The hypotensive effect and side reactions of Buterazine were evaluated in 21 patients with essential hypertension. The results were as follows; 1) Before medication and after 2 and 4 weeks of medication, the over all average systolic and diastolic pressure were 188+/-23/112+/-7, 168+/-13/101+/-17, and 158+/-12/95+/-8mmHg, respectively. After 2 and 4 weeks of medication, the over all average systolic pressure decreased by 20 and 30mmHg(P<0.005, P<0.001), and the over all average diastolic pressure decreased by 11 and 17mmHg(P<0.025, P<0.001), respectively. In 69% of all cases, marked or moderate degree of hypotensive effect was observed. 2) There was no significant changes in heart rates before and after treatment. 3) In 84% of all cases, improvement of symptoms were observed. 4) There was no side effects which required discontinuing the treatment, except 2 cases which discontinued the medication.
Blood Pressure ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension

Oral microorganisms, including pathogens together with commensals, interact with oral epithelial cells, which can lead to the activation and expression of a variety of inflammatory mediators in epithelial cells. Fusobacterium nucleatum is a filamentous human pathogen that is strongly associated with periodontal diseases. Our previous data suggest that Weissella cibaria, an oral commensal, inhibits the proliferation of periodontopathic bacteria including F. nucleatum. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of W. cibaria on the inflammatory mediators, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8, in KB cells stimulated by F. nucleatum. In a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, live F. nucleatum alone induced high levels of gene expression and protein release of IL-6 and IL-8, whereas W. cibaria alone did not induce IL-6 and IL-8 responses in KB cells. W. cibaria dose-dependently inhibited the increases of the IL-6 and IL-8 gene expression as well as IL-6 protein level in KB cells which was induced by F. nucleatum. Bacterial viability and its coaggregation with F. nucleatum are not essential in the inhibitory effect of W. cibaria. Visible effects of W. cibaria on the attachment and invasion of KB cells by F. nucleatum were observed. In conclusion, W. cibaria may exert immunomodulatory effects on the IL-6 and IL-8 responses to F. nucleatum-activated KB cells.
Bacteria ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epithelial Cells ; Fusobacterium ; Fusobacterium nucleatum ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; Interleukin-8 ; Interleukins ; KB Cells ; Microbial Viability ; Periodontal Diseases ; Weissella

The objective of this study was to analyze quantitatively whether Weissella cibaria could affect the proliferation of five periodontopathic bacteria, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, and Fusobacterium nucleatum, after incubation for 8~48 h. In addition, by using real-time PCR with a dual-labeled probe, each growth of bacteria was examined under different growth media conditions. The proliferation of periodontopathic bacteria was significantly inhibited by W. cibaria after incubation for 24~48 h (p < 0.05), whereas the growth of W. cibaria was not affected by these pathogenic bacteria. The growth of P. gingivalis, T. forsythia and T. denticola significantly increased in each growth media after incubation for 24 h (p < 0.05), as compared to the culture in mixed growth media. However, no differences in the growth of five periodontopathic bacteria were observed between each growth media and mixed media after incubation for 48 h. The growth and pH of W. cibaria culture significantly were changed in MRS after incubation for 24~48 h (p < 0.05), as compared to the bacterial culture in mixed growth media. The pH of P. gingivalis and F. nucleatum culture significantly was changed in both growth media and mixed media after incubation for 24~48 h (p < 0.05). Our data indicate that W. cibaria significantly inhibits the proliferation of five periodontopathic bacteria and each growth of bacteria is quantitatively analyzed under various media conditions by real-time PCR.
Bacteria ; Forsythia ; Fusobacterium nucleatum ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Porphyromonas gingivalis ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Treponema denticola ; Weissella

