Objective: To evaluate the anti-mycobacterial activity of Melia azedarach L. (M. azedarach) and Lobelia chinensis Lour. (L. chinensis) extracts against the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis).
Methods: The anti-M. tuberculosis activity of M. azedarach and L. chinensis extracts were evaluated using different indicator methods such as resazurin microtiter assay (REMA) and mycobacteria growth indicator tube (MGIT) 960 system assay. The M. tuberculosis was incubated with various concentrations (50–800 mg/mL) of the ex-tracts for 5 days in the REMA, and for 4 weeks in MGIT 960 system assay.
Results: M. azedarach and L. chinensis extracts showed their anti-M. tuberculosis ac-tivity by strongly inhibiting the growth of M. tuberculosis in a concentration-dependent manner in the REMA and the MGIT 960 system assay. Particularly, the methanol extract of M. azedarach and n-hexane extract of L. chinensis consistently exhibited their effects by effectively inhibiting the growth of M. tuberculosis in MGIT 960 system for 4 weeks with a single-treatment, indicating higher anti-M. tuberculosis activity than other extracts, and their minimum inhibitory concentrations were measured as 400 mg/mL and 800 mg/mL, respectively.
Conclusions: These results demonstrate that M. azedarach and L. chinensis extracts not only have unique anti-M. tuberculosis activity, but also induce the selective anti-M. tuberculosis effects by consistently inhibiting or blocking the growth of M. tuberculosis through a new pharmacological action. Therefore, this study suggests the potential of them as effective candidate agents of next-generation for developing a new anti-tuberculosis drug, as well as the advantage for utilizing traditional medicinal plants as one of effective strategies against tuberculosis.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify the level of Human papillomavirus (HPV) knowledge, intention of HPV vaccination, and barriers on HPV vaccination among male undergraduate students of Health department and Non-health department. METHODS: A total of 149 male undergraduate students responded to self-administered questionnaires about their HPV knowledge, HPV vaccination intention, and their barriers on HPV vaccination. ANOVA, t-test and χ2 test (Fisher's exact test) were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Mean score of HPV knowledge was 3.39±3.05, and there was significant difference between Health department (4.15±3.08) and Non-health department (2.58±2.82) in HPV knowledge (t=3.241, p=.001). There was no significant difference in HPV vaccination acceptance between the two groups. The barriers on HPV vaccination were 'lack of information about HPV vaccine efficacy' and 'lack of information about HPV vaccination time and strategy', and there were significant differences in barriers on HPV vaccination between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The knowledge on HPV was low, and HPV vaccination was hindered due to lack of information about HPV vaccine despite their intention to obtain HPV vaccine. HPV education to promote HPV vaccination should be targeted among male students.
Education ; Humans ; Intention* ; Male* ; Papillomaviridae ; Statistics as Topic ; Vaccination*

OBJECTIVES: Cadherin/catenin adhesion complex is fundamentally involved in epithelial cancer invasion and metastasis. E-cadherin and EGFR colocalize on the basolateral membrane of epithelial cell and EGF down-regulate E-cadherin expression. In the invasion and metastasis of cancer, E-cadherin expression is decreased and growth factors receptor is overexpressed. The present study was aimed to find the role of E-cadherin, beta-and gamma-catenin, growth factors and its receptors in cervical cancer cell lines. METHODS: The cervical cancer cell cultures were treated with different time duration of EGF 30 ng/ml and TGF-a 10 ng/ml(0, 10 min, 20 min, 30 min, 1 hr, 2 hr, 4 hr, 8 hr, 24 hr). The change in cancer cell morphology and the changes in E-cadherin, beta- and gamma-catenin, EGFR and activated EGFR expression were studied with a western blot analysis and an immunoprecipitation. RESULTS: Through a western blot analysis, E-cadherin 120 kDa band and EGFR 170 kDa band were expressed in CaSki, HT-3 and ME-180 cell line, which showed epithelial contact growth. 1n these 3 cell lines, expression of E-cadherin did not decrease with time dependent manner. after the treatment of EGF and TGF- alpha. The expression of EGFR decreased and activated EGFR expression increased in 30 minutes to 1 hour but decreased subsequently. When the cells treated with EGF, there were no change in beta-and gamma-catenin expression with there dependent manner. The tyrosine phosphorylation of beta-and gamma-catenin increased in 30 minutes to 1 hour but decreased subsequently with activated EGFR. CONCLUSION: This study showed that an activated EGFR which has involved with tyrosine phosphorylation of beta- and gamma-catenin influenced by growth factors rather than expression of E-cadherin, has a role in the invasion and metastasis of the cervical cancer.
Blotting, Western ; Cadherins* ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Cell Line* ; Epidermal Growth Factor* ; Epithelial Cells ; gamma Catenin* ; Immunoprecipitation ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Membranes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Phosphorylation* ; Transforming Growth Factor alpha* ; Tyrosine* ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

