OBJECTIVES: Alzheimer's disease(AD) and mild cognitive impairment(MCI) affect several nervous structures involved with the autonomic nervous system. Association between neuropsychiatric deficits and heart rate variability has been observed. But cardiac autonomic function in AD has been scarcely studied and the results reported are conflicting. We investigated autonomic function in normal control, MCI, AD using heart rate variabil-ity(HRV) technique. METHODS: Time and frequency-domain variability of 5-min R-R interval series was comparatively evaluated in 26 normal control subjects, 22 MCI subjects and 34 AD subjects. Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was used to compare the differences across groups. Correlations between MMSE-KC and HRV components were performed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: No significant difference was observed among the groups in time, frequency-domain analysis of HRV (p>0.05). HRV were not found to be significantly correlated with the degree of cognitive impairment. CONCLUSIONS: There were no differences in HRV with MCI, AD subjects when compared with normal controls. Further investigation is required to use HRV technique as noninvasive parameters of MCI and AD.
Alzheimer Disease ; Autonomic Nervous System ; Heart ; Heart Rate ; Mild Cognitive Impairment

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the prevalence and composite score of the neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with mild cognitive impairment(MCI), and dementia of Alzheimer's type(AD). The aim of this study is to analyze the correlation between the result of Korean Neuropsychiatric Inventory(K-NPI) and cognitive function. METHODS: A total of 163 patients diagnosed with MCI or AD was divided into three groups(55 MCI patients, 56 dementia patients with mild stage, and 52 dementia patients with moderate, severe stage). We examined neuropsychiatric symptoms by K-NPI and compared the prevalence and composite score of each subdomain in K-NPI among three groups. RESULTS: The most common symptoms in the MCI group were depression/dysphoria, sleep/night-time behavior, anxiety, and irritability/lability. In mild AD group, the most frequent disturbance was agitation/aggression, depression/dysphoria, anxiety, apathy/indifference, and sleep/night-time behavior. In moderate to severe AD group, the most frequent disturbance was apathy/indifference, depression/dysphoria, agitation/aggression, and delusion. The frequencies of delusion, hallucination, agitation/aggression, apathy/indifference, aberrant motor behavior, appetite/eating change were statistically significant. The total NPI score showed a negative correlation with MMSE-KC and a positive correlation with GDS. CONCLUSIONS: Neuropsychiatric symptoms are common features of MCI and AD. These symptoms observed in MCI are similar to those of mild AD. Psychosis is most common in moderate to severe AD, leading to a faster rate of cognitive decline. Therefore, proper management according to the neuropsychiatric symptoms of MCI and three stages of dementia is needed.
Anxiety ; Delusions ; Dementia ; Hallucinations ; Humans ; Mild Cognitive Impairment ; Prevalence ; Psychotic Disorders

The anxiety disorders make up one of the most common groups of psychiatric disorders. Anxiety is an alerting signal ; it warns of impending danger and enables a person to take measures to deal with a threat. Three major schools of psychological theory-psychoanalytic, behavioral, and existential-have contributed theories about the causes of anxiety. Many drugs are effective in managing distressing signs and symptoms associated with anxiety disorders. As the symptoms are controlled by medication, patients are reassured and develop confidence that they will not be incapacitated by the disorder. Benzodiazepines are useful in panic disorder, phobias, and agitation. In general, benzodiazepines act as hypnotics at high doses and as anxiolytics or sedatives at low doses. The benzodiazepines have become the sedative-hypnotic drugs of first choice because they have a higher therapeutic index and significantly less abuse potential than do many of other sedative-hypnotics. The most common adverse effect of benzodiazepines is drowsiness. Some patients also experience dizziness and ataxia. The most serious adverse effects of benzodiazepines occur when other sedative substances are taken concurrently. When benzodiazepines are used for long periods, they usually cause significant tolerance, dependence, or withdrawal effects. Overdoses with benzodiazepines alone have a predictably favorable outcome. The benzodiazepines should be started at a low dosage, and the patient should be informed about the drug’s sedative properties and abuse potential. Serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have a much more favorable profile of adverse effects and have significantly broadened the horizon for pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorder. Three fourths of patients experience no adverse effects at low starting doses, and doses may be increased relatively rapidly in these patients. In the remaining one fourth of patients, most of the SSRIs’ adverse effects appear within the first 1 to 2 weeks, and they generally subside or resolve spontaneously if the drugs are continued at the same dose.
Anti-Anxiety Agents ; Anxiety ; Anxiety Disorders ; Ataxia ; Benzodiazepines ; Dihydroergotamine ; Dizziness ; Humans ; Hypnotics and Sedatives ; Panic Disorder ; Phobic Disorders ; Sleep Stages

OBJECTIVES: Mild cognitive impairment(MCI) and dementia of Alzheimer's type(AD) are characterized by progressive decline of cognitive abilities and a wide range of neuropsychiatric symptoms like depression. Among various diagnostic tools of AD, many studies showed that elevated levels of serum total homocysteine are associated with increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders. We investigated whether elevated homocysteine concentrations are associated with depressive symptoms in MCI and AD. METHODS: A total of 86 patients diagnosed with MCI or AD participated. Total serum homocysteine levels in fasting blood samples were measured. We examined cognitive symptoms by MMSE-KC, Global Deterioration Scale(GDS), Clinical dementia rating(CDR) and depressive symptoms by Korean version of Geriatric Depression Scale(K-GDS). RESULTS: The total serum homocysteine levels were significantly higher in MCI with depression than in MCI without depression. There was no significant difference in the mean homocysteine levels between AD patients with depression and AD patients without depression. The total homocysteine levels showed a negative correlation with MMSE-KC and a positive correlation with CDR, GDS. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that elevated homocysteine level is a risk factor for the decline of cognitive function and depression. We found a significant relationship between elevated serum homocysteine level and depressive symptoms in MCI. But our study had several limitations, thus more research is needed to confirm this finding.
Alzheimer Disease ; Dementia* ; Depression* ; Fasting ; Homocysteine* ; Humans ; Mild Cognitive Impairment* ; Neurobehavioral Manifestations ; Risk Factors

