With the progress of farming and foresting, the demand of agricultural pesticide has been remarkably increased and accordingly, its intoxication has been widely publicized. Among the pesticides, organophosphorus chemicals has been believed to be almost nontoxic because they are not accumulative in the tissue. This study is attempted to examine the effects of DDVP which has been used most frequently on the kidney. And they were divided into normal and experimental groups. The results obtained from this experiment are as follows. 1) BUN, serum creatinine are increased in the group of DDVP administered while serum cholinesterase is suppresed significantly. 2) Microscopically, swelling and degeneration of tubular cells and hyaline casts in tubules. Ultrastructually swelling of mitochondria, partial fragmentation of cristae and electron dense bodies in the kidney are observed in the group of DDVP administered.

We investigated the overall survival rate after pulmonary metastasectomy in the bone and soft tissue sarcoma and the available prognostic factors related with the survival rate after pulmonary metastasectomy. Between 1986 and 1995, 9 patients (median age 32) with bone and soft tissue sarcoma with pulmonary metastasis were managed in the Catholic University of Korea. Until the final follow-up in May 1996, 6 patients have died of disease and their mean survival period was 28 months (9- 58months). The actual 5-year survival rate by Kaplan-Meier method was 33%. Prognostic factors such as tumor free interval, number of metastatic lesion, postoperative chemotherapy and histologic grade were analyzed. Three patients who had the tumor free interval over 3 years were alive (mean survival period: 52.6 months), whereas six patients who had the tumor free interval less than 3 years were dead (mean survival period: 19 months). Out of four patients with low grade tumor, three patients were alive with average 39.2 months survival period, whereas five patients with high grade tumor were all dead with average 19.2 months survival period. These results suggested that pulmonary metastasectomy in bone and soft tissue sarcoma may prolong the survival rate. The long tumor free interval, histological low grade and soft tissue sarcoma may influenced on prolonged survival rate. However, number of metastatic lesion or postoperative chemotherapy has not influenced on the survival rate.
Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Metastasectomy* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Sarcoma* ; Survival Rate*

No abstract available.

Prostate, kidney, and bladder cancers are the three most prevalent urologic cancers in the Korean population. Throughout the last decade, there has been an upsurge in the incidence and prevalence of prostate and kidney cancers, along with a marked improvement in survival. A stage migration has been observed towards early detection of localized cancers, and accordingly, the landscape of urologic cancer treatment in Korea has been characterized by an exponential increase in the number of patients receiving surgery with curative intent. Herein, a substantial proportion of surgeries were performed using minimally-invasive methods, especially robot-assisted surgery. Current management strategies of urologic cancers in Korea are mostly based on evidences provided by international guidelines. There is prompt adoption and clinical application of novel systemic agents for advanced stage cancer, and surgical and oncological outcomes are comparable to those of Western reports. Multidisciplinary treatment options are available for various cancers at different stages. At the same time, treatment decisions are influenced by the availability of health-care resources, which is regulated by the National Health Insurance policy guidelines. Accumulating information on characteristics of urologic cancers in Korean patients demonstrates that Korean patients harbor more aggressive prostate cancer features compared to Western men. Due to the racial disparity in features of certain cancers, the optimal management strategy specific for the Korean population is yet to be validated. A comprehensive national cancer database may help to identify risk factors, select sequential strategies, and to assess survival outcome of Korean urologic cancer patients.
Epidemiology* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Kidney ; Kidney Neoplasms ; Korea* ; Male ; National Health Programs ; Prevalence ; Prostate ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Risk Factors ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; Urologic Neoplasms*