Generalized syringoma is a rare variant of syringoma, whose incidence peaks during childhood and adolescence, with no difference seen in either sex. It frequently affects the chest, neck, abdomen and axilla, and occasionally shows spontaneous regression. A 34-year-old woman presented with pruritic, multiple, 1~3 mm sized, lightbrownish papules on the chest, abdomen, and back. One year before, she had been diagnosed as having verruca plana at a private dermatologic clinic and had received immunotherapy, but experienced disappointing results. Histologically, the disorder showed numerous dilated eccrine ducts lined by two rows of epithelial cells. We herein report a case of generalized syringoma misdiagnosed as verruca plana, plus a review of the literature.
Abdomen ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Axilla ; Diagnostic Errors ; Epithelial Cells ; Female ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; Incidence ; Neck ; Syringoma* ; Thorax ; Warts*

BACKGROUND: Dematophytes are classified into geophilic, zoophilic and anthrophilic fungi, based on their ecological traits. Zoophilic dermatophytosis primarily is responsible for infection in animals, and the inflammatory reaction often tends to be more severe than skin lesions inflicted by anthrophilic species. For the clinical manifestation of superficial dermatophytosis caused by these zoophilic dermatophyte are highly variable, a through review of history about the contact with these animals is often solicited. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate clinical and epidemiological zoophilic dermatophytosis associated with animal contact, in an effort to elucidate the link between the causative organism and the route of infection. METHOD: We performed clinical and mycological study on 63 cases of dermatophytosis associated with prior animal contact at the department of dermatology, Konkuk University Hospital from September 2004 to August 2005. RESULT: The ratio of male to female patient was 1: 1.17 and showed more prevalence in female. The age distribution of patients was highest in the age group of 10 years (22.2%). The exposed area (71.4%) was more frequently affected than unexposed area (28.6%) and the most common site was face and forearm. Single lesions were 41 cases (65.1%). Dogs, cats, and rabbits were the most common culprits in animal contact-associated dermatophytosis, each comprising 19, 15, and 10 respectively, of total cases. Hamsters, Guinea pigs, miniature pigs, and miscellaneous (cattles and birds) were among other causative animals. Twenty nine patients with dermatophytosis had accompanying diseases. In the age group of under 10 years old, 6 patients were being treated with atopic dermatitis; in the age group of under 40 yrs, 15 were being treated with diabetes, and 3 with pulmonary tuberculosis, and 1 with rheumatoid arthritis. These evidences support the fact that underlying conditions renders patients susceptible to opportunistic infections. In all age groups, M. canis and T. mentagraphytes var. mentagraphytes were the most predominant species, with most of them in the age groups of teens and twenties. In patients who had contact with dogs, M. canis was recovered in 8 cases, T. mentagraphytes var. mentagraphytes in 7 and M. gypseum in 3. In those patients who had contact with cats, M. canis was found in 6, and T. mentagraphytes var. mentagraphytes in 3, M. gypseum in 2, and T. verrucosum in 1 case. In those who had contact with hamsters, 2 cases each of M. canis, T. mentagraphytes var. mentagraphytes, and M. gypseum were recovered. CONCLUSION: As evidenced above, contact with specific animals play an important role in the pathogenesis of dermatomycosis. As the leisure and recreational activities of people become more diverse and more extensive, and as the influx of exotic domestic animals increases, and frequent contact with people from abroad makes the manifestation of this disease more complex, it would be wise for us to strive to come up with an effective strategy for prevention and epidemiological studies.
Adolescent ; Age Distribution ; Animals* ; Animals, Domestic ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Arthrodermataceae ; Cats ; Child ; Cricetinae ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Dermatology ; Dermatomycoses ; Dogs ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Female ; Forearm ; Fungi ; Guinea Pigs ; Humans ; Leisure Activities ; Male ; Opportunistic Infections ; Prevalence ; Rabbits ; Skin ; Swine ; Tinea* ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