No abstract available.
Adult* ; Humans

No abstract available.

PURPOSE: To report a case of abducens nerve palsy after a percutaneous nerve blocking procedure for trigeminal neuralgia. CASE SUMMARY: A 35-year-old female complaining of stabbing pain in the right maxillary area 4 months in duration was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia at a pain clinic. The patient underwent a percutaneous trigeminal nerve blocking procedure using alcohol at the right maxillary nerve. After the procedure, the patient was referred to an ophthalmologic service for horizontal diplopia and abduction defect of her right eye. Her corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure, pupillary response, anterior segment and fundus were normal bilaterally. The patient had right esotropia of 38 prism diopters in primary gaze (70 prism diopters in right gaze, 20 prism diopters in left gaze) with limited abduction of -3 in the right eye. She was diagnosed with abducens nerve palsy of the right eye. Three months after initial presentation, the patient had intermittent esotropia of 4 prism diopters at right gaze and orthophoria at the other diagnostic gazes; she presented no diplopia. CONCLUSIONS: In the present case study, abducens nerve palsy following a percutaneous trigeminal nerve blocking procedure resolved over 3 months. Because the abducens nerve is adjacent to the trigeminal nerve near the foramen ovale based on anatomical structure, when performing a percutaneous trigeminal blocking procedure, the surgeon should be aware that deep needle puncture could cause abducens nerve palsy.
Abducens Nerve ; Abducens Nerve Diseases ; Diplopia ; Esotropia ; Eye ; Female ; Foramen Ovale ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure ; Maxillary Nerve ; Needles ; Nerve Block ; Pain Clinics ; Punctures ; Trigeminal Nerve ; Trigeminal Neuralgia ; Visual Acuity

PURPOSE: In most emergency department (ED), sedation is required before carrying out an invasive procedure on a pediatric patient. In the ED setting, it is essential to determine the optimal dose and administration route of CH for successful sedation. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal dose of CH for an invasive procedure and to examine the effectiveness of the drug's different administration routes. Furthermore, in this study, we performed simple survey using questionnaire which composed of Likert-scale to evaluate satisfaction of medical staffs in ED with administration routes. METHODS: This study was conducted prospectively. The study participants were pediatric patients under 8 years old who visited the ED in two tertiary hospitals in South Korea within a period of 12 months. RESULTS: Overall, 300 patients were included in this study. The age, sex, and weight of the patients were not shown to influence the sedation time. Chloral hydrate dosage is the independent factor to influence the both sedation and discharge time (p<0.01). In the comparison of the groups, groups 1, 2, and 5 showed no significant difference. On the other hand, groups 3 and 4 were shown to be statistically significantly different from group 1. CONCLUSION: Up to 100 mg/kg CH is safe to use in the emergency department for pediatric patients, but the initial dose of 50 mg/kg for oral administration should be considered in advance because it can provide safe and effective sedation with a lower possibility of causing an adverse effect.
Administration, Oral ; Chloral Hydrate* ; Deep Sedation ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Hand ; Humans ; Korea ; Medical Staff ; Prospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers

