PURPOSE: Recent studies suggest that the symptomatic improvement in benign prostatic hyperplasia significantly related with transition zone volume (TZV). The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical significance of TZV and transition zone index (TZI) in changes of prostate volume (PV) and clinical parameters following finasteride therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 140 patients over 50 years of age with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia were treated with finasteride (5mg/d) for 12 months and underwent transrectal ultrasound evaluation of PV and TZV prior to initiating therapy and after 12 months. Patients were grouped according to the results of PV (> OR =40ml or <40ml), TZI (> OR =0.45 or <0.45) and PSA level (> OR =2.5 or <2.5). The responders was determined as improvement in peak flow rate more than 3mL/sec. RESULTS: PV decreased by 14.11% in patients with TZI less than 0.45, while the decrease was 19.25% for men with TZI greater than 0.45 (p<0.01). In addition, PV was significantly decreased by 16.72% in patients with PV less than 40cc and TZI greater than 0.45 (p<0.01). PV decreased by 17.37% in patients with PSA less than 2.5, while the decrease was 18.92% in men with PSA greater than 2.5. In responders, only TZI was significantly different among PSA, PV and TZI (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment effect of finasteride on symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia patients was increased in proportion to enlarged PV, increased TZI, increased PSA. TZI was a useful proxy for predicting clinical outcomes in initiating finasteride therapy on benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Finasteride* ; Humans ; Male ; Prostate ; Prostatic Hyperplasia* ; Proxy ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: Recently, detrusor contraction duration (DCD) has been suggested to be a useful urodynamic parameter for differentiating bladder outlet obstruction. Therefore, we studied the relationship between DCD and bladder outlet obstruction to determine whether DCD is a useful parameter for characterizing bladder outlet obstruction with lower urinary tract symptoms in men. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The urodynamic records of 212 consecutive male patients with lower urinary tract symptoms subdivided into 4 groups as bladder outlet obstruction (BOO), detrusor underactivity (DU), detrusor instability (DI), and normal (NL). DCD was defined as the contraction time elapsed between the first rise in detrusor pressure from baseline to the time at which detrusor pressure returned to baseline at the end of voiding. The correlations of DCD with other urodynamic parameters were assessed. RESULTS: DCD was significantly increased in patients with BOO and DU groups compared to other groups (DI, NL) (p<0.05). However, DCD were only weakly correlated with other urodynamic obstructive parameters in the BOO groups. CONCLUSIONS: Since DCD may also depend on detrusor contractility and bladder volume, DCD alone cannot be used as obstructive parameters to diagnose bladder outlet obstruction. However, considering the fact that the bladder outlet obstruction can be easily differentiated from the decreased detrusor contractility with other urodynamic parameters, DCD seems to be useful proxy for evaluating bladder outlet obstruction.
Humans ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; Male ; Proxy ; Urinary Bladder Neck Obstruction* ; Urinary Bladder* ; Urodynamics

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of a school based smoking prevention program for college freshmen. METHOD: The nonequivalent control group, pretest-post-test design was used. Among 16 departments in a University located in S city, students in 8, randomly selected, departments received 6 sessions of smoking prevention program consisted of small group discussion led by smoking cessation leaders, video watching, and lectures from March 15 to June 9, 2004. Students in remaining 8 departments did not receive any education. Student's attitude, intention, stress, temptation, knowledge and self efficacy was measured. RESULT: The level of stress and smoking temptation was significantly decreased in the experimental group over that of the control group. CONCLUSION: It was proven that this school based smoking prevention program was effective for decreasing smoking temptation in college freshmen. In the future, more efforts should be given to college age students to prevent them becoming chronic smokers.
Education ; Humans ; Intention ; Lectures ; Self Efficacy ; Smoke* ; Smoking Cessation ; Smoking*

