No abstract available.
Common Variable Immunodeficiency* ; Humans

PURPOSE: To determine the concentration at which a mixed injection of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and C3F8 gas is toxic, we studied the histopathological changes in the rabbit retina. METHODS: Only tPA was injected into the right vitreous cavities of 18 normal pigmented rabbits at doses of 25 micro gram/0.1mL, 50 micro gram/0.1mL, and 100 micro gram/0.1mL, 6 rabbits per dosage. In the same rabbits, tPA and C3F8 (0.2cc) were simultaneously injected into the left vitreous cavities at doses of 25 micro gram/0.1mL, 50 micro gram/0.1mL, and 100 micro gram/0.1mL. All of the eyes were examined by slit lamp biomicroscopy and indirect ophthalmoscopy at 5, 10, and 15 days after the injection, and then they were enucleated for histopathological evaluation. RESULTS: Retinal pigmentary alterations were centered around the injection site 3 days postoperatively in the eyes receiving doses of 50 micro gram/0.1mL or greater. On light microscopy(LM), the involved areas showed vacuolization in the photoreceptor elements and the inner nuclear layer(INL) at a dose of 25 micro gram/0.1mL at postoperative 5 days and the vacuolar changes disappeared at postoperative 15 days. But at doses of 50 micro gram/0.1mL or greater, loss, contracture, and vacuolization of the photoreceptor outer segment (POS) and vacuolization of INL were noted at postoperative 15 days. On LM, at a dose of 25 micro gram/0.1mL, the involved areas showed vacuolization in POS and mitochondrial swelling of the photoreceptor inner segment (PIS) at postoperative 5 days. The mitochondrial swelling of PIS disappeared at postoperative 15 days. However, at doses of 50 micro gram/0.1mL or greater, loss and contracture of POS and mitochondrial swelling of PIS were noted at postoperative 15 days. The retinal damage from simultaneous injection of tPA and C3F8 at doses of 25, and 50 micro gram/0.1mL was equal to or less than that of only tPA injection, whereas at a doses of 100 micro gram/0.1mL the damage was greater. CONCLUSIONS: At doses of 50 micro gram/0.1mL or greater, irreVersible retinal toxicity was noted histopathologically in rabbit eyes. At doses of 25, and 50 micro gram/0.1mL, the degree of retianl damage did not seem to be affected by whether C3F8 was injected concomitantly or not.
Contracture ; Mitochondrial Swelling ; Ophthalmoscopy ; Rabbits ; Retina ; Retinaldehyde ; Tissue Plasminogen Activator*

Chronic alcohol use may have direct or indirect neurotoxic effects on the brain that can lead to cognitive impairment. However, the precise relationship between alcohol and dementia remains unclear. There are several epidemiological studies suggest that the protective effect of light-moderate alcohol drinking in dementia. But obviously the heavy alcohol drinking can lead to brain damage and increase the risk of various types of dementia. The clinicopathological issues and criteria regarding so-called 'alcoholic dementia' remain under debate. Alcohol-induced persisting amnestic disorder, alcohol-induced persisting dementia, and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (thiamine deficiency) may constitute distinct disease entities, but they may also share some common features. Based on this theory, Oslin and colleagues proposed the broader diagnostic scheme and criteria for Alcohol Related Dementia (ARD), which may include cases of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome and also other cases of dementia that appear to be alcohol-related. In pathogenesis of the alcoholic dementia, the chronic exposure to ethanol results in the adaptive up-regulation of NMDA receptor sensitivity, which can result in an increased vulnerability to glutamate induced excitotoxicity. Despite the clinical importance of ARD, few medical treatments for ARD have been proposed and studied. Most of all, the gold standard of the treatment in alcoholic dementia is the maintaining abstinence. Some therapeutic trials with cholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil and rivastigmine) and memantine (NMDA receptor antagonist) have been conducted for the patients with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome and alcohol-related dementia, and these studies reported favorable outcomes. Especially memantine can be a more effective agent in the treatment of alcoholic dementia because of anti-craving effect reported in several studies.
Alcohol Amnestic Disorder ; Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholics ; Brain ; Cholinesterase Inhibitors ; Cognition ; Dementia ; Ethanol ; Glutamic Acid ; Humans ; Korsakoff Syndrome ; Memantine ; N-Methylaspartate ; Up-Regulation

No abstract available.
Ureter*

This case report draws attention to the possibility of symptomatic and asymptomatic intraarticular ganglion cyst which was situated adjacent to the insertion sites of the anterior or posterior cruciate ligament. In many reports and our case, MR imaging is recommended as the modality of choice in diagnosing method and the cyst, if encountered, is successfully treated with arthroscopie technique. We report one case of symptematic ganglion cyst of the posterior cruciate ligament with review of literatures.
Ganglion Cysts* ; Knee ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Posterior Cruciate Ligament*

Borderline intellectual functioning (BIF) is characterized by cognitive impairment and deficits in adaptive functioning. Despite affecting a significant proportion of the population, BIF still remains underdiagnosed and poorly understood. In addition to cognitive impairments across a range of domains, individuals with BIF face a greater risk of academic failure and often require special educational support. They suffer from emotional problems, such as difficulties with emotional awareness, anxiety, depressed mood, and unhappiness. Individuals with BIF are more likely to have an impairment of social and adaptive functioning. Furthermore, individuals with BIF are at higher risk of physical and mental health problems, often receive inadequate treatment, and have a poorer prognosis. This review aims to enhance the understanding of clinicians, educators, and policymakers by providing an overview of the characteristics of BIF and its associated challenges, ultimately contributing to the improvement of support systems for individuals with BIF.