The author attempted to allelic association between the a1 allele of Dopamine D2 receptor and alcoholism in Korean. The allelic disribution of Taq I polymorphism of the D2 dopamine receptor gene with alcoholism was examined in 67 Korean alcoholics and compared with 100 Korean controls. In alcoholics, the numbers of alcoholics with A1A1, A1A2 and A2A2 were 11(16.4%), 30(44.8%) and 26(38.8%) respectively and in control with A1A1, A1A2 and A2A2 were 17(17.0%), 42(42.0%), respectively. The prevalence of the A1 allele in alcoholics was 61.2% and 59.0% in controls. And the frequency of the A1 allele in alcoholics and controls were 0.39 and 0.38, respectively. There was not significant difference in the frequency of the A1 allele between alcoholics and controls. This data suggest that the A1 allele is not associated with alcoholism in Koreans. The author conclude that our data do not support on allelic association between the A1 allele at Dopamine D2 receptor and alcoholism. Further systemized studies will be necessary to determine whether the role of allele of Dopamine D2 receptor is major effect gene or modifying effect gene in the pathogenesis of alcoholism.
Alcoholics* ; Alcoholism ; Alleles ; Dopamine* ; Humans ; Prevalence ; Receptors, Dopamine ; Receptors, Dopamine D2

The objective of this study was to establish a good methodology to isolate single smooth muscle cells that are alive and respond properly to pharmacological agents. Canine urinary bladders were employed as the source of single cells, and acetylcholine, atropine and imipramine were used as indicators of pharmacological responsiveness. Imipramine, an antidepressant drug exhibited the anticholinergic and calcium antagonizing properties on rat detrusor muscle. To establish a control value for a further experiment to elucidate the mechanism of action of imipramine on detrusor muscle, we measured the concentration-response of single cells to acetylcholine in the presesnce of imipramine by length of the cells and compared the result with the response in the presence of atropine. Tiny chops of smooth muscle taken from anesthetized canine urinary bladder were incubated in collagenase solution at 36℃ for 17-20 minutes. The collagenase solution included collagenase 1.2 mg/ml, soybean tryspin inhibitory 0.08 mg/ml, bovine serum albumin 2% in 10 ml Krebs-Henseleit buffer solution aerated with a consistent breeze of 95/5% O2/CO2 to maintain the pH at 7.4. After washing with plain K-H solution on 450 mesh, cells were dissociated from the digested tissue for 12-15 minutes. Cell suspension was transfered in 5 ml test tubes and acetylcholine was added for the final concentration to be 10⁻¹⁴~10⁻⁹M. To find the optimal time to fix the cells to determine the contractile responses, 1% acrolein was added 5, 10, 20, 30, 60 and 120 seconds after the administration of ACh. The length of cells fixed by acrolein were measured by microscaler vis CCTV camers on phaes-contrast microscope. The average length of 50 cells from a slide glass was taken as the value of a sample at the very concentration point. Single cells were isolated from canine detrusor. The length of untreated cells varied from 82 µm to 94 µm. The maximal response to actylcholine 10E-9M was accomplished within 5 seconds of exposure, and the shortening was 19±3%. Atropine reduced the contraction of the cells concentration-dependently. Lmipramine which exerts a cholinergic blocking action on some smooth muscles also reduced the contraction concentration-dependently and by a similar pattern as atropine. These findings document that imipramine may exerts a cholinergic blocking activity in the single smooth muscle cells isolated from canine urinary bladder.
Acetylcholine ; Acrolein ; Animals ; Atropine ; Calcium ; Collagenases ; Glass ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Imipramine* ; Muscle, Smooth ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Rats ; Serum Albumin, Bovine ; Soybeans ; Urinary Bladder

No abstract available.
Purpura, Schoenlein-Henoch* ; Streptococcal Infections*

No abstract available.
Urticaria*

The Peutz-Jeghers syndrome is a familial disesse charaeterized by mucocutaneaus pigmentation, gastrointestinal polyposis, and transmission of autosomal dominant trait. This syndrome is clinically important becuase of the coreplieation caused by the polyp, leading to abdominal pain, gastrointestinal bleeding, and intussusception. Authors experienced a case of Peutz-Jeghers syndrome admitted to Walace Memorial Baptist Hospital who was complained of recurrent abdominal pain, melanin pigmentation of lips, oral mucosa, and digits. UGI series, small bowel series, colon cnema, gastrofiberscopy, and colonoseopy revealed multiyle intestinal polyps. Pathologic findings on endoseopic polypectomy showed hamartomatous polyp.
Abdominal Pain ; Colon ; Hemorrhage ; Intestinal Polyps ; Intussusception* ; Lip ; Melanins ; Mouth Mucosa ; Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome ; Pigmentation ; Polyps ; Protestantism

No abstract available.
Lymphangioleiomyomatosis* ; Tuberous Sclerosis*