Progressive memory impairment such as that associated with depression, stroke, and Alzheimer's disease (AD) can interfere with daily life. In particular, AD, which is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, prominently features a memory and learning impairment that is related to changes in acetylcholine and abnormal β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition in the brain. In the present study, we investigated the effects of dehydroevodiamine·HCl (DHED) on cognitive improvement and the related mechanism in memory-impaired rat models, namely, a scopolamine-induced amnesia model and a Aβ₁₋₄₂-infused model. The cognitive effects of DHED were measured using a water maze test and a passive avoidance test in the memory-impaired rat models. The results demonstrate that DHED (10 mg/kg, p.o.) and Donepezil (1 mg/kg, p.o.) ameliorated the spatial memory impairment in the scopolamine-induced amnestic rats. Moreover, DHED significantly improved learning and memory in the Aβ₁₋₄₂-infused rat model. Furthermore, the mechanism of these behavioral effects of DHED was investigated using a cell viability assay, reactive oxygen species (ROS) measurement, and intracellular calcium measurement in primary cortical neurons. DHED reduced neurotoxicity and the production of Aβ-induced ROS in primary cortical neurons. In addition, similar to the effect of MK801, DHED decreased intracellular calcium levels in primary cortical neurons. Our results suggest that DHED has strong protective effects against cognitive impairments through its antioxidant activity and inhibition of neurotoxicity and intracellular calcium. Thus, DHED may be an important therapeutic agent for memory-impaired symptoms.
Acetylcholine ; Alzheimer Disease ; Amnesia ; Animals ; Brain ; Calcium ; Cell Survival ; Cognition Disorders ; Cognition* ; Depression ; Dizocilpine Maleate ; Learning ; Memory ; Models, Animal* ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Neurons ; Rats* ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Scopolamine Hydrobromide ; Spatial Memory ; Stroke ; Water

Correction of the text.

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical significance of the internal lens signal measured using dual Scheimpflug anterior segment analyzer (Galilei(TM), Ziemer, Switzerland) in patients receiving cataract surgery. METHODS: The present study included 151 eyes of 148 patients who received surgery for senile cataracts from February 2012 to January 2013. Preoperative internal lens signals were measured preoperatively. The depth of anterior chamber and anterior angles were measured using dual Scheimpflug anterior segment analyzer preoperatively and 1 month postoperatively. Preoperative and postoperative best-corrected visual acuities (BCVAs) were measured. The relationships between preoperative internal lens signal and the changes in BCVA or anterior angles were evaluated. RESULTS: Internal lens signal and preoperative BCVA (log MAR) or preoperative anterior chamber depth were highly correlated (r = 0.287, p = 0.001 and r = -0.271, p = 0.004, respectively). Anterior angles increased 1 month after surgery compared with the preoperative values (p < 0.001). The amount of change between preoperative and postoperative anterior angles correlated with preoperative anterior angles (p < 0.001). However, no statistically significant correlation was observed between internal lens signal and preoperative anterior angles or postoperative BCVA. Internal lens signal correlated with changes in postoperative anterior angles (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Internal lens signal correlated with preoperative visual acuity and may help evaluate the cataract severity quantitatively and objectively. Internal lens signal may aid in understanding the structure of anterior segments by predicting the lens volume. Knowing the effect of visual impairment due to cataracts and predicting visual improvement after cataract surgery is necessary.
Anterior Chamber ; Cataract ; Humans ; Vision Disorders ; Visual Acuity

BACKGROUND: Much time and cost have been consumed for just a treatment of a simple disease and inappropriate management has taken place because of misjudgement by laymen. To establish a desirable health care system, need for the usual-medical-provider system (U.MP. system) has been suggested. This study was performed to find some data that would be helpful to establish the U.MP. system by surveying some factors influencing on choosing care providers of children. METHODS: 440 questionnaires were gathered from surveys administered to the parents of the students in a primary school. The period for study was 1 week of September in 1999 and the response rate was 88.0%. The questionnaire was composed of sociodemographic variables, a question for having U.MP. and some factors related with choosing U.MP. RESULTS: The fourth and fifth decade of age showed higher proportion for having U.MP. than sixth decade. The proportion of having U.MP. was also higher in respondents with higher educational attainment and higher income. The proportion of visiting local clinics or hospitals was about 65.7% in groups having U.MP., whereas the proportion was about 41.5% in group not having U.MP., The frequency of visiting local clinics or hospitals for a year was higher for groups having U.MP., compared with groups not having U.MP.. The factors related with choosing U.MP. were `doctors who explain the disease in detail and easily', `doctors who provide care meticulously', and `effective treatment'. CONCLUSION: To establish the U.MP. system, a kinder attitude and care would be necessary for doctors who will provide care to the patients and their family.
Child ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Delivery of Health Care ; Humans ; Parents

