BACKGROUND: The verbal fluency test consists of two separate tests of semantic fluency and phonemic fluency. The performance patterns of these tests differ with the type of dementia. We studied the patterns of verbal fluency between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and subcortical vascular dementia (SVaD), and assessed the clinical utility of these tests. METHODS: The 1,475 selected participants comprised 73 normal control subjects, 673 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), 535 AD patients, 42 patients with subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment (svMCI), and 152 SVaD patients. We analyzed the z-score for the total number of animal items as a semantic fluency index and the z-score of the phonemic total score as a phonemic fluency index. RESULTS: The performance of semantic fluency was lower than that of phonemic fluency in all groups. The SVaD group showed the worst scores and abnormal performances on both tests, while the AD group presented abnormal performance only for semantic fluency. Dividing the patients with dementia according to severity revealed a different pattern between AD and SVaD for the clinical dementia rating (CDR) stage of 0.5. The performance of the AD group declined gradually with CDR. However, the SVaD group performed very poorly in both tests even for very mild dementia (CDR stage of 0.5). The aMCI and svMCI groups exhibited similar performance patterns. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of semantic and phonemic fluency was not clinically useful at the MCI stage, but it could be helpful in differentiating AD and SVaD in the early stage of dementia.
Alzheimer Disease* ; Animals ; Dementia* ; Dementia, Vascular* ; Humans ; Mild Cognitive Impairment ; Semantics ; Task Performance and Analysis*

Uremic patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) therapy are prone to develop encephalopathy, but the cause is often unclear. Clinical signs of encephalopathy in the uremic patient often overlap with several other affections causing neurological disorders. Chorea or hemichorea occurs very rare, when basal ganglia are injured in HD patients. We hereby report a case of hemichorea of unknown cause in a hemodialysis patients. A 57-year-old diabetic HD patient was presented with sudden onset of right hemichorea. We could not find causes of hemichorea such as hyperglycemia, hepatic failure, drug, hyponatremia, and thiamine deficiency. T1-weighted MRI demonstrated hyperintense lesion limited to the left basal ganglion. Hemichorea disappeared completely 6 months after the onset with support care.

BACKGROUND: Disability of Activities of daily living (ADL) is the most important factor for care of dementia patients. So Korean Dementia Association has prepared the survey for current state and cognition of active daily living in Korean dementia patients. METHODS: A total of 100 subjects were interviewed. Structured open and closed questions about ADL for dementia were asked. They are main caregivers of dementia patients who working over 5hours per day. Assessments included age, sex, education level, economic status, severity of dementia patients, pattern of the care-giving, current state and cognition of ADL, and needs of the caregivers. RESULTS: The cognition of ADL was very low (51%) and this is correlated with economic status. Increasing of care-giving time is the most stressful for caregivers, they frequently suffered from disability of outgoing and personal hygiene. Dementia patient's ADL disability causes serious economic losses, need of the caregivers about guide lines or education program was very high. CONCLUSION: Considering these results, we should design more detailed study about dementia patient's ADL disability and prepare guide line or program for it.
Activities of Daily Living ; Caregivers ; Cognition ; Dementia ; Humans ; Hygiene

The existence of a functional link between the nervous and immune systems has been well established. The present study was to characterize the expression of p75NTR during thymus regeneration from acute involution induced by cyclophosphamide in the rat. Immunohistochemical and double immunofluorescence analyses demonstrated that expression of the p75NTR was decreased in the thymic medullary epithelial cells and interdigitating dendritic cells during thymus regeneration. The presence of p75NTR protein in extracts from the control and regenerating rat thymus was confirmed by western blot. Furthermore, RT-PCR analysis supported these results by demonstrating that thymic extracts contain p75NTR mRNA at lower levels during thymus regeneration. Thus, our results suggest that the p75NTR located on the thymic medullary epithelial cells and interdigitating dendritic cells could play a role in the development of new T cells to replace the thymocytes damaged during thymus regeneration
Aluminum Hydroxide ; Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Carbonates ; Cyclophosphamide ; Dendritic Cells ; Epithelial Cells ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Immune System ; Rats ; Regeneration ; RNA, Messenger ; T-Lymphocytes ; Thymocytes ; Thymus Gland

