No abstract available.
Bronchitis* ; Gastroesophageal Reflux*

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Tuberculosis, Renal*

No abstract available.

Multiple involvement of arterial fibromuscular dysplasia is unusal and such a case is quite limited in the literature. We present a case of multiple arterial fibromuscular dysplasia with aneurysm formation in a 38-year-old non-hypertensive man. Angiographic study showed multiple aneurysmal dilatations of the right renal, superior mesenteric, celiac axis, and left colic arteries. The resected right kidney demonstrated an aneurysm of the main renal artery and extensive infarction in the midportion of the renal parenchyma. The segmentally resected superior mesenteric artery disclosed a similar nature of aneurysm occluded by recent thrombi. Microscopically, all the resected arterial walls showed both intimal and medial fibroplasia together with periadventitial fibrosis resulting in marked narrowing of the lumen and subsequent thrombus formation.

OBJECTIVE: This study was done to explore the determinants of care burden of Korean caregiver in patients with dementia. METHODS: For the seventy-nine patients with dementia and their caregivers, data on Caregiver Burden Inventory Korean version, and various patient- and caregiver related factors potentially related to care burden were investigated. Uni- or bi-variate analyses were performed to measure the relationships between individual factors and care burden, and then stepwise multiple linear regression tests were used to determine the independent risk factors. RESULTS: Two determinants of care burden were identified: 'severer depressive symptoms in patient' and 'lower spontaneous care motivation in caregiver'. Of the patient related factors, 'shorter disease duration', 'severer behavioral and psychotic symptoms' and'severer anxiety symptoms', and of the caregiver related factors,'women','having household responsibility', 'shorter free time' and'worse subjective health state' were related to care burden, although these were not identified as independent risk factors. CONCLUSION: To mitigate the care burden of Korean caregivers in patients with dementia, therapeutic interventions focused on the behavioral and psychological symptoms of patients would be essential in terms of patient related factors. With respect to caregiver related factors, in addition to the succession of the philosophy of filial piety, establishment of multi-modal services and facilities suitable for the caregivers vulnerable to care burden would be needed.
Anxiety ; Caregivers* ; Dementia* ; Depression ; Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Motivation ; Philosophy ; Risk Factors

No abstract available.
Hyperoxaluria, Primary* ; Kidney Transplantation* ; Kidney*

PURPOSE: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Korean short form-36 health survey version 2 for assessing the general population and to provide normative data on the general population. METHODS: Six hundred members of the general Korean population were recruited using a multistage quota sampling method. Data quality was evaluated in terms of the completeness of the data and the response consistency index. Each psychometric property was evaluated using descriptive statistics, item internal consistency, item discriminant validity, known-group validity, internal consistency reliability, and exploratory factor analysis. RESULTS: The rate of missing data was low, and the rate of consistent responses was similar to conventional criteria. Item internal consistency was acceptable across all scales, whilst item discriminant validity was satisfactory for five of the eight scales. Social functioning was the least acceptable in terms of not only item discriminant validity but also item consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .64). Test-retest Pearson correlation coefficients ranged from .54 to .80. In known group comparison, male sex, age <60 years, high educational status, and the absence of any comorbidities were associated with higher scores than their counterparts. Item factor analysis yields the presence of six factors, accounting for 68.8% of the variance. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study generally support the use of the Korean short form-36 version 2 for evaluating the general population, although caution is recommended when interpreting the vitality, social functioning, and mental health scales. Further research is needed in Korea.
Accounting ; Comorbidity ; Educational Status ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Mental Health ; Psychometrics ; Quality of Life ; Reproducibility of Results ; Data Accuracy ; Weights and Measures

BACKGROUND: The multicomponent cognitive-behavioral group treatment program is an effective treatment for fear of flying (FOF). In Korea, the effect of this treatment has not yet been studied. This is a preliminary study to assess the program's effect for Koreans with FOF. METHODS: Among 11 patients who participated in the treatment program, 10 completed the program, and data of 9 patients were obtained. Patients participated in individual treatment phase by diagnosis and symptoms, and in the group treatment phase for 2 days, composed of education on flight and anxiety, relaxation technique, cognitive reconstruction, imaginary exposure, mock-up treatment, real flight, etc. Flying history, Visual Analogue Flight Anxiety Scale (VAFAS), Flight Anxiety Situation Questionnaire (FAS) with 3 subscales (generalized, anticipatory, in-flight), Flight anxiety Modality Questionnaire (FAM) with 2 subscale (somatic, cognitive) were assessed before treatment and at 3 months after completion of the program. RESULTS: 8 patients made flights within 3 months after treatment. VAFAS, FAS total, 3 FAS subscales, FAM, and 2 FAM subscales were all decreased significantly after treatment. CONCLUSION: This results suggest that the multicomponent cognitive-behavioral group treatment program is effective for Koreans with FOF.
Anxiety ; Diagnosis ; Diptera* ; Education ; Humans ; Korea ; Relaxation ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to elicit quality weights for 42 EQ-5D health states with the time trade-off (TTO) method from the general population of South Korea. METHODS: We selected the same EQ-5D health states as those in the UK MVH study. The Korean version of EQ-5D questionnaire and TTO method were used for the valuation process. We interviewed 500 people as a representative sample of the general population in Seoul and Gyeonggido. The result was compared with those from UK, Japan, and USA by Spearman's rank correlation and t-test. RESULTS: TTO values for 42 EQ-5D health states and 'unconscious' state were obtained from the general South Korean population. The best one was '11112' state and the worst one was 'unconscious' state. The states worse than death were '33323', '33333', and 'unconscious' states, which had negative TTO values. There was a strong correlation between TTO values of the EQ-5D health states and those of their corresponding states from UK, Japan, and USA (Spearman's correlation coefficient: 0.885, 0.882, and 0.944, respectively, p <0.001). However, absolute TTO values of most EQ-5D health states were significantly different from those of their corresponding states in other foreign studies (UK: 41/42, USA: 32/42, Japan: 15/17). CONCLUSIONS: We found that the Korean general population TTO values for EQ-5D health states were different from those of other foreign studies, suggesting that a specific Korean valuation set should be developed and used for economic evaluation studies in South Korea.
Time Factors ; Questionnaires ; *Quality-Adjusted Life Years ; Population Surveillance ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Korea ; Humans ; *Health Status ; Female ; Adult

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) E2 protein is known to be one of putative envelope proteins. To develop a sensitive detection method for HCV infected tissues and cells, monoclonal antibodys (MAbs) to the E2 protein of HCV were prepared from mice immunized with recombinant baculovirus-expressing E2 protein (Bac-E2). Several hybridoma clones secreting various levels of MAb were isolated and isotypes of these MAb were determined. One clone (L.2.3.3) was used for ascites production and the E2-MAb was purified and characterized. The L.2.3.3 reacted well with both Bac-E2 and E. coli expressed glutathione-5-transferase-E2 (GST-E2) fusion proteins. Using HCV patient sera, E2 envelope protein was found to be localized in the cell membrane boundary both in CHO cells and insect cells which express HCV E2 protein. Similar result was obtained when same cells were treated with the MAb L.2.3.3. These results demonstrated that Bac-E2 protein is capable of eliciting high titer antibody production in mice.
Animals ; Antibody Formation ; Ascites ; Cell Membrane ; CHO Cells ; Clone Cells ; Cricetinae ; Hepacivirus* ; Hepatitis C* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Hybridomas ; Insects ; Mice