smoking and the development of acute eosinophilic pneumonia. After the provocation test, the patient showed identical symptoms, increase in sputum eosinophils, and worsening of pulmonary function. The results of the provocation test suggest that smoking may directly cause acute eosinophilic pneumonia, and support previous reports of cigarette smoking-induced acute eosinophilic pneumonia.
Acute Disease ; Adolescent ; *Bronchial Provocation Tests ; Humans ; Male ; Pulmonary Eosinophilia/*etiology/physiopathology ; Smoking/*adverse effects