OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to survey the requirements of Oriental Medical Informatics, and to suggest a direction that Oriental Medical Informatics development may take. METHODS: Consumers and medical experts were randomly selected, and 14 uestions for consumers and 17 questions for medical experts were sent to respondents by mail and e-mail. RESULTS: Both consumers and medical experts were greatly concerned with the systemized dissemination of Oriental Medical Information, but they were not satisfied with it because of the perceived low quality of the information. Medical experts responded that they need standards and statistical evidences for Oriental Medicine. Consumers demanded good-quality information about diseases and health management. CONCLUSION: To carry out Oriental Medical Informatics, it is necessary to conduct a joint research between the sectors of Oriental Medicine and Information Technology, followed by the development of a standard information infrastructure. Oriental Medicine must also have standards in terms of medical data content, data format, and data communication, to ensure the reliability of the disseminated information on Oriental Medicine.
Surveys and Questionnaires ; Electronic Mail ; Joints ; Medical Informatics ; Medicine, East Asian Traditional* ; Postal Service

Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a soft tissue sarcoma that originates from smooth muscle cells. It is commonly found in the uterus but can occur throughout the body, including the retroperitoneal space, abdominal cavity, and any vascular structure. Although there are many case reports of uterine or vascular LMS metastasizing to the heart, cardiac metastasis from nonvisceral lesions has only been reported in two cases. Herein we report a rare case of a patient presenting metastatic LMS from the left flank in the right ventricle observed with echocardiography and enhanced computed tomography.

Uterine cervical cancer is one of the most common malignancies of the female genital tract.Most recurrent cases of uterine cervical cancer are diagnosed within two years after primary treatment, and late recurrence after a disease-free interval of more than five years is rare. In addition, peritoneal metastases usually present as multifocal discrete nodules in the peritoneal cavity with nodular or diffuse peritoneal thickening. Herein, we report an extremely rare case of late recurrent cervical cancer peritoneal metastasis with an unusual manifestation of a large, solitary necrotic mass in the right subphrenic space on contrast-enhanced CT.

Skeletal Class II malocclusion often leads to excessive overjet due to differences in arch growth, and in some cases, an unstable contact point of the mandibular incisors can result in deep bite. When the relationship of anterior teeth is unstable, the extruded height of the mandibular incisors must be adjusted, followed by restoration of the maxillary incisors. During this process, an interim restoration period is necessary to evaluate aesthetics, phonetics, and function of the anterior teeth, and if extractions and implants are involved, the restoration steps may increase. In this case, facial scan was utilized to obtain extraoral data for stepwise fabrication of provisional restorations, ultimately transitioning them into final restorations. This approach aimed to improve both function and aesthetics for the patient, who required multiple implants and fixed prostheses on natural teeth, including in the anterior region.

Skeletal Class II malocclusion often leads to excessive overjet due to differences in arch growth, and in some cases, an unstable contact point of the mandibular incisors can result in deep bite. When the relationship of anterior teeth is unstable, the extruded height of the mandibular incisors must be adjusted, followed by restoration of the maxillary incisors. During this process, an interim restoration period is necessary to evaluate aesthetics, phonetics, and function of the anterior teeth, and if extractions and implants are involved, the restoration steps may increase. In this case, facial scan was utilized to obtain extraoral data for stepwise fabrication of provisional restorations, ultimately transitioning them into final restorations. This approach aimed to improve both function and aesthetics for the patient, who required multiple implants and fixed prostheses on natural teeth, including in the anterior region.

Skeletal Class II malocclusion often leads to excessive overjet due to differences in arch growth, and in some cases, an unstable contact point of the mandibular incisors can result in deep bite. When the relationship of anterior teeth is unstable, the extruded height of the mandibular incisors must be adjusted, followed by restoration of the maxillary incisors. During this process, an interim restoration period is necessary to evaluate aesthetics, phonetics, and function of the anterior teeth, and if extractions and implants are involved, the restoration steps may increase. In this case, facial scan was utilized to obtain extraoral data for stepwise fabrication of provisional restorations, ultimately transitioning them into final restorations. This approach aimed to improve both function and aesthetics for the patient, who required multiple implants and fixed prostheses on natural teeth, including in the anterior region.