PURPOSE: Pathologic tumor volume is closely related with pathologic stage, pathologic Gleason grade, surgical margin status, and disease progression after radical prostatectomy. Therefore, an accurate assessment of prostate cancer volume is essential in prediction of pathologic stage. We evaluated that the calculated prostate cancer volume (cVca), a new clinical parameter, can predict for pathologic stage T3 in patients with clinical stage T1, 2 prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cVca was determined in 26 men treated with radical prostatectomy in clinically localized prostate cancer (clinical stage T1, T2) based on pretreatment PSA, biopsy Gleason score, and prostate ultrasound volume. Logistic regression analysis evaluating the value of the PSA, biopsy Gleason score, cVca was performed. RESULTS: The mean of cVca was 4.07cm3 and the mean of cVca in localized and extensive prostate cancer was 1.77cm3 and 6.74cm3, respectively. The difference between the mean of cVca in localized and extensive prostate cancer was statistically significant (p<0.05). PSA and cVca were significant predictors of pathologic stage T3 disease in patients with clinical stage T1, T2 disease on univariate analysis, but cVca was only significant predictor on multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The cVca was more reliable parameter than PSA and Gleason score in predicting of pathologic stage T3 disease in patients with clinical stage T1 and T2 prostate cancer. Therefore, this new parameter can be used to select patients who are likely to have pathologic organ-confined disease.
Biopsy ; Disease Progression ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Grading ; Prostate* ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; Tumor Burden ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND: Recently several clinical studies suggested that maternal treatment with magnesium sulfate had protective effects against cerebral palsy in premature infants. But previous studies with differing perinatal animal models resulted in inconclusive results with regard to magnesium neuroprotection. Our purpose was to study the neuroprotective effect of magnesium sulfate and optimal dosage on hypoxicischemic brain damage in the newborn rat. METHOD: Seven-day-old rats(n=68) underwent right carotid ligation, followed by 3 hours of hypoxia(8% oxygen in 92% nitrogen). Rats received magnesium sulfate immediately before and again after hypoxia(two doses, 150mg-600mg/kg/dose, n=39), or saline solution(n=29). Severity of injury was assessed 5 days later, by visual evaluation of ipsilateral hemisphere infarction and by measurement of bilateral hemispheric cross sectional areas. RESULTS: Magnesium sulfate pre-treatment reduced the incidence of liquefactive cerebral infarction and atrophy from 80.8% in controls to 22.2% with magnesium sulfate(450 mg/kg/dose, P<0.05). Quantitation of hemispheric areas confirmed these findings. Percent protection based on inter-hemisphere area differences by pre-treatment with magnesium sulfate 450mg/kg/dose ranged from 71.1%(hippocampus) to 90.8%(striatum). However higher dose of magnesium(600mg/kg/dose) did not attenuate hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in the newborn rat but increased mortality. CONCLUSION: Pretreatment of magnesium sulfate has neuroprotective effects against hypoxia-ischemia in the newborn rat and adequate dose of magnesium sufate is important to protect the brain. Magnesium pretreatment may be an effective strategy to decrease the severity of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in the adequate dose.
Animals ; Atrophy ; Brain ; Brain Injuries ; Cerebral Infarction ; Cerebral Palsy ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn* ; Infant, Premature ; Infarction ; Ligation ; Magnesium Sulfate* ; Magnesium* ; Models, Animal ; Mortality ; Neuroprotective Agents* ; Oxygen ; Rats*

