BACKGROUND: The average duration of diabetes and predictive factors of macrovascular complications in Korean diabetic patients remain to be elucidated. This study examines the average duration of diabetes up to the onset of macrovascular complications and clinically important factors of early development of these complications in Korean type 2 diabetic patients. METHODS: Clinical characteristics in type 2 diabetics with (n = 121) and without macrovascular complications (n = 115) were analyzed. In addition, early onset (< or = 5 years, n = 54) and late onset groups (> 5 years, n = 67) were compared, as were the clinical characteristics between male and female patients in the macrovascular complications group. RESULTS: The average duration of diabetes was 8.7 +/- 7.8 years in the macrovascular complications group. Average age, systolic and diastolic blood pressures and smoking history were all higher in the macrovascular complications group than the control group. However, HbA1c levels and prevalence of microvascular complications were higher in the controls. Average age was lower in the early onset group and many more patients of that group had a smoking history. In the analysis based on sex, marcrovascular complications developed earlier in male patients. In addition, the prevalence of family history of diabetes was higher in males and 77.8% of male patients had a smoking history (female: 3.4%). CONCLUSION: Our study confirms that older age, high blood pressure and smoking history are major risk factors for the development of macrovascular complications. Moreover, a smoking history in males can be both risk and predictive factors for earlier development of macrovascular complications in Korean type 2 diabetic patients. We also found that several clinical characteristics including age, family history of diabetes, hypertension and smoking history, vary between the sexes, and these findings can provide useful indices for the prevention of macrovascular complications.
Diabetes Complications ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Male ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking

To see the usefulness of CT in evaluation of response to treatment in patients with mediastinal tuberculous lymphadenitis (MTL), we analyzed the initial CT patterns and follow-up CTs or serial plain radiographs during 18 months antituberculous chemotheraphy in 58 consecutive patients. CT patterns of MTL at the beginning of treatment were categorized into solid type (n=8), low density with peripheral rim enhancement type (n=36), extranodal extension type (n=9) and calcified type (n=5). According to the response to treatment, each patients was categorized into prompt response group (response within the first three months and no residual lymph node after one year), slow response group (response after three months but residual lesion after one year), no response group (no change in size during 18 months treatment) and temporal increase group (temporal increase in size during the treatment but ultimately improved with chemotheraphy). Among 29 cases of prompt response group, 20 cases had large low-density areas, 6 cases had diffuse or extensive node involvement with extranodal extension or tracheal compression. Two patients with acquired immune derfciency syndrome belonged to this group. Fifteen cases of slow response group had low-density nedes in 7 patients and small solid or extranodal-extension nodes in 6 patients. They were associated with disseminated pulmonary tuberculosis, generalized lymphadenopathy or other organ(pericardium, brain, bone or abdomen) involvement. In 5 cases of no response group, there were 3 cases of calcified node and 2 cases of small solid nodes. Nine cases of temporal increase group included low density type of MTL only. And they were associated with disseminated pulmonary of endobronchial tuberculosis. In conclusion, response to antituberculous chemotherapy could be predicted in patients with MTL on the basis of CT findings before treatment.
Brain ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Lymph Node* ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

BACKGROUND: DHEA-S is the most abundant steroid hormone in circulation, and primarily secreted from the adrenal cortex, but its physiological role is little known. One of the characteristic features of DHEA-S is progressive decrement of plasma DHEA-S level with advancing age, in contrast, plasma levels of other adrenal hormones are not chaging or littie decreasing. To grasp the trends of plasma DHEA-S level and DHEA-S/cortisol ratio by age in healthy Korean, we measured the plasma DHEA-S levels and DHEA-S/cortisol ratios in healthy Korean. METHODS: Healthy Korean (men: 99, women: 102, age range: 15-97 year old)were studied. Subjects were not taking drugs (such as glucocorticoid or androgenic medication) or cigarettes known to modify the plasma level of DHEA-S and cortisol, and had no evidence of hepatic, renal disease or hyperlipidemia as determined by serum lipid, bilirubin, SGOT, SGPT, BUN, creatinine. Data were analyzed by 10-year age group for men and women: i.e, 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, 80-89 and 90 year or more. Plasma DHEA-S levels were measured by using a commercially available RIA kit with 125I labeled-DHEA-SO4 (Coat-A Count DHEA-SO4), and for the measurement of plasma cortisol levels, commercial Gamma Coat TM[125I] Cortisol Radioimmunassay Kit was used. RESULTS:. 1) In both men and women, plasma DHEA-S level showed high interindividual variation within the same age group. 2) There were individual sex differences in plasma levels of DHEA-S, in all age groups, plasma DHEA-S levels were significantly higher values for men than for women. 3) Maximum plasma DHEA-S levels (men; 237+-3.35 ug/dL, women; 108+-17.5 ug/dL) were at third decade in both men and women. 4) Both men and women showed the continuous decline in plasma DHEA-S level with age. These age-related decline was more prominent in men than in women (men; y=-3.152 * +292.6, r2= 0.8459, P<0.05, women; y= -1.417 * +143.3, r2 = 0.7278, P< 0.05). 5) As an index of aging, there was no stastical difference between DHEA-S and DHEA-S/cortisol ratio. CONCLUSION: In healthy Korean, there were high interindividual variation of plasrna DHEA-S levels. In both men and women plasma DHEA-S level was peak at third decade, and from when it declined progressively with age. These results suggest that although the reliability of single plasma DHEA-S measurement are limited, the decline of DHEA-S with advancing age might be a specific marker of endocrinologic hormonal milieu (aging index). Also, concerning to individual adrenal secreting capacity, we measured DHEA-S/cortisol ratio. But we did not found that plasma DHEA-S/cortisol ratio is superior to the plasma DHEA-S level as an aging index.
Adrenal Cortex ; Aging ; Alanine Transaminase ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Bilirubin ; Creatinine ; Female ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone* ; Hyperlipidemias ; Male ; Plasma* ; Sex Characteristics ; Tobacco Products