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have reported that fasting insulin and blood glucose levels are higher in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women and that insulin resistance was more serious in postmenopausal women. The effects of menopause on glucose metabolism have been well studied, but it is unclear whether age at menopause onset is associated with fasting blood sugar and HbA1c levels. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of menopause age on diabetes and prediabetes.METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from the Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013–2015). The participants were 2,156 naturally menopausal women, except diabetes, stroke, coronary artery disease and cancer patients. The study population was divided into four groups according to the age of natural menopause onset ( < 40, 40–44, 45–55, and ≥56 years). Diagnosis of diabetes and prediabetes was based on the American Diabetes Association guideline. The association between menopause age and diabetes or prediabetes was analyzed by multiple logistic regression.RESULTS: Women reaching menopause at 40–44 years were 4.901 times more likely to have diabetes (odds ratio [OR], 4.901; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.353–17.756, P=0.016) than those who reached menopause at an age of ≥56 years. Women with menopause at age < 40 years were 2.839 times more likely to have diabetes or prediabetes (OR, 2.839; 95% CI, 1.012–7.968, P=0.047).CONCLUSION: Women with premature menopause (< 40 years) have high risk of developing diabetes or prediabetes, and women with a menopause age of 40–44 years have high risk of developing diabetes.
Blood Glucose ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diagnosis ; Fasting ; Female ; Glucose ; Humans ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Menopause ; Menopause, Premature ; Metabolism ; Nutrition Surveys ; Prediabetic State ; Retrospective Studies ; Stroke

BACKGROUND: The rising popularity of one-person households makes the health hazards they are prone to, highly relevant in epidemiological studies. This study aimed at comparing health-related characteristics like the socioeconomic status, health behavior, and metabolic syndrome of one-person households, to multi-person households in Korea.METHODS: The participants required for this study included 9,423 Koreans aged 19 and above, who took the Sixth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The household types were classified into “one-person” and “multi-person.” The differences between the two, based on their annual socioeconomic status, health behavior, anthropometric variables, and blood test results were analyzed.RESULTS: The percentage of men and women in one-person households was 7.2% and 10.5%, respectively. Such households had a lower annual income and education than multi-person households. The odds ratios (OR) for alcohol consumption (OR, 1.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16–2.46) and smoking (OR, 3.24; 95% CI, 1.77–5.95) were significantly higher for one-person households of women, aged 60 and above, compared to multiperson households. The OR for metabolic syndrome was considerably higher in one-person households of middle-aged people in contrast to multiperson households for both men (OR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.14–2.95) and women (OR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.21–2.99).CONCLUSION: The socioeconomic status was lower, and the health behaviors were worse in one-person households as compared to multi-person households. Considering the growing popularity of one-person households, it is suggested that medical plans be customized to suit the characteristics of the specific group.
Alcohol Drinking ; Education ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Hematologic Tests ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Odds Ratio ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Social Class