Background ; Carbon Monoxide is colorless, ordorless, highly toxic gas produced by fire and by motor vehicles and appliances which use carbon-based fuels. In Korea, since coals were the main domestic fuel for cooking and for heating the floor, many cases of carbon monoxide intoxication have occurred annually. Until now, systemic complications & clinical manifestations as well as neurologic complications following carbon monoxide poisoning have rarely been reported. METHODS: I have researched systemic complications and clinical manifestations including neurologic complications from 1986 to 1997. I reviewed retrospectively medical records of 188 admitted patients to the Yonsei Medical Center due to carbon monoxide intoxication, and analyzed them according to the neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, urogenital, dermatological and other systems. RESULTS: 1)The number of the admitted patients due to CO intoxication to Yonsei Medical Center between 1986 and 1997 has decreased compared to that between 1976 and 1981. 2)In this study, the cause of CO intoxication were furnaces in 170 cases(93.9%), fire accidents in 2 cases(1.1%), gas boilers in 2 cases(1.1%), LPG gas in 1 case(0.55%) and propan gas in 1 case(0.55%) in order. 3)Systemic complications and clinical manifestations after CO intoxication were 167(88.8%) nervous , 59(31.4%) musculoskeletal, 56(29.8%) respiratory, 49(26%) dermatologic, 44(23.4%) cardiovascular, 30(16.0%) genitourinary and 9(4.8%) other complications. Other systemic complications as well as neurological complications were not rare. 4)The clinical manifestations of neurological complications were decreased mental status(drowsy in 57 cases(30.3%), stupor in 63 cases(33.5%), semicoma in 33 cases(17.6%), coma in 13 cases(6.9%), alert in 22 cases(11.7%), focal sign related to the stroke in 16 cases (7.4%), incontinence in 22 cases(11.7%), seizure in 4 cases(2.4%), psychiatric behavior in 4 cases(2.4%), peripheral neuropathy in 4 cases(2.4%), bracheal plexopathy in 4 cases(2.4%), and torticollis in 1 case(0.5%). Delayed neurologic sequelae were akinetic mutism in 13 cases(76.5%), mental deterioration in 6 cases(35.3%), incontinence in 6 cases(35.3%), psychiatric behavior in 3 cases(17.6%), speech disturbance in 2 cases(11.8%), involuntary movement in 2 cases(11.8%), and depression in 1 case(5.9%) in order. 5)Cardiovascular complications showed tachycardia in 47 cases(28.3%), ischemic heart disease in 34 cases(18.6%), right bundle branch block in 6 cases(3.6%), left axis deviation in 4 cases(2.4%), atrial fibrillation in 3 cases(1.8%), sinus arrhythmia in 2 cases(1.2%), premature atrial contraction in 1 case(0.6%), premature ventricular contraction in 1 case(0.6%), primary atrio-ventricular block in 1 case(0.6%), prolonged QT in 1 case(0.6%). 6)Pulmonary complications were pneumonia in 23 cases(13.1%), pulmonary edema in 22 cases(12.6%), pneumonia with pulmonary edema in 3 cases(1.7%), and atelectasis, pulmonary hemorrhage, empyema, pleurisy in each 1 case(0.6%). 7)Azotemias were 26 cases(14.2%), clinically confirmed acute renal failures were 4 cases(2%) 8)Rhabdomyolysis was not rare as 63 cases(33.5%) compared to the previous report. 9)Dermatologic complications were erythema with bullae in 21 cases(11.9%), erythema without bullae in 14 cases(7.9%), bullae only in 10 cases(5.6%), laceration in 3 cases(1.65%), and ulceration in 1 case(0.55%). Conclusion ; We must consider other systemic manifestations as well as neurological symptoms in patients with CO intoxication since those are not infrequent in Korea.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Akinetic Mutism ; Arrhythmia, Sinus ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Atrial Premature Complexes ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Bundle-Branch Block ; Carbon Monoxide Poisoning ; Carbon Monoxide* ; Carbon* ; Coal ; Coma ; Cooking ; Depression ; Dyskinesias ; Empyema ; Erythema ; Fires ; Heating ; Hemorrhage ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Korea ; Lacerations ; Medical Records ; Motor Vehicles ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Penicillin G Benzathine ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Pleurisy ; Pneumonia ; Pulmonary Atelectasis ; Pulmonary Edema ; Retrospective Studies ; Seizures ; Stroke ; Stupor ; Tachycardia ; Torticollis ; Ulcer ; Ventricular Premature Complexes

