The hyperactivity of cholinergic system in the RVLM of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) may contribute to the sustained elevation of blood pressure. However, the hyperactivity mechanisms of cholinergic system are controversial. Thus, to clarify the mechanisms of cholinergic hyperactivity in RVLM of the SHR, we studied the activities of enzymes that participate in the biosynthesis and degradation of acetylcholine (ACh) and the density of muscarinic receptors in RVLM of the 14- to 18-week-old SHR and age-marched Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY). Choline acetyltransferase activity was far greater in RVLM of SHR than that of WKY. (3H)ACh release from RVLM was also greater in SHR than in WKY. Acetylcholinesterase activity and (3H)NMS binding of RVLM slice of SHR were not significantly different from that of WKY. These results suggest that the enhanced cholinergic mechanisms in the RVLM of SHR is due to the enhanced presynaptic cholinergic tone rather than the altered postsynaptic mechanisms.
Acetylcholine ; Acetylcholinesterase ; Blood Pressure ; Choline O-Acetyltransferase ; Rats, Inbred SHR* ; Rats, Inbred WKY ; Receptors, Muscarinic

The C-terminus ends of the second putative transmembrane domains of both M-1 and M-2 Muscarinic receptors contain a triplet of amino acid residues consisting of leucine (L), tyrosine (Y) and threonine (T). This triplet is repeated as LYT-TYL in M-1 receptors at the interface between the second transmembrane domain and the first extracellular loop. Interestingly, however, it is repeated in a transposed fashion (LYT-LYT) in the sequence Of M-2 receptors. In our previous work, we investigated the possible significance of this unique sequence diversity for determining the distinct differential receptor function at the two receptor subtypes. However, we found mutation of the LYTTYL sequence of M-1 receptors to the corresponding M-2 receptor LYTLYT sequence demonstrated markedly enhanced the stimulation of phosphoinositide (PI) hydrolysis by carbachol without a change in its coupling to increased cyclic AMP formation. In this work, thus, the enhanced stimulation of PI hydrolysis in the LYTLYT M-1 receptor mutant was further investigated. The stimulation of PI hydrolysis by carbachol was enhanced in the mutant M-1 receptor, and this change was not due to alterations in the rate of receptor desensitization or sequestration. The observed larger response to carbachol at mutant M-1 receptors was also not due to an artifact resulting from selection of CHO cells which express higher levels of G-proteins or phospholipase C. Our data suggest that although the LYTTYL sequence in M-1 muscarinic receptors is not involved in determining receptor pharmacology, mutation of the sequence enhanced the coupling of M-1 receptors to the stimulation of phospholipase C.
Animals ; Artifacts ; Carbachol ; CHO Cells ; Cricetinae ; Cyclic AMP ; GTP-Binding Proteins ; Humans ; Hydrolysis ; Leucine ; Pharmacology ; Phospholipases* ; Receptors, Muscarinic* ; Threonine ; Trinucleotide Repeats* ; Triplets* ; Type C Phospholipases* ; Tyrosine

PURPOSE: This study examined the clinical success rate of Mg titanate implants (M Implant system, Shinhung, Korea), which employ a Mg coating method, by evaluating the marginal bone loss and implant stability using radiographs and Osstell(R), over a 1 year. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The locations of the implants placement were divided into 4 areas; the maxillary and mandibular premolars and molars. In the maxilla, 8 and 9 implants were inserted in the premolar and molar areas, respectively. In the mandible, 11 and 51 implants were inserted in the premolar and molar areas. Marginal bone loss and ISQ of all implants (79) were measured after insertion, mounting the prosthetic appliance, and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after loading. The marginal bone loss was measured from the radiograph using XCP bite, which was customized, and the implant stability measured using Osstell(R). Fisher's exact test (alpha=.05) was used to compare the success rates of each region. RESULTS: The mean marginal bone loss for the upper and lower jaws were 1.537 mm and 1.172 mm. The mobility showed a non-significant reduction or increase according with time. The success rates were accounted for 94.12% and 98.39% in the upper and lower jaws; the premolars and molars were accounted for 100% and 96.67%. The two cases of early failure resulted from failure of primary stability during implant insertion. The late failures were not observed for 1 year after adding a loading to the implants. CONCLUSION: The Mg titanate implant showed good primary stability and good clinical results in both healing and function.
Bicuspid ; Bites and Stings ; Jaw ; Mandible ; Maxilla ; Molar ; Prospective Studies ; Saturn