Skeletal Class II malocclusion often leads to excessive overjet due to differences in arch growth, and in some cases, an unstable contact point of the mandibular incisors can result in deep bite. When the relationship of anterior teeth is unstable, the extruded height of the mandibular incisors must be adjusted, followed by restoration of the maxillary incisors. During this process, an interim restoration period is necessary to evaluate aesthetics, phonetics, and function of the anterior teeth, and if extractions and implants are involved, the restoration steps may increase. In this case, facial scan was utilized to obtain extraoral data for stepwise fabrication of provisional restorations, ultimately transitioning them into final restorations. This approach aimed to improve both function and aesthetics for the patient, who required multiple implants and fixed prostheses on natural teeth, including in the anterior region.

Skeletal Class II malocclusion often leads to excessive overjet due to differences in arch growth, and in some cases, an unstable contact point of the mandibular incisors can result in deep bite. When the relationship of anterior teeth is unstable, the extruded height of the mandibular incisors must be adjusted, followed by restoration of the maxillary incisors. During this process, an interim restoration period is necessary to evaluate aesthetics, phonetics, and function of the anterior teeth, and if extractions and implants are involved, the restoration steps may increase. In this case, facial scan was utilized to obtain extraoral data for stepwise fabrication of provisional restorations, ultimately transitioning them into final restorations. This approach aimed to improve both function and aesthetics for the patient, who required multiple implants and fixed prostheses on natural teeth, including in the anterior region.

PURPOSE: Recently, the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasing among patients with low urinary tract symtoms (LUTS) caused by benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). We assessed current usage and awareness of phytotherapy, the most ubiquitous CAM, in BPH/LUTS patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 204 patients with BPH who completed a questionnaire between January 2009 and December 2010 were enrolled. The questionnaire was composed of questions about age, education level, accompanying disease, type of phytotherapy, route of purchase, reason of taking medicine and whether the patient is using phytotherapy in combination with conventional medicine. RESULTS: The mean age was 55.5+/-8.7 years. 56 of the total patients (27.5%) were using phytotherapy. The patients who were accompanied with erectile dysfunction used phytotherapy the most. The most commonly used phytotherapy for prescription and health functional food was Saw palmetto. The most common route of purchase was by clinician's prescription (46.4%). Most patients answered the dissatisfaction of present treatment's effect as the main reason for using phytotherapy. The number of patients who were taking combination therapy of BPH medication and phytotherapy was much more than using phytotherapy alone. CONCLUSIONS: 27.5% of patients who had BPH/LUTS were using phytotherapy. This is the point of time for many urologists to acquire the knowledge of studies and latest research of phytotherapy and use it in treating patients with BPH/LUTS.
Complementary Therapies ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Functional Food ; Herbal Medicine ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; Male ; Phytotherapy ; Prescriptions ; Prostate ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Urinary Tract

Larger animal models, such as porcine, have been validated as appropriate models of the human disc with respect to biomechanics and biochemistry. They are advantageous for research as the models are relatively straightforward to prepare and easily obtainable for research to perform surgical techniques. The intention of this study was to quantitatively analyze gene expression for collagen and proteoglycan components of the extracellular matrix and for collagenase (MMP-1) in porcine discs of varying ages (Newborn; 2-3weeks, Mature; 6-9 month, Older; 2-3 years). In this study, we observed that the cell number and GAG (glycosaminoglycan) formation dramatically decreased with aging. Also, gene expression in the annulus fibrosus (AF) and nucleus pulposus (NP) cells changed with aging. The level of MMP-1 mRNA increased with age and both type I, II collagens decreased with age. The level of aggrecan mRNA was highest in the mature group and decreased significantly with aging. In the mature group, MMP-1 expression was minimal compared to the newborn group. In AF cells, type II collagen was expressed at a high level in the mature group with a higher level of aggrecan, when aged NP showed a decrease in type II collagen. The model of IVD degeneration in the porcine disc shows many changes in gene expression with age that have been previously documented for human and may serve as a model for studying changes in IVD metabolism with age. We concluded that the porcine model is excellent to test hypotheses related to disc degeneration while permitting time-course study in biologically active systems.
Age Factors ; Aggrecans/genetics/metabolism ; Aging/genetics/*metabolism ; Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Collagen Type I/genetics/metabolism ; Collagen Type II/genetics/metabolism ; Glycosaminoglycans/genetics/metabolism ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disk Degeneration/genetics/*metabolism ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 1/genetics/*metabolism ; *Models, Animal ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Spinal Cord/*metabolism/pathology ; Swine