OBJECTIVE: Many researches strongly suggest that early- and late-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) represent separate subtypes of the disorder, possibly with distinct underlying pathogeneses. The aim of this study was to determine the association between Val-158-Met Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) genotypes and the onset of OCD. METHOD: We recruited 124 OCD patients and classified them into an early-onset group (age of onset < or = 17 years) and a late onset-group (age of onset >17 years). From the blood, DNA was isolated using standard techniques and the COMT Val-158-Met polymorphism (H/H, H/L, and L/L) was genotyped. Each genotype consists of H (high activity) allele and L (low activity) allele. Genotype and allele frequencies of early-and late-onset OCD were analyzed by chi-square statistics. RESULTS: The frequencies of H/H genotype and H allele in early-onset OCD group were significantly higher than late-onset OCD group (p=0.037 ; p=0.014). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that COMT gene polymorphism might be an important factor in the onset of OCD.
Alleles ; Catechol O-Methyltransferase* ; DNA ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Korea* ; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder*

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies reported that attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) resulted from a deficit of selective attention and sustained attention. In this study, we assessed the result of methylphenidate-induced changes of the cerebral frontal executive functions in patients with ADHD. METHODS: The subjects in this study consisted of 16 ADHD patients whose age ranged from 7 to 12. We used ADHD Diagnostic System (ADS) for the attention improvement, and the Stroop Test for the executive function response to pharmacotherapy with MPH. RESULTS: After pharmacotherapy with methylphenidate for 12 weeks, the study group showed improvement in the clinical aspects through Clinical Global Impression-Severity, ADHD-rating scale and Inattention/Overactivity With Aggression Conner's Parents Rating Scale. In the ADS test, only in auditory task there was a decrease of both the response time and the standard deviation of the response time significantly. In the Stroop Test, there was a decrease in the word task, color task and color-word task significantly. CONCLUSION: Our results show that psychostimulant medication improves neuropsychological function, including the cerebral frontal executive function. This study implies that we have to consider the improvement of executive function, as well as attention when evaluating the efficacy of treatment.
Adolescent* ; Aggression ; Child* ; Drug Therapy ; Executive Function ; Humans ; Methylphenidate ; Parents ; Reaction Time ; Stroop Test

OBJECTIVE: Posterior lumbar or lumbosacral spinal fusion in degenerative lumbar disease has the problems of adjacent level disease as well as surgical complications. An interspinous device used for dynamic stabilization can also be applied to the adjacent segment for spinal fusion to reduce the severity of these problems. The authors reviewed the adjacent interspinous stabilization using an interspinous spacer(CoflexTM paradigm spine,Germany) combined with posterior lumbar or lumbosacral spinal fusion in degenerative lumbar disease. Method: From January 2007 to July 2008, ten patients with degenerative lumbar disease underwent posterior lumbar or lumbosacral spinal fusion with adjacent interspinous stabilization using CoflexTM. The indications for this type were adjacent segmental disc protrusion, adjacent segmental degenerative changes or high surgical risk groups, such as elderly patients or osteoporotic patients undergoing multiple leveled fusions. CoflexTM was inserted into the adjacent segmental interspinous space. The control group consisted of fifteen patients, who underwent posterior lumbar or lumbosacral spinal fusion without interspinous stabilization. The radiological parameters and clinical outcomes were compared. All patients were followed-up for more than twelve months. RESULTS: The visual analogue scale(VAS) in both groups postoperatively and at the twelve month follow-up were improved. In the CoflexTM group, the postoperative and twelve month follow-up X-ray showed no significant change in posterior disc height, interpedicular height, segmental lordotic angle, flextion-extension angulation and translation and no significant segmental instability. The control group showed a higher level of segmental lordotic angle, translation and a lower posterior disc height, interpedicular height, flextion-extension angulation and three patients showed adjacent segmental instability. CONCLUSION: CoflexTM can be used to stabilize the adjacent segment of spinal fusion in degenerative lumbar disease and might be effective in preventing adjacent segmental degeneration. However, further study will be needed to confirm this observation.
Aged ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Spinal Fusion

OBJECTIVES: The symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be treated with methylphenidate, a potent blocker of the dopamine transporter (DAT). The homozygosity of the 10-repeat allele at dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) seems to be associated with a poor response to methylphenidate (MPH) in children with ADHD. In present study, we investigated association between DAT density using I-123N-(3-iodopropen-2-yl)-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-chlorophenyl)tropane ([123I]IPT SPECT) and the homozygosity for 10-repeat allele at DAT1, and response to MPH in children with ADHD. METHODS: Eleven drug-naive children with ADHD were included in the study and treated with MPH for about 8 weeks. After the genotyping and SPECT were performed, we compared DAT density between ADHD children with and without the homozygosity for the 10-repeat allele at DAT1 and investigated correlation between the homozygosity for the 10-repeat allele and response to MPH. RESULTS: ADHD children with 10/10 genotype (n=7) had a significantly higher DAT density in basal ganglia than the children without 10/10 genotype (n=4)(Right: z=-2.65, p=0.008; Left: z=-2.65, p=0.008). We found that while only 28.6% (2/7) of the subject with 10/10 genotype showed good response (> or =50% improvement) to MPH treatment, 100% (4/4) of the subjects without 10/10 genotype showed good response to MPH treatment (chi2 test: F=5.238, df=1, p=0.022). CONCLUSION: Our findings support an association between homozygosity for the 10-repeat allele at DAT1 and the DAT density assessed in vivo and correlation between the homozygosity for the 10-repeat allele and poor response to MPH.
Alleles* ; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* ; Basal Ganglia ; Child ; Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins* ; Dopamine* ; Genotype ; Humans ; Methylphenidate* ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*