PURPOSE: Acute abdominal pain in an epidemic aseptic meningitis which is mostly an enterovirus as causative agent, is noted in 23-55% of patients. An enterovirus is also known as one of the causes of acute nonspecific mesenteric lymphadenitis(ANML). The purpose of this study was to see if ANML was associated with acute abdominal pain in epidemic aseptic meningitis. METHODS: Between June 2001 and July 2001, data from 30 patients, aged 3 years to 14 years, with aseptic meningitis was reviewed. Abdominal ultrasonography was performed on all the patients and ANML was defined as a cluster of five or more lymph nodes measuring 5 mm or greater in their longitudinal diameter in the right lower quadrant with no identifiable specific inflammatory process. RESULTS: The clinical symptoms of the 30 patients were:fever(76.7%), vomiting(90.0%), diarrhea(20.0%) and abdominal pain(40.0%). The average peripheral blood leukocytes count on admission was 7,996+/-2,701(4,500-14,500)/mm(3). ANML, according to the ultrasonography, was shown in 93.3% of aseptic meningitis patients; the number of mesenteric nodes was 9.2+/-5.3(5-20), with 7.4% of the 27 control cases being mesenteric nodes positive(P<0.05). The patients with ANML were divided into two groups; those with and without abdominal pain, 42.9% and 57.1% respectively. Two patients without ANML showed no abdominal pain. The count of mesenteric nodes was not significantly correlated with the duration to diagnosis, with or without fever, peripheral blood leukocytes count, and with or without abdominal pain. CONCLUSION: ANML is presumed to be a cause of the acute abdominal pain in epidemic aseptic meningitis. Further clinical observations are recommended on the reason why ANML can be associated with and without abdominal pain.
Abdominal Pain* ; Diagnosis ; Enterovirus ; Fever ; Humans ; Leukocytes ; Lymph Nodes ; Meningitis ; Meningitis, Aseptic* ; Mesenteric Lymphadenitis* ; Ultrasonography

There has been no genome-wide association study (GWAS) for macronutrient intake as a quantitative trait. To explore genetic loci associated with total calorie and macronutrient intake, genome-wide association data of autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from Korean adults were analyzed. We conducted a GWAS in 3,690 men and women aged 40 to 60 years from an urban population-based cohort. At the baseline examination (June 18, 2001 through January 29, 2003), DNA samples of the study subjects were collected and analyzed for genotyping. The information of average daily consumption of total calorie, carbohydrate, protein, and fat was obtained from a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and transformed by natural logarithm for analyses after adjustment of calorie intake. Using multivariate linear regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, and height, we tested for 352,021 SNPs and found weak associations, which do not reach genome-wide association significance, with calorie and macronutrient intake. However, a number of SNPs were found to have potential associations with macronutrient intake; in particular, signals in SORBS1 and those in PRKCB1 were likely associated with carbohydrate and fat intake, respectively. We observed an inverse association between the minor allele of the SNPs in these genes and the amount of consumption of carbohydrate or fat. Our GWAS identified loci and minor alleles weakly associated with macronutrient intake. Because SORBS1 and PRKCB1 are reportedly associated with the metabolism of glucose and lipid as well as with obesity-related diseases, further investigations on biological and functional roles of polymorphism of these genes in the relation to macronutrient intake are warranted.
Adult ; Aged ; Alleles ; Cohort Studies ; DNA ; Female ; Genetic Loci ; Genome-Wide Association Study ; Glucose ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Lipid A ; Male ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The increasing prevalence of toxic substance-exposure in pets in South Korea endangers the health and safety of numerous companion animals, and has become a cause for concern. Notably, the annual incidence of forensic analysis in pets has increased by more than 150% in South Korea, mainly in populous regions such as Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi. In response to this growing issue, veterinary forensic examinations were conducted on 549 dogs and cats from 2019 to 2022. This study revealed the presence of various toxic substances, including pesticides, insecticides, and drugs such as analgesics, anesthetics, antidepressants, and muscle relaxants, in pets. Among the 38 different toxins identified in pets, coumatetralyl, methomyl, terbufos, and buprofezin were the most frequently detected. In this study, toxic substances for pets were identified based on the “toxic agent list for humans,” developed by the National Forensic Services, because no list of toxic agents for animals currently exists and data regarding potentially toxic substances for dogs and cats is limited. This is one of the limitations of this study, and necessitates the establishment of a toxic agent list for animals. Continued monitoring and research is also recommended to reveal the incidence, causes, and solutions of toxicity in animals.

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to develop and internally and externally validate a prognostic model that can predict the benefit and harm of thrombolysis in patients with acute ischemic stroke and that may be used promptly in an emergency setting. METHODS: The data of a consecutive series of patients who were hospitalized to Seoul National University Bundang Hospital within 12 hours of stroke onset between January 2004 and March 2008 and with relevant ischemic lesions on diffusion-weighted MRI were used to develop and internally validate the prognostic model. The external validation was performed using the data of patients from five participating centers of the Clinical Research Center for Stroke that had been collected between April 2008 and September 2009. The score on the modified Rankin Disability Scale at 3 months was selected to determine the efficacy outcome, and the occurrence of symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation was used to evaluate the safety outcome. Prognostic models were constructed with logistic regression, and both internal and external validations were performed. RESULTS: The discriminative abilities of the efficacy model (C statistic=0.880) and the safety prognostic model (C statistic=0.864) were confirmed. External validation of both models revealed remarkably little degradation in the discrimination power (C statistic=0.835 and 0.822 for the efficacy and safety models, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the efficacy and safety prognostic models developed with basic clinical variables were reliably validated with independent data. Both models may be helpful to clinicians in the emergency setting to identify patients who would benefit from thrombolysis.
Discrimination (Psychology) ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Stroke