PURPOSE: The incidence of retinopathy of prematurity(ROP) which is one of the most common cause of childhood blindness has not decreased despite the restricted use of oxygen. There may be other factors responsible for ROP which could not be explained solely by improved survival of very low birth weight infants. We tried to clarify perinatal risk factors that are nrelated to the occurrence of ROP. METHODS: We enrolled 239 infants with gestational ages less than 33 wks or with birth weight less than 1,800 gm who had received ophthalrnologic examination between Jan. 1995 and Dec. 1997. The patients were categorized into two groups,' "No ROP" group as control(n=185) and ROP group as study population(n=54), and we compared the perinatal risk factors between the two. RESULTS: 54(22.6%) out of 239 infants were diagnosed as having ROP. The annual incidence of ROP decreased but the incidence of treated ROP increased. The incidence of ROP decreased with longer gestation and higher birth weight. Mean gestational age was 30.3 weeks in the study group vs 31.0 weeks in the control group, and mean birth weight was 1,390 gm and 1,586 gm, respectively. Significant factors contributing to increased incidence of ROP included: duration of oxygen therapy, ventilator therapy, total parenteral nutrition and hospitalization, frequency of hyperoxia, hypercarbia, and transfusion and respiratory distress syndrome, umbilical artery catheterization, intraventricular hemorrhage, sepsis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, use of dexamethasone and aminophylline, pneumonia, air leak syndrome, and hyperglycemia. The incidence of ROP and treated ROP was not influenced by the mode of surfactant treatment(prophylactic vs rescue) in RDS patients and the mode of dexamethasone treatment(short vs long) in BPD patients. CONCLUSION: The risk factors for retinopathy of prematurity included gestational age, birth weight and duration of oxygen, as well as other aforementioned perinatal factors. The occurrence of ROP can be decreased by preventing preterm birth, minimizing the use of oxygen, and further morbidity can be prevented by performing proper ophthalmologic examination and doing an appropriate follow-up.
Aminophylline ; Birth Weight ; Blindness ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Dexamethasone ; Gestational Age ; Hemorrhage ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia ; Hyperoxia ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Oxygen ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total ; Pneumonia ; Pregnancy ; Premature Birth ; Retinopathy of Prematurity* ; Risk Factors* ; Sepsis ; Umbilical Arteries ; Ventilators, Mechanical

No abstract available.
Anesthesiology

Classical swine fever (CSF) is a highly contagious disease among swine that has an important economic impact on worldwide. One clinical symptom of CSF is leukopenia, in particular lymphopenia, which is a characteristic event that occurs early in the course of CSF. Though lymphopenia associated with apoptosis, the pathogenic mechanism underlying the lymphopenia has not been well studied. To understand these mechanisms, we investigated the response of porcine B cell lines to infection with SW03, virulent strain isolated from swine tissue in Korea. This study demonstrated that SW03-infected L35 cell were induced apoptosis through the detection of activated caspase-3. In addition, SW03 infection leaded to alterations in pro-apoptotic, Bax, and anti-apoptotic, Bcl-xL proteins of Bcl-2 family. Our results would suggest that SW03-infected L35 cells induced apoptosis via intrinsic mitochondrial pathway.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; bcl-X Protein ; Caspase 3 ; Cell Line ; Classical Swine Fever ; Classical swine fever virus ; Humans ; Korea ; Leukopenia ; Lymphopenia ; Phenylurea Compounds ; Sprains and Strains ; Swine

This study is designed to draw out new integrated subjects of the Korean Oriental Pharmacists' Licensing Examination (KOPLE). In 2004, for the revision of subjects, we have analyzed the curriculums of the Oriental Pharmacy department, the oriental pharmacist's (OP's) job description book, and the elementary items of KOPLE. We also examined the system of the Chinese Herb Pharmacists' Examination and other health personnel licensing examinations and studied the data of items and compared them with KOPLE. We heard the public opinion on the present KOPLE. We developed a subfield of 18 subjects, a middle category of 188 items, and a small category of 1,026 items. We proposed a new KOPLE that consists of three subjects: basic oriental pharmacy, applied oriental pharmacy, and laws and regulations.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Curriculum ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Job Description ; Jurisprudence ; Licensure* ; Pharmacy ; Public Opinion ; Social Control, Formal

No abstract available.