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Carcinoid tumors are often indolent asymptomatic tumors, however significant proportions are malignant. The patients with these tumors have usually been treated by radical excision. Recently, small gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors can be easily be detected with increasing use of endoscopy and surgical treatment has been questioned. We evaluate clinical characteristics of gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors and clinical usefulness of endoscopic resection in treatment of gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 37 cases of gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors over the past three years in our instituide. RESULTS: The peak incidence was in the 5th decade and slight male predominance. The most comgastrointestinal carcinoid tumors were diagnosed by endoscopy with biopsy. Twenty-six cases of carcinoid tumors of size less than 15 mm have been safely treated with endoscopic resection. All of the patients are alive and clinically free of disease during 23 months after endoscopic resection. CONCLUSIONS: Recently, the detection of small carcinoid tumors in gastrointestinal tract, especially in rectum, is increasing with frequent use of endoscopy. Endoscopic resection was found to be useful and safe for treatment of small gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors.
Biopsy ; Carcinoid Tumor* ; Endoscopy ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Medical Records ; Rectum

BACKGROUND: Although maximal exercise stress tests are widely used in the athletic and medical fields, studies on professional soccer players are few. The purpose of our study is to observe the cardiopulmonary response to maximal exercise loading and the AT in professional soccer players. METHODS: Maximal exercise stress tests were carried out by a ramp protocol using a treadmill on 20 professional soccer players with a mean age of 25.2 years and with over 10 career years. The tests were also done on 21 college students majoring in physical education with a mean age of 19.4 years, which served as the control group. The AT was determined by the V-slope method. RESULTS: In the players, the VO2 max, VCO2 max and O2 pulse max were significantly larger than those in the control group, and the HR max was smaller for their ages. The VE max, VT max and RP max showed not much difference between the 2 groups but the VE max/VO2 max and VE max/VCO2 max were significantly lower in the players. The AT was larger in the players but the AT/VO2 max was essentially similar to that of the control group. CONCLUSION: Our study reveals that the professonal soccer players, despite their mean ages were approximately 6 years older than the subjects in the control group, had larger VO2 max and VCO2 max, and smaller HR max for their ages. The VE max was similar in both groups. This suggests that the players have higher aerobic capacity than the control group and exchange respiratiory gases more efficiently.
Architectural Accessibility ; Child ; Exercise Test ; Gases ; Humans ; Physical Education and Training ; Soccer* ; Sports

PURPOSE: To correlate the mammographic and ultrasonographic findings with the pathologic results in women undergoing hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and to determine the characteristic clinical, mammographic or histologic findings of breast cancer in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-five breast lesions in 25 patients aged 44-65 (mean, 55.5) years undergoing HRT were surgically removed due to abnormal mammographic findings or the presence of palpable masses. Mammograms in all patients and ultrasonograms in 23 were retrospectively analyzed in terms of the shape and margin of the mass, and microcalcifications, and the imaging findings were correlated with the pathologic results. As a control group, 45 cancer patients not undergoing HRT were selected. Using the student t test, detection methods, tumor size, mammographic findings, and the proportion of intraductal cancers were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Surgical excision revealed ten benign lesions (four fibroadenomas and six cases of fibrocystic change) and 15 cancers (three intraductal and twelve invasive ductal cancers). Abnormal findings at mammography were a mass in 16 cases, clustered microcalcifications in seven, and a mass with microcalcifications in two. Mammography showed that all four circumscribed masses were benign. Five of seven ill-defined masses (71%) and all six spiculated masses were malignant. Three of seven cases (43%) with microcalcification, and both with a mass and microcalcification, were malignant. In two cases in which ultrasonography revealed cystic lesions, histologic examination showed that fibrocystic change had occurred. Compared to non-HRT-related cancers, HRT-related cancers were more often detected by mammography (60% vs 16%; p <0.001), smaller (17 mm vs 24 mm, p <0.01), showed microcalcification only (20% vs 13%; p <0.05), and were intraductal (20% vs 7%; p <0.01). CONCLUSION: In patients with HRT, mammographic findings of an ill-defined or spiculated mass, or one with microcalcifications, were associated with breast cancer. Compared to non-HRT-related cancers, breast cancers in patients undergoing HRT tend to manifest more frequently as a mammographic abnormality, and to be intraductal.
Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Female ; Fibroadenoma ; Hormone Replacement Therapy* ; Humans ; Mammography ; Retrospective Studies ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effective stimulating mode of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and acupuncture for pain relief. METHOD: The subjects were 40 patients with MPS. In 20 patients, TENS were applied to the trigger point. In other 20 patients, acupuncture mode electrical stimulation were applied to the acupuncture site by measuring skin impedance of affected muscle. RESULTS: The visual Analogue Scale (VAS) decreased 20.48 (19.15%) in the group applied TENS mode and 30.08 (16.97%) in the group applied acupuncture mode after 1 week. The VAS decreased 33.19 (25.76%) in the groupapplied TENS mode and 46.48(17.76%) in the group applied acupuncture mode after 2 week (p<0.05). The pressure threshold was increased 16.07 (17.45%) in the group applied TENS mode and 26.09 (22.20%) in the group applied acupuncture mode after 1 week. The pressure threshold increased 24.88 (23.25%) in the group applied TENS mode and 41.11 (27.35%) in the group applied acupuncture mode after 2 week. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture mode was more effective treatment modality in MPS for pain relief than TENS mode.
Acupuncture* ; Electric Impedance ; Electric Stimulation* ; Humans ; Myofascial Pain Syndromes* ; Skin ; Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation ; Trigger Points