BACKGROUND: Assessing an individual's risk of stroke can be a starting point for stroke prevention. The aim of this study was to develop a stroke prediction model that can be applied to the Korean population, using the best available current knowledge. METHODS: A sex- and age-specific stroke prediction model that is applicable specifically to Koreans was developed using Gail's breast cancer prediction model, which is based on competing risk theory. RESULTS: The relative risks for major stroke risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, atrial fibrillation, ischemic heart disease, previous stroke, obesity, and smoking status, were obtained from a recent systematic review of stroke risk factors among Koreans. The results were incorporated into the concept of a proportional hazard regression model. For baseline age- and sex-specific hazard rates for stroke, we employed Jee's 10-year stroke-risk prediction model with its reference categories for predictor variables. Death-certificate data from the Korea National Statistical Office were used to calculate competing risks of stroke in our model. CONCLUSIONS: Our prediction model for stroke incidence may be useful for predicting an individual's risk of stroke based on his/her age, sex, and risk factors. This model will contribute to the development of individualized risk-specific guidelines for the prevention of stroke.
Atrial Fibrillation ; Breast Neoplasms ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Korea ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Obesity ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Stroke

BACKGROUND: Stellate ganglion block has been proposed as one of the effective therapetic modalities for herpes zoster. However, the effect on the reduction of acute herpes zoster pain and postherpetic neuralgia is not well known. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reduction of acute herpes zoster pain and the prevention of postherpetic neuralgia by stellate ganglion block. METHODS: Twenty one patients with herpes zoster were included in this study, and were divided into two groups: the group treated with I.V acyclovir, analgesics and stellate ganglion block during 7-days of a hospitalization period, and a control group which were treated with I.V acyclovir and analgesics alone. To evaluate it's effect on pain, the score of pain presented by patients, where initial pain was defined as 100 and no pain defined as 0, was recorded and compared between the groups. RESULTS: An average day required for the relief of pain was significantly shorter in the treated group than the control group: the average number of days needed to reduce the pain score from 100 to 50, implicating relief of acute pain, was 2.3 days, compared to 3.7 days in the control group (p=0.036). The total duration of pain, implicating postherpetic neuralgia, was also significantly shorter in the treated group (17.4 days) than the control group (42.3 days) (p=0.035). CONCLUSION: Stellate ganglion block is an effective method which can be used to relieve acute herpes zoster pain involving the trigerminal and cervical nerves, and can prevent postherpetic neuralgia.
Acute Pain ; Acyclovir ; Analgesics ; Herpes Zoster* ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Neuralgia, Postherpetic ; Stellate Ganglion*

There are no known data of recession point of inferior oblique muscle (IO) in Korean.The purpose of this study was to determine the accurate reinsertion point of IO and compare the previous data with ours.Thirty-one Korean cadaver orbits were dissected to expose the full length of extraocular muscles and sclera, and then we measured the length from the recession point of IO to lateral edge of insertion of inferior rectus muscle (IR)and to inferior edge of insertion of lateral rectus muscle (LR).Eight mm recession point of IO was measured 6.9 +/-0.6 mm posteriorly along the inferior border of LR from inferior edge of LR insertion, and 4.6 +/-1.5 mm inferiorly.For 10 mm recession, it was 5.6 +/-1.3 mm posteriorly and 6.6 +/-2.0 mm inferiorly.For 12 mm recession, it was measured 4.7 +/-0.7 mm posteriorly and 8.4 +/- 1.5 mm inferiorly.And for 14 mm recession, it was 3.7 +/-1.7 mm posteriorly and 9.5 +/-2.0 mm inferiorly. Eight mm recession point of IO was measured 3.5 +/-0.6 mm posteriorly along the lateral border of IR from the lateral edge of IR insertion, and 6.5 +/-0 .8 mm laterally.For 10 mm recession, it was 2.9 +/-1.0 mm posteriorly and 3.6 +/- 1.0 mm laterally.For 12 mm recession, it was measured 3.3 +/-0.6 mm posteriorly and 2.3 +/-0.6 mm laterally.For 14 mm recession, it was 3.0 +/-1.5 mm posteriorly and 0.5 +/-0.9 mm laterally.The cord length on a straight line from 14 mm recession point of IO to the scleral exit site of the inferior temporal vortex vein was 6.6 +/-1.4 mm (range 4~9 mm).The distance from IO recession points to IR insertion site and to LR insertion site were compared in ten paired eyes, and the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05).We made anatomical studies to evaluate the proper placement of scleral reinsertion site of IO in Korean.
Cadaver ; Muscles ; Orbit ; Sclera ; Veins