Pharmacologic therapy is still the primary management for epilpsy; however, surgical treatment is a reasonable therapeutic option for patients suffering from medically intractable seizures, especially temporal lobe epilepsy having a documented unilateral epileptogenic area. Thirty nine patients with pharmaco-resistant complex partial seizures underwent anterior temporal lobectomy and hippocampectomy in 38 cases and frontal cortisectomy in one case. On pathological examination, hippocampal sclerosis was a predominent pathologic finding and was identified in 18 cases. Other non-neoplastic lesions consisted of 5 cases of vascular lesions(2 cavernous angiomas, 2 arteriovenous malformations and 1 angiomatosis), 3 cases of fibrous nodule, 2 cases of cicatrical changes of cerebral cortex, and 1 case of parasitic infection. Neoplasms including two cases of oligodendroglioma and one case of anaplastic astrocytoma were also noted. In seven cases, there was no detectable lesion on gross and microscopic examination. On post-operative follow-up, seizures were completely terminated in most cases(31 cases, 79%). The rest of the patients also displayed marked alleviation of symptoms. The seizures tended to recur more aften among the patients with neoplasm or no pathologically detectable lesion. In order to detect any minute pathological lesion, thorough gross and microcsopic examinations are considered to be essential.

With advancements in diagnostic techniques, including molecular and clinical imaging, that directly target cancer cells, oligometastatic prostate cancer (PCa) is being diagnosed in patients who were, in the past, considered to have localized disease. With accumulating evidence, there has been a paradigm shift in considering aggressive treatments targeted at both the primary tumor and metastatic lesions in an aim to avoid and delay the need for palliative treatments and, ultimately, to achieve survival benefits. However, many questions still remain unanswered regarding the understanding of oligometastatic PCa, from its definition to optimal treatment strategies for each individual. Limited retrospective studies have suggested that interventions, including local and/or metastasis-directed therapy using surgery and radiation therapy (RT), can improve survival outcomes with minimal risk of adverse effects. Such treatments have been shown to decrease the risks of subsequent palliative interventions and to delay the start of androgen-deprivation therapy. Nevertheless, available data are insufficient to draw a reliable conclusion regarding their effect on quality of life measures and overall survival. This comprehensive review overviews data from contemporary literature that have investigated treatments, including surgery and RT, for patients with oligometastatic PCa, namely pelvic lymph node positive disease and limited distant metastases, and summarizes ongoing trials that are evaluating the feasibility of aggressive multimodal treatments.
Combined Modality Therapy ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Palliative Care ; Passive Cutaneous Anaphylaxis ; Prostate* ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; Quality of Life ; Radiotherapy ; Retrospective Studies

Turtle leeches have not been recorded in Korea, although they occur in geographically adjacent countries including China and Japan. This study describes a turtle leech, Ozobranchus jantseanus (Clitellata: Ozobranchidae), found from Reeve’s turtle (Mauremys reevesii) in Korea. Of the 143 Reeve’s turtles collected from the freshwater reservoir in Jinju City, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea, 95 unidentified leeches were found in 8 (5.6%) individuals. The leeches had 22 somites with 11 pairs of externally exposed branchiae, body-sized posterior suckers, and spines on the dorsal surface. We identified these leeches as Ozobranchus jantseanus Oka, 1912 (Clitellata: Ozobranchidae). This species of turtle leeches found in Korea may fill the gap in the biodiversity of East Asian annulus.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical factors associated with the feeling of incomplete bladder emptying in female patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Methods: Records were obtained from a prospectively maintained database for 353 female patients without a history of treatment for LUTS. Patients with comorbidities that may affect voiding function and with postvoid residual (PVR) volume >20 mL or PVR volume-to-bladder capacity ratio of >10% were excluded. Finally, 211 patients were eligible for the study. Results: Patients were stratified according to the severity of the feeling of incomplete emptying: non-severe group (n=147, 69.7%) and severe group (n=64, 30.3%). The severe group showed longer time to maximum flow rate (Qmax) and greater total overactive bladder symptom score (OABSS). No differences in age, PVR volume, and diagnosis of overactive bladder (OAB) were found between the 2 severity groups. Multivariable analysis identified the severity of the feeling of incomplete emptying to be significantly associated with time to Qmax and minimum volume of voids. Time to Qmax was identified as a significant predictor of severe symptoms in women with OAB. In addition, the feeling of incomplete emptying, total OABSS, and minimum volume of voids were significantly associated with quality of life. Conclusions Female patients with the feeling of incomplete emptying who have insignificant PVR volume exhibited severe voiding symptoms and low quality of life. The treatment strategy should be focused on improving the minimum volume of voids and shortening the time to Qmax.