OBJECTIVE: Assessing the disease activity is a key part of clinical decision-making in rheumatology. In particular, a high disease activity, which is represented by a disease activity score-28 (DAS28) score >5.1, is used as a cutoff value for the use of biologics in many countries, including Korea. This study compared the DAS28-erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and DAS28-C-reactive protein (CRP) to determine if these indices can be used interchangeably in patients with high disease activity. METHODS: This cross-sectional study enrolled 1,117 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and examined the initial registration data from the Korean Biologics Registry. RESULTS: In general, DAS28-CRP showed an excellent correlation with DAS28-ESR (r2=0.889, p <0.001). On the other hand, DAS28-CRP tended to underestimate the disease activity in those with moderate-to-high disease activity. The best agreement between DAS28-ESR and DAS28-CRP for defining a high disease activity was achieved using a cutoff value of 4.5 for the latter (kappa, 0.68; sensitivity, 85.9%; specificity, 88.1%). CONCLUSION: DAS28-CRP correlates well with DAS28-ESR; however, the cutoff value of the former needs to be reduced to 4.5 if these two indices are to be used interchangeably to define a high disease activity.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Biological Products ; Blood Sedimentation* ; C-Reactive Protein* ; Clinical Decision-Making ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Erythrocytes* ; Hand ; Humans ; Korea ; Rheumatology ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in the normal morphogenesis, maintenance, and repair of matrix and also have important functions in pathologic conditions characterized by excessive degradation of extracellular matrix, such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, periodontitis and in tumor invasion and metastasis. In this study, expression of MMP-1 and -2 mRNA in retrodiscal tissue of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) was examined and compared with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and surgical findings. MMP mRNAs in the retrodiscal tissue samples were detected by reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction. TMJ internal derangement (ID) was categorized as normal disc position, disc displacement with reduction, early stage of disc displacement without reduction (DDsR) and late stage of DDsR. TMJ osteoarthrosis (OA) was classified with normal, mild and advanced OA. The amount of synovial fluid collection was divided into not detected, small, large and extremely large amount on MR T2-weighted imaging. Perforation and adhesion were examined during open surgery of the TMJ. Six out of 37 samples were excluded because of little amount of extracted total mRNA. MMP-2 mRNA was detected whole joints, and so the MMP-2 mRNA seems to be expressed normally in retrodiscal tissue. However, MMP-1 mRNA was expressed in 8 of 31 joints. Frequencies of MMP-1 mRNA expression according to the TMJ IDs, amount of synovial fluid and surgical findings made no significant difference. MMP-1 mRNA was detected more frequently in OA groups (7/16 joints, 43.8%) than in normal bony structure group (1/15,joints, 6.7%). Expression of MMP-1 mRNA in retrodiscal tissue might be related with OA of the TMJ.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Collagenases ; Extracellular Matrix ; Gelatinases ; Joints ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 1* ; Matrix Metalloproteinases ; Morphogenesis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Osteoarthritis ; Periodontitis ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reverse Transcription ; RNA, Messenger* ; Synovial Fluid ; Temporomandibular Joint*