Background: It is well known that physical activity has various health benefits. Therefore, this study was conducted to demonstrate the association between physical activity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among Korean patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods: Our study is based on VI phases (2014–2015) of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Subjects were divided into two groups according to high and low levels of physical activity. HRQoL was measured by using the Euro quality of life-5 dimension (EQ-5D). Impaired HRQoL was defined as the score within the lowest 20% of the EQ-5D index and some or extreme problems in the EQ-5D domains. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) for the effects of physical activity on impaired HRQoL. Results: The adjusted OR for impaired HRQoL for individuals that were more physically active compared to those who were less physically active was higher for the EQ-5D index (OR, 2.85; 95% CI, 1.82–4.44). Furthermore, compared to less physically active individuals, the adjusted ORs were higher for more physically active individuals in mobility (OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.28–3.02), self-care (OR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.20–4.03), usual activities (OR, 2.83; 95% CI, 1.81–4.45), and pain/discomfort (OR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.19–2.57) among the various EQ-5D domains. Conclusion A lack of physical activity is associated with lower HRQoL among Korean patients with diabetes, particularly when compared with Koreans engaged in frequent physical activity.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common causes of death in Koreans. Most cases of hepatocellular carcinoma are beyond the stage of curative resection at the time of diagnosis due to extrahepatic metastasis as well as wide distribution of tumor in the liver. The lung is the most common site of extrahepatic metastasis but metastasis to gingiva is very rare in hepatocellular carcinoma. We report a case hepatecellular carcinoma with gingival methststasis in a 59 year old male patient.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*secondary ; English Abstract ; Gingival Neoplasms/*secondary ; Human ; Liver Neoplasms/*pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged

PURPOSE: Besides necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), the most common cause of intestinal perforation in preterm infants, there is another condition called spontaneous intestinal perforation (SIP) which, though it does not have the clinical or histological nature of NEC has been reported with increasing tendency. Aims of this study are to analyze gastrointestinal perforation in preterm infants and to speculate any difference in clinical manifestations, perinatal histories, and laboratory results between NEC and SIP. METHODS: A retrospective review of medical records of preterm infants with gastrointestinal perforations in the neonatal intensive care unit of Seoul National University Children's Hospital between January 2000 and August 2007 was performed. Preterm infants who underwent surgical intervention, and who had available histologic specimens, were enrolled. RESULTS: A total of 29 preterm infants were enrolled. They were classified into three groups: Group NEC (n=18), Group SIP (n=6), and Group Others (n=5). Group Others consisted of two patients with ileal atresia, one with meconeum ileus, one with omphalocele and one with anal atresia. Onset of perforation was delayed in Group NEC compared with that of Group SIP (18.1+/-13.0 versus 6.7+/-4.2; P<0.05) and enteral feeding before perforation was more frequent in Group NEC (94.4% versus 50%; P<0.05). CONCLUSION: During seven years and eight months, there were six cases of SIP and 18 cases of NEC in preterm infants. As well as NEC, SIP should be considered when gastrointestinal perforation is suspected, especially when patients with early onset time and no enteral feeding.
Anus, Imperforate ; Enteral Nutrition ; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing* ; Hernia, Umbilical ; Humans ; Ileus ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature* ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Intestinal Perforation* ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies ; Seoul

BACKGROUND: Activities daily living (ADL) disability has a direct influence on the patients' quality of life and on the amount of care needed. It is major factor of care in dementia patients. So Korean Dementia Association suggested guideline about activities of daily living in dementia patients in 2013. The purpose of this article is to investigate the effect of this. METHODS: A total of 110 subjects were enrolled. Assessments included age, sex, education level of patients and caregiver, the duration of disease, pattern of family, economic status. We divided "active practice" group and "passive practice" group by recognition of guideline contents after study. We compared two groups before and after by Korean Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE), Short form of Geriatric Depression Scale-Korean version (S-GDS), Korean version of Zarit's Burden Interview (ZBI-K), Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living scale (ADCS-ADL). Finally, we investigate the level of satisfaction about our guideline. RESULTS: Age of patients, the duration of disease was lower and education level of caregiver and economic status was higher in "active practice group". The pattern of family also differed from two groups. It was observed distinct difference between the variations of two groups in S-GDS, ZBI-K, and ADCS-ADL. The level of satisfaction about our guideline was very high. CONCLUSION: Considering these results, our guideline about activities of daily living is effective to manage dementia patient. Active application of it is needed in clinic or center for dementia.
Activities of Daily Living* ; Alzheimer Disease ; Caregivers ; Dementia* ; Depression ; Education ; Humans ; Quality of Life