PURPOSE: To compare central corneal thickness (CCT) as measured by dual rotating Scheimpflug camera (Galilei), anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT), and ultrasound pachymetry (USP). METHODS: The measurements of CCT using a dual rotating Scheimpflug camera, AS-OCT, and USP in 40 eyes of 20 healthy subjects were compared. RESULTS: The average measurements of CCT by dual rotating Scheimpflug camera, AS-OCT, and USP were 538.10 +/- 31.36 microm, 536.20 +/- 31.21 microm, and 541.93 +/- 34.93 microm, respectively. The CCT measurement by USP was statistically significantly thicker than by the dual rotating Scheimpflug camera and AS-OCT (p = 0.017, p = 0.001, respectively). There was no significant difference between the dual rotating Scheimpflug camera and AS-OCT (p = 0.054). A significant linear correlation was observed between the dual rotating Scheimpflug camera, the AS-OCT, and the USP (r > 0.900, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the 3 methods have significant correlation with each other, but the measurement by USP was significantly thicker than the dual rotating Scheimpflug camera and AS-OCT. Therefore, CCT should be interpreted in the context of the instrument used.
Eye ; Tomography, Optical Coherence

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the surgical outcomes of olecranon fracture dislocation in accordance with the direction of the dislocation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From December 2006 to February 2016, the surgical outcome in patients who had been followed-up for a minimum of 6 months accompanied with olecranon fracture and elbow instability were reviewed retrospectively. We classified olecranon fracture as either the anterior type or the posterior type. Moreover, we evaluated the clinical results by the Mayo elbow performance scores (MEPS) and checked for any associated injury, age, injury mechanism, and complication. RESULTS: Fourteen patients had anterior transolecranon fracture dislocation, with an average age of 46 years. The associated lesions were radial head fractures found in 2 patients (14.3%) and coronoid process fracture found in 5 patients (35.7%). Patients with anterior transolecranon fracture showed an average MEPS of 93.2 (70–100). Eight patients with posterior olecranon fracture dislocation had an average age of 66 years (22–87 years). The associated lesions were radial head fractures in 6 patients (75.0%) and coronoid process fracture in 8 patients (100%). Patients with posterior olecranon fracture dislocation showed an average MEPS of 94.4 (80–100). In comparison with the anterior type, posterior type occurred more frequently in elders and showed a greater association with injuries, such as radial head fracture and coronoid process fracture. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups with respect to the clinical outcome. CONCLUSION: There were differences in frequency of associated injuries and age in accordance with the direction of olecranon fracture dislocation. Moreover, good clinical outcomes were achieved by surgical treatment.
Dislocations* ; Elbow* ; Head ; Humans ; Olecranon Process* ; Retrospective Studies ; Ulna

The Korean Thyroid Association (KTA) is a multi-disciplinary organization founded by various Korean societies involved in thyroid disease. The KTA has become a foundation stone of the rapid development of the thyroidology in Korea by utilizing the characteristic of multi-discipline for the past 10 years. On February 16, 2008, the inaugural conference was held with great success. Since then, in a short period of 10 years, the number of lifetime members of the KTA reached 623. On March 29, 2012, the KTA became an approved organization by Korean Medical Association within the record time of 4 years after its establishment. In terms of patient care, mutual cooperation among experts in the various fields of thyroid disease have been promoted based on the KTA. On the academic side, the number of papers were awarded and published at international conferences or international academic journals has increased dramatically, and finally, the research on thyroid disease in Korea has reached the global level. The KTA is a multi-disciplinary society consisting of experts from various fields such as internal medicine, surgery, otolaryngology, nuclear medicine, radiology, and pathology. The reason why the KTA has achieved unparalleled growth is that all the KTA members, including senior professors who served as the president and vice president, and incumbent executives, have been harmonized and developed together. Here, we review the activities of the KTA for 10 years from its establishment, and present the future direction of the KTA.
Awards and Prizes ; Congresses as Topic ; Internal Medicine ; Korea ; Nuclear Medicine ; Otolaryngology ; Pathology ; Patient Care ; Thyroid Diseases ; Thyroid Gland