Peripheral polyneuropathy is caused by various disorders such as diabetes mellitus. Cryoglobulinemia, as a cause of peripheral polyneuropathy, has been well documented in many reports. Recently we experienced a case of essential cyroglobulinemic polyneuropathy and therapeutic effect of plasmapheresis was shown even in chronic periods. In a patient with peripheral polyneuropathy with no known etiology, one should always consider cryoglobulinemia as a cause since early diagnosis and proper treatment will lead to better outcome.
Cryoglobulinemia ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Plasmapheresis ; Polyneuropathies

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of intensive rehabilitation to support recovery of neurological function after brain tumor surgery and assess long-term satisfaction. METHODS: This retrospective study included patients with neurological impairment after brain tumor surgery who underwent intensive rehabilitation therapy between December 2013 and May 2017. To assess effectiveness of rehabilitation, functional outcomes (motor, cognition, and activities of daily living [ADL]) were compared between brain tumor group and a control group enrolling stroke patients who received equivalent rehabilitation during the study period. Long-term satisfaction with rehabilitation was evaluated by surveying family caregivers. RESULTS: This study included 21 patients with benign brain tumor, 14 with malignant brain tumor, and 108 with stroke. Significant and similar improvement in motor, cognition, and ADL function were noted in both the brain tumor group and the stroke group. Malignancy status did not influence the extent of functional improvement. According to medical records and surveys, 9 (69.2%) patients with malignant tumor and 2 (11.8%) with benign tumor had expired by the time of the survey. Most family caregivers confirmed that rehabilitation was effective for functional improvement (>60%), expressing overall satisfaction and stating they would recommend such therapy to patients with similar conditions (approximately 70%). CONCLUSION: Intensive rehabilitation may help promote functional improvement following brain tumor surgery regardless of malignancy compared with stroke patients. Family caregivers expressed overall satisfaction with rehabilitation at long-term follow-up. These findings support the provision of intensive rehabilitation therapy for neurologic function recovery following brain tumor surgery.
Activities of Daily Living ; Brain Neoplasms ; Brain ; Caregivers ; Cognition ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Neurological Rehabilitation ; Pilot Projects ; Recovery of Function ; Rehabilitation ; Retrospective Studies ; Stroke ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND: Radioiodine treatment is effective for the removal of remnant thyroid tissues after thyroidectomy in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma. To induce the elevation of serum TSH level which facilitates the uptake of radioiodine into remnants, a 4 to 6 week interval between thyroidectomy and radioiodine administration has been established. During the period of preparation, most patients have experienced overt symptoms of hypothyroidism which have led to the development of alternative strategies. Some reports have suggested that the interval could be reduced to about 3 weeks with less symptoms. We reevaluated the adequate time needed for the elevation of serum TSH level above 30microU/mL after thyroidectomy. METHODS: Forty five patients who had undergone total thyroidectomy for differentiated thyroid carcinoma were investigated. Serum TSH and free T4 levels were measured one or more times within 3 weeks after operation(total 97 blood samples). Eighty nine blood samples were obtained within 15 days. RESULTS: In 41 patients (91.1%) serum TSH levels increased to 30 microU/mL until 15 days after operation. Until postoperative 21 days, serum TSH levels in all the other patients reached 30microU/mL. In linear equation, the daily increment of serum TSH levels was 2.62microU/mL for the first 8 days after operation and 5.34micorU/mL for the next 7 days. The half-life of serum free T4 levels showed marked individual variations. CONCLUSION: Measurement of serum TSH level at about 15 days after total thyroidectomy for differentiated thyroid carcinoma may be useful in determining the time of radioiodine administration.
Half-Life ; Humans ; Hypothyroidism ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms* ; Thyroidectomy ; Thyrotropin