BACKGROUND: Mivacurium has a considerably shorter duration of action than any other currently used nondepolarizing agent. Rocuronium, on the other hand, has a brief onset but an intermediate duration of action. The current study was undertaken to characterize the interaction between mivacurium and rocuronium in rabbits. METHODS: In the first study, the dose-response relations of mivacurium, rocuronium and their combination were studied in thirty rabbits during thiopental anesthesia. Rabbits, randomly assigned to three groups (n=10), received mivacurium 10, 20, or 30 microgram/kg; rocuronium 50, 70, or 90 microgram/kg; or an equieffective combination of both drugs (0.3 ED50 mivacurium 0.3 ED50 rocuronium; 0.5 ED50 mivacurium 0.5 ED50 rocuronium; or 0.7 ED50 mivacurium 0.7 ED50 rocuronium, where ED50 is the dose producing 50% depression of the twitch height). In the second study, twenty rabbits were randomly allocated to two groups (n=10) to receive mivacurium 0.18 mg/kg or rocuronium 0.6 mg/kg. When the twitch height recovered to 25%, each rabbit received mivacurium 16.4 microgram/kg. RESULTS: The calculated ED95 and ED50 for mivacurium were 29.1 4.2 (mean SD) and 16.4 3.3 microgram/kg, respectively. Corresponding rocuronium was 95.1 6.7 and 61.5 5.3 microgram/kg, respectively. The interaction between mivacurium and rocuronium was found to be synergistic. The measured ED50 of the mixture was only 54% of the predicted value assuming a purely additive interaction. In the second study, the times after mivacurium until 95% in mivacurium and rocuronium group were 18.1 4.6 min and 37.7 5.7 min, respectively (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of mivacurium and rocuronium is synergistic interaction and after rocuronium induced neuromuscular block, mivacurium becomes a longer acting agent than the shorter agent.
Anesthesia ; Depression ; Hand ; Neuromuscular Blockade ; Rabbits* ; Thiopental

BACKGROUND: The focus of this paper was to determine the clinical characteristics of startle epilepsy characterized by reflex partial seizures of the sensorimotor cortex. METHODS: Eight patients with startle epilepsy were evaluated for their clinical seizure history, neurologic examination, MRI, routine EEG, video-EEG monitoring, and ictal SPECT. RESULTS: Etiologies were: perinatal injury (4 patients), kernicterus following hemorrhage during infancy (1), near-drowning at age 4 (1), and unknown (2). The age of seizure onset varied from several months to 16 years. All patients had spontaneous as well as reflex seizures. Effective triggers included several sensory modalities, typically proprioceptive and auditory. The stimuli should be sudden and unexpected. Seizures usually occurred daily and were medically intractable. Neurological examination was abnormal in 6 patients. Five had mental retardation, and 4 with motor deficit. MRI was abnormal in 6 patients, generally showing large encephalomalatic changes involving cortical and sub-cortical structures. Five had bilateral lesions. The semiology was characterized by unilateral or generalized tonic posture. Scalp interictal and ictal EEGs had limited value to lateralize the epileptogenic focus. Intracranial EEG in 1 patient who underwent surgery showed ictal onset on the lateral sensorimotor cortex. CONCLUSIONS: Startle epilepsy is a rare but distinctive epileptic syndrome characterized by reflex seizures triggered by unexpected sensory stimuli. Some clinical findings including etiologic events (kernicterus following hemorrhage, near-drowning), high incidence of bilat-eral lesions, ictal onset on lateral sensorimotor cortex without involvement of medial cortex, and ictal SPECT findings have not been reported or were different from previous studies.
Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intellectual Disability ; Kernicterus ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Near Drowning ; Neurologic Examination ; Posture ; Reflex ; Scalp ; Seizures ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon