BACKGROUND: Because systolic and diastolic dysfunction frequently coexist in acute myocardial infarction(AMI), we hypothesize that a combined measure of ventricular performance using Doppler echocardiography may be more sensitive and time-saving diagnostic tool for the evaluation of patients presenting with cardiogenic chest pain. METHOD AND RESULTS: Seventy-one patients with AMI (47 male, 59+/-11 years) and 45 patients with normal coronary artery (29 male, 52+/-11 years) were included in the study for measurement of cardiac performance index and established parameters of ventricular function using conventional echo-Doppler methods. a new derived index of cardiac performance: (ICT+IRT)/ET, was obtained by subtracting ejection time(ET) from the interval between cessation and onset of the mitral inflow velocity to give the sum of isovolumic contraction time(ICT) and isovolumic relaxation time(IRT). The mean value of the index was significantly different between normal and AMI(p<0.01). The degree of inter-group overlap was smaller for the index compared to other parameters. within functional groups, the value of the index did not appear to be related to heart rate, mean arterial pressure and the degree of mitral regurgitation. CONCLUSION: cardiac performance index is a conceptually new, simple and reproducible Doppler index of combined systolic and diastolic myocardial performance, and it is useful as screening test for patients with cardiac dysfunction due to AMI.
Arterial Pressure ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Vessels ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening* ; Mitral Valve Insufficiency ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Relaxation ; Ventricular Function

No abstract available.
Porokeratosis

The expression of p62"' and p2l can be seen in many solid tumor, but the pattern and incidence of expression were different according to organ, countries, and examiners, thus it is not definitely defined. Total 67 colorectal carcinoma in paraffin sections are analysed by immunohistochemically for evaluation of the p62and p21- expression according to the age, sex, chief complaints, location, differentiation, modified Dukes stage, using the specific monoclonal antibodies. The results were summarized as follows : The age of patients ranged from 32 years to 82 years. The mean age was 57.6 years. The expression of p 62y' and p21 was not correlated with age. Male was 29 cases(43.3%) and female was 38 cases(56.7%). The male to female ratio was 1:1.31. The and 95.0% in moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma, 90.0% and 90.0% in poorly differentiated <,;, adenocarcmoma, 100.0% and 100.0% in mucinous carcinoma. The positive rate of p62!and and p2l' was 94.1% and 88.2% in Dukes stage B,, 96.0% and 96.0% in Dukes stage B,, 100.0% and 100.0% in Dukes stage C,, 100.0% and 88.9% in Dukes stage C, and 100.0% and 100. o% in Dukes stage D. The expression of p62 y' in metastatic colorectal carcinoma showed diffuse and strongly positive reaction than primary colorectal carcinoma. The expression of p21 in primary colorectal carcinoma showed diffuse and strongly positive reaction than metastatic colorectal carcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma ; Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Incidence ; Male ; Oncogene Proteins* ; Oncogenes* ; Paraffin

PURPOSE: To evaluate the short-term efficacy of intravitreal triamcinolone (IVTA) injection for the treatment of macular edema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) refractory to intravitreal bevacizumab injections. METHODS: This retrospective, observational study included 23 eyes of 23 patients with macular edema secondary to BRVO. The patients with macular edema unresponsive to 2 or more consecutive monthly intravitreal bevacizumab injections were treated with IVTA. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central foveal thickness (CFT) based on optical coherence tomography were evaluated before IVTA and 1 month and 3 months after IVTA injections. RESULTS: All patients were previously treated with 3.4 ± 1.2 intravitreal bevacizumab injections. The IVTA injection was performed at 4.3 ± 1.7 weeks after the last bevacizumab injection. The logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution (log MAR) BCVA was also decreased from 0.61 ± 0.45 to 0.52 ± 0.35 after 1 month and to 0.58 ± 0.37 after 3 months of IVTA, although without statistical significance (p = 0.114 and 0.412, respectively). Eight eyes (34.8%) showed more than 3 lines improvement of BCVA and 4 eyes (17.4%) showed stable BCVA increasing 2 lines or less. CFT was significantly improved from 512 ± 166 µm to 310 ± 139 µm after 1 month and to 324 ± 159 µm after 3 months of IVTA injections (p = 0.014 and 0.031, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: IVTA was beneficial in some patients with macular edema secondary to BRVO refractory to intravitreal bevacizumab therapy. This study indicates that IVTA could be considered as a treatment option for refractory macular edema associated with BRVO.
Bevacizumab ; Humans ; Macular Edema* ; Observational Study ; Retinal Vein Occlusion* ; Retinal Vein* ; Retinaldehyde* ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Triamcinolone* ; Visual Acuity

Fifteen cases of genital warts were examined for the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) using polymerise chain reaction (PCR). HPV6/11 DNA were found in all cases of genital warts. The PCR based methods described here provide a sensitive, accurate means of detecting genital HPVs.
Condylomata Acuminata ; DNA ; Humans* ; Papillomaviridae* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction*

No abstract available.
DNA* ; Humans* ; Papilloma* ; Respiratory System*

PURPOSE: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disorder with widespread manifestations that rarely include the eye. We present a case of SLE-associated choroidoretinopathy and secondary angle closure attack in both eyes. CASE SUMMARY: A 58-year-old male was admitted into the urologic department complaining of right scrotal swelling, and then consulted with the ophthalmology department regarding both ocular pain and eye injection. The patient was diagnosed with acute angle closure attack using a slit lamp test and tonometry secondary to choroidoretinitis with choroidal detachment at fundus examination in both eyes. The rheumatologist performed systemic evaluation, including serologic tests, and then diagnosed the patient with SLE. After systemic steroid therapy, intraocular pressure was decreased and choroidal detachment disappeared with improvements of choroidoretinitis in both eyes. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus choroidopathy can develop secondary angle closure attack, which can be effectively treated using systemic steroid therapy and antiglaucoma drugs.
Choroid ; Choroiditis ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* ; Male ; Manometry ; Middle Aged ; Ophthalmology ; Serologic Tests ; Slit Lamp

OBJECTIVE: Diurnal preference is an attribute reflecting whether people are alert and preferring to be active either early or late in the day. It also referred to as chronotype or morningness-eveningness trait. The PER3 genes have been known to influence diurnal preference. In this study, we have investigated the associations between the PER3 gene polymorphisms and diurnal preference in a healthy young population, controlling for the social and environmental confounding factors. METHODS: The participants in this experiment included 299 unrelated medical college students (M=191, F=108), with a mean age of 22.9 years. Diurnal preference was measured by a single administration of the 13-item Composite Scale for Morningness (CSM). Genotyping of the PER3 VNTR (rs57875989) was performed using polymerase chain reaction. A two-tailed alpha of 0.05 was chosen. RESULTS: The mean+/-SD score on the CSM scale for all subjects was 31.90+/-6.39. There was no significant difference in total CSM score between gender groups, although females showed a trend towards higher morningness score. Although PER3 5R/5R showed the tendency towards high CSM scores, there were no significant differences on CSM scores among genotypes and allele status of PER3 VNTR (rs57875989). CONCLUSIONS: We could not confirm that the PER3 VNTR is associated with diurnal preference in a Korean healthy young population. The future studies need to investigate the association between diurnal preference and other polymorphisms of PER3 gene in larger sample of Korean young healthy population.
Alleles ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

BACKGROUND: Lumbar plexus block by posterior approach has been used for thigh and hip surgery and unilateral low back pain and/or low extremity pain control. We measured the needle depth from the skin to the lumbar plexus and its relation with body indices in Korean. METHODS: Forty-eight (male 35, female 13) patients with unilateral low back pain and/or low extremity pain received lumbar plexus block by the posterior approach known as "psoas compartment block". We measured the distance from the skin to the lumbar plexus with the aid of a nerve stimulator and evaluated its relation to body mass indices such as weight, height, abdominal circumference and body mass index (BMI; kg/m2). RESULTS: The distance described above was 7.42 +/- 0.82 cm (range 6.0-9.5 cm) in males and 7.18 +/- 1.24 cm (range 5.3-10.0 cm) in females. Its relation to body weight was greater than with other body indices. The Pearson's coefficient between the distance and body weight was 0.745 in males and 0.842 in females. The predicted distance (cm) was 4.23 + 0.0471 x weight (kg) in males (adjusted R2 = 0.532) and 1.25 + 0.0975 x weight in females (adjusted R2 = 0.682). CONCLUSIONS: Body weight is the most important factor for prediction of the distance from the skin to the lumbar plexus. The distance was about 6-10 cm in korean patients.
Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Extremities ; Female ; Hip ; Humans ; Low Back Pain ; Lumbosacral Plexus* ; Male ; Needles* ; Sagittal Abdominal Diameter ; Skin ; Thigh

No abstract available.
Lichen Planus ; Lichens