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of features suggestive of nodal metastasis on preoperative MRI in patients with invasive breast cancer. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the preoperative breast MRI of 192 consecutive patients with surgically proven invasive breast cancer. We analyzed MRI findings of axillary lymph nodes with regard to the size, long/short ratio, cortical thickness, shape and margin of the cortex, loss of hilum, asymmetry, signal intensity (SI) on T2-weighted images (T2WI), degree of enhancement in the early phase, and enhancement kinetics. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, chi-square test, t test, and McNemar’s test were used for statistical analysis. Results: Increased shorter diameter, uneven cortical shape, increased cortical thickness, loss of hilum, asymmetry, irregular cortical margin, and low SI on T2WI were significantly suggestive of metastasis. ROC analysis revealed the cutoff value for the shorter diameter and cortical thickness as 8.05 mm and 2.75 mm, respectively. Increased cortical thickness (> 2.75 mm) and uneven cortical shape showed significantly higher sensitivity than other findings in McNemar’s test. Irregular cortical margins showed the highest specificity (100%). Conclusion Cortical thickness > 2.75 mm and uneven cortical shape are more sensitive parameters than other findings, and an irregular cortical margin is the most specific parameter for predicting axillary metastasis in patients with invasive breast cancer.

Background: Botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) injection is being widely used off-label for muscular hypertrophy, including deltoid muscle hypertrophy. However, very few studies have evaluated the optimal dosage and its clinical response. Objective: This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of different doses of Prabotulinum toxin A (PBoNT) for treating deltoid muscle hypertrophy. Methods: Twelve particiapants with bilateral deltoid muscle hypertrophy were enrolled and randomly received either 16 U or 32 U of PBoNT. In each participant, the same dose was administered to both deltoid muscles. Both participants and evaluators were blinded. Deltoid muscle thickness and upper arm circumference were measured on day 0, and weeks 2, 4, and 12 after the PBoNT injection. Results: Upper arm circumference significantly decreased in both groups; however, deltoid muscle thickness was reduced in the 16 U group only. No major complications were reported in both groups. However, a few minor complications were reported in the 16 U injection group. Conclusion Both 16 U and 32 U of PBoNT intramuscular injections are safe and effective in treating deltoid hypertrophy.

Bacterial adherence to intraocular lenses (IOLs)could be the cause of the endophthalmitis following cataract surgery and IOL implantation. In this study we investigated bacterial adherences to the four different IOLs. Clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used.Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), silicone, hydrophilic acrylate (Acrysof)and hydrogel IOLs were used in this study.Four types of lenses were suspended for 60 minutes in suspensions of each strain of bacteria and then these lenses were washed with sterile broth to remove the nonadherent bacteria.The adherent bacteria were removed from the lenses, diluted with sterile broth and inoculated onto the blood and chocolate agar plates.The plates were incubated for 24 hours, and the numbers of colony forming units were counted. The lenses with the adherence of S.aureus in order of decreasing magnitude were: Acrysof>silicone>hydrogel>PMMA; the adherence of S.epider-midis, silicone>Acrysof>PMMA>hydrogel;the adherence of P.aeruginosa, Acrysof>silicone>PMMA>hydrogel. The bacterial adherence was significantly lower in the hydrophilic IOL.This result suggests that the risk of postoperative endophthalmitis after cataract extraction and IOL implantation may be reduced with the use of hydrophilic IOL.
Agar ; Bacteria ; Cacao ; Cataract ; Cataract Extraction ; Endophthalmitis ; Hydrogel ; Lenses, Intraocular* ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; Silicones ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Staphylococcus epidermidis ; Stem Cells ; Suspensions