No abstract available.
Thyroglobulin* ; Thyroid Gland*

PURPOSE: Prostate volume has been poorly correlated with various parameters used to assess benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), including symptom score, total prostate volume, peak flow rate and postvoid residual urine. The purpose of this study is to determine if measurement of the volume and the index of transition zone of the prostate correlated well with other clinical parameters in predicting the degree of obstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 121 men with lower urinary tract symptoms were prospectively evaluated using international prostate symptom score, transrectal ultrasonography, and urodynamic investigation with pressure-flow studies for BPH. Bladder outlet obstruction was defined as the maximal detrusor pressure was greater than 40cmH2O at peak flow and peak flow rate was less than 10ml/sec. Patients were then divided into obstructive and non-obstructive groups. Correlations were evaluated among the total prostatic volume (TPV), transition zone volume (TZV), transition zone index (TZI=TZV/TPV) and other clinical and urodynamically obstructive parameters. RESULTS: Age, IPSS, peak flow rate and PVR were not significantly different between obstructive (n=69) and non-obstructive (n=52) groups. Among the transrectal sonographic parameters, TZV and TZI correlated better with urodynamically obstructive parameters such as detrusor pressure at peak flow rate (r=0.551, 0.544), Abrams Griffiths number (r=0.576, 0.506) and linear passive urethral resistance relation (r=0.560, 0.580) than with TPV. There were no correlations between clinical and volume parameters. All the volume parameters of the prostate were larger in obstructive than in non- obstructive group. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with BPH symptoms, TZV and TZI correlates better with urodynamically obstructive parameters than did the total prostate volume. TZV or TZI may serve as more useful method for evaluating obstruction.
Humans ; Hyperplasia* ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; Male ; Prospective Studies ; Prostate* ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; Ultrasonography ; Urinary Bladder Neck Obstruction* ; Urinary Bladder* ; Urodynamics

The purpose of this study was to established the characteristic radiographic features in salivary gland diseases by means of sialography and scintigraphy. Sialograms and scintigrams with diseases of salivary gland were examined. In this group were 5 salivary stones, 14 sialadenitis, 17 Sj gren's syndromes and 8 benign tumors. The obtained results were as follows; 1. In the configuration of the shape of main duct, those revealed that modified curvilinear and curvilinear types were predominant in Sj gren's syndromes but reverse sigmoid and angular types were in sialolithiasis and sialadenitis combined with sialodochitis. 2. In the configuration of the course of main duct, those revealed that smooth types were predominant in sialadenitis and irregular types were predominant in Sj gren's syndromes and benign tumors and irregular types were seen in all salivary stones and sialadenitis combined with sialodochitis, 3. In the type of intraglandular pattern, those revealed that destructive changes of salivary duct system and parenchyma were severe in sialadenitis and salivary stones and predominantly severe in Sj gren's syndromes. 4. The function of salivary gland was decreased severely in Sj gren's syndrome. and also decrease in salivary stone and sialadenitis. In benign tumor, the uptake of radioisotope was not seen in lesion and the function of salivary gland decreased in its remaining normal parenchyma.
Colon, Sigmoid ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Salivary Ducts ; Salivary Gland Calculi ; Salivary Gland Diseases ; Salivary Glands ; Sialadenitis ; Sialography*

No abstract available.
Hysterectomy*

BACKGROUND: Hyperhomocysteinemia as a risk factor for cerebrovascular disease is well known. Our aim of this study was to demonstrate positive association between elevated homocysteine levels and cerebrovascular diseases in Koreans. METHODS: With a case-control design, 186 stroke (infarction 134, hemorrhage 52) patients, diagnosed by brain CT or MRI and 359 control patients were evaluated. We used multiple logistic regression analyses conditioned on the matching variables (sex, age, hypertension, DM, smoking, hyperlipidemia, hyperhomocysteinemia) and calculated odds ratio and 95% CIs. RESULTS: Multivariated adjusted odds ratios (OR) for cerebrovascular diseases associated with hypertension compared with normal blood pressure were 2.45 (95% CI, 1.16 to 5.15) in prehypertension and 3.33 (95% CI, 1.56 to 7.10) in stage 1 hypertension and 3.77 (95% CI, 1.32 to 10.74) in stage 2 hypertension. OR for cerebrovascular diseases associated with hyperhomocysteinemia compared with <10micromol/L were 2.06 (95% CI, 1.09 to 3.91) in 13.0 to 16.9micromol/L and 3.17 (95% CI, 1.70 to 5.90) in > or =17 micromol/L. CONCLUSION: Not only hypertension but also hyperhomocysteinemia was a significant risk factor for cerebrovascular diseases in Koreans.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Blood Pressure ; Brain ; Case-Control Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Homocysteine ; Humans ; Hyperhomocysteinemia* ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Logistic Models ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Odds Ratio ; Prehypertension ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Stroke