No abstract available.

Tissues actively involved in energy metabolism are more likely to face metabolic challenges from bioenergetic substrates and are susceptible to mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to metabolic diseases. The mitochondria receive signals regarding the metabolic states in cells and transmit them to the nucleus or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) using calcium (Ca2+) for appropriate responses. Overflux of Ca2+ in the mitochondria or dysregulation of the signaling to the nucleus and ER could increase the incidence of metabolic diseases including insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam) may regulate Ca2+ flux via changing the mitochondrial membrane potential and signals to other organelles such as the nucleus and ER. Since Tfam is involved in metabolic function in the mitochondria, here, we discuss the contribution of Tfam in coordinating mitochondria-ER activities for Ca2+ flux and describe the mechanisms by which Tfam affects mitochondrial Ca2+ flux in response to metabolic challenges.

There are 3 basic methods for surgical treatment of axillary osmidrosis; 1) method that removes only subcutaneous cellular tissue without removing skin 2) method that removes skin and subcutaneous cellular tissue en bloc, and 3) method that partially removes skin and subcutaneous cellular en bloc as well as removing the subcutaneous cellular tissue of the adjacent region. We studied the results of partial removal of the skin and subcutaneous cellular tissue en bloc, as well as the removal of subcutaneous cellular tissue of the adjacent region to compare the results of the bipedicled flap with the graft conversion method. There was no difference between two methods in results and complication rates. There are 3 advantage to this procedure. First, about 70-80% of apocrine glands were centrally distributed among the axillary hairbearing region therefore, resection of the central portion of axillary hair distribution area is important for good result. Second, the preservation of the subdermal plexus with careful excision of adjacent underlying subcutaneous tissue under the aid of the magnifying surgical loupe, is important for good wound healing. Third, the central excision of the axillary hair distribution area provides good exploration for undermining and defatting of the undersurface of the adjacent area, therefore it tooks a shorter operation time.
Apocrine Glands ; Hair ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; Transplants ; Wound Healing

BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is hardly controllable organism among the pathogen of nosocomial infection, because it is resistant to most antibiotics except vancomycin and local treatment with most antiseptics are not effective to eradicate MRSA from the infected wounds. There is increasing fear that MRSA infection can be spread widely in the hospitals. The effectiveness of Gentian Violet against MRSA was reported by Saji et al in 1992 for the first time. We tried Gentian Violet dressing on MRSA infected wounds to evaluate whether at not the Gentian Violet is effective to eradicate 11RSA which existed in the open wound. METHODS: 24 patients were treated by wet dressing with 0.1%Gentian Violet soaked gauze twice daily. They included 10 cases of sacral and trochanteric pressure sore, 6 cases of postoperative wound infectious, 3 cases of posttraumatic skin defects, 2 cases of DM foot, 1 case of post infectious skin defect and 2 cases of electrical burn, The wound culture was evaluated for elimination of MRSA infection twice weekly. RESULTS: The clinical results revealed that MRSA was not detected in all cases within 34days (average 13.5 days) after topical administration 0.1% Gentian Violet. CONCLUSION: There is no evidence of tissue irritation with Gentian Violet dressing on open wound or wound margin. After negative conversion of MRSA with Gentian Violet dressing, gram (-) organism was isolated in a half of the cases. 0.1% Gentian Violet topical administration is a useful treatment method of wound infection with MRSA.
Administration, Topical ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Anti-Infective Agents, Local ; Bandages* ; Burns ; Cross Infection ; Femur ; Foot ; Gentian Violet* ; Gentiana* ; Humans ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus* ; Pressure Ulcer ; Skin ; Vancomycin ; Viola ; Wound Infection* ; Wounds and Injuries*

OBJECTIVE: We conducted a retrospective data analysis to review the results of robot-assisted arm rehabilitation in post stroke patients during past 2 years and find out positive influences of the outcomes. METHOD: We measured improvements of arm function longitudinally in a group of sixty-four stroke patients, who participated in the robot-assisted arm therapy from January 2012 to December 2013. Treatment session lasted 30 to 40 minutes, 2 to 5 times a week. For at least more than one month, we used the InMotion2.0 (Interactive Motion Technologies, Watertown, MA, USA) and measured outcomes with the Fugl-Meyer assessment-upper extremity (FMA-UE), Korea-modified Barthel index (K-MBI) and InMotion robot arm evaluation index. Also, analysis on the subgroup was carried out. RESULTS: Following the robot-assisted arm rehabilitation, FMA-UE, K-MBI and InMotion robot arm evaluation index were significantly improved compared to baseline. Mean FMA-UE and K-MBI gain were 4.22 +/- 0.76, 7.63 +/- 1.18 in each. However, in the subgroup analysis, the group with less intensity treatment (640 repetition) did not show any significant improvement. CONCLUSION: This is an observational study showing improvements in arm function following robot-assisted arm rehabilitation compared to baseline, which was significant only in the subgroup who received the intervention longer and more intensity.
Arm* ; Extremities ; Humans ; Observational Study ; Rehabilitation* ; Retrospective Studies ; Statistics as Topic ; Stroke* ; Upper Extremity

BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to evaluate the analgesic effect of a self administered surgical wound infusion of local anesthetic alone compared to combination of local anesthetic and morphine or ketorolac. METHOD: Forty eight patients undergoing minor surgery were randomly classified into four groups: Group 1 (saline, n = 10), Group 2 (bupivacaine only, n = 11), Group 3 (bupivacaine with morphine, n = 14), and Group 4 (bupivacaine with ketorolac, n = 13). A two-hole 19 G epidural catheter was tunneled subcutaneously into the surgical wound and was connected to 100 ml elastometric balloon pump filled with either 0.5% bupivacaine only, 0.5% bupivacaine and morphine 40 mg, or 0.5% bupivacaine and ketorolac 80 mg. We assessed the postoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores at postoperative 0.5, 1, 2, 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours, and the side effects, sedation score and total amount of infused bupivacaine were recorded. RESULTS: VAS pain score were significantly decreased until 36 hours in groups 2, 3, and 4 compared to group 1, and significantly lower at 1, 2, 12, and 24 hrs in groups 3, 4 than in group 2 (P < 0.05). The total requirement of infused bupivacaine in groups 3, 4 is significantly decreased compared to that of group 2. Side effects like nausea, vomiting, urinary retension, pruiritis, respiratory difficulty, sedation, and dizziness did not occur in the four groups but seroma did in one case. CONCLUSION: Patient-controlled surgical wound infusion of bupivacaine reduced postoperative pain after minor surgery without any side effects. The combination of bupivacaine with morphine or ketorolac gave rise to a significant additive effect to local analgesia.
Analgesia ; Analgesia, Patient-Controlled* ; Bupivacaine ; Catheters ; Dizziness ; Humans ; Ketorolac ; Morphine ; Nausea ; Pain, Postoperative ; Seroma ; Surgical Procedures, Minor ; Vomiting ; Wounds and Injuries*

The maxillary alveolar ridge separates the palate from the lip and clefts of the primary palate have a cleft of the alveolus as well. In the most common clefts of the primary palate, the alveolar portion of the cleft is located between the lateral incisor, if present, and the canine. The cleft may also pass between the central incisor and the lateral incisor, rarer forms of clefts may pass between the central incisor or more distally on the maxillary arch. There are still considerable differences of opinion as to the optimal time for closure of alveolar defects, with or without concomitant bone grafting. But the preferred time for the operation with bone graft is between age 9 and 11 before the canine teeth have fully erupted. As an alternative to primary bone grafting, Skoog developed the periosteoplasty, or "boneless bone graft" technique, in which periosteal continuity was established between maxillary segments by the transfer of local periosteal flaps from the anterior maxillary wall. this procedure, which takes advantage of the propensity of periosteum to form bone in young children, leads to the formation of new bone within the alveolar cleft in spite of the fact that no bone graft is used.This study attempts to defin the effectiveness of early alveolar cleft repair with gingivo-vestibular-mucoperiosteal flap.The results in 6 unilateral alveolar clefts and 1 bilateral alveolar cleft, which is corrected early by gingivo-vestibular-mucoperiosteal flap, have been satisfactory alveolar arch continuity and alveolar bone formation with tooth eruption.
Alveolar Process ; Bone Transplantation ; Child ; Cuspid ; Humans ; Incisor ; Lip ; Osteogenesis ; Palate ; Periosteum ; Tooth Eruption ; Transplants

No abstract available.
Bandages* ; Gentian Violet* ; Gentiana* ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus* ; Wounds and Injuries*

It is well documented that cardiac myxomas are associated with immunologic features that can simulate systemic autoimmune diseases. Recently, it was reported that cardiac myxomas produce IL-6 constitutively, which could partly explain the immunologic features observed in these patients. However, only a few investigators have studied cytokines in regards to symptoms they may cause in patients with cardiac myxoma. Also there is very little information in the literature on the immunohistochmical localization of IL-6. We performed immunobistochemical stains for IL-4, TNF, and IL-6 on paraffm embbeded tissue of cardiac myxoma tissue. A bioassay of IL-6 activity in patient's serum and in cultured cells from fresh myxoma tissue was performed to ascertain the role of these cytokines in myxomas. In this study, we demonstrated inununohistochemically that there was a local overproduction of IL-4, TNF, and IL-6 in cytoplasm of the tumor cells in about half cases. Bioassays of the serum and cultured tumor cells revealed elevated IL-6 activities. Also these findings correlate to production of patient's constitutional symptoms with statistical significance (P<0.05). In conclusion, these results are of considerable importance in understanding the role of IL-4, TNF, and IL-6 in cardiac myxoma patient with constitutional symptoms, and have an impact on strategies for diagnosis and therapy of cardiac myxoma.

PURPOSE: The incidences of four main vascular risk factors (VRFs) - diabetes mellitus (DM), smoking, hyperlipidemia (HLP), and obesity were investigated in men aged over 40 years with or without erectile dysfunction. PATIENTS AND METHODS: There were 943 patients with erectile dysfunction (mean age 55.0 years; range 40-73 years) and 242 normal men (mean age 50.6; range 40-71 years). Blood levels of various lipid fractions (triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein), body weight, and height were measured in all subjects. Abnormal VRFs were defined as follows: hypertension = >160 mmHg (systolic pressure) or 95 mmHg (diastoic pressure), hyperlipidemia = at least one abnormal fraction (triglycerides > 160 mg/dl, total cholesterol >250 mg/dl, LDL >150 mg/dl), and obesity = >120% of ideal body weight. The presence or absence of DM, hypertension, smoking, and erectile dysfunction was determined by a self-reported subject questionnaire and history. RESULTS: The incidence of abnormal LDL was significantly (p<0.05) higher in patients than the control men. The incidences of HLP, DM, and hypertension were significantly (all p<0.05) higher in the patients 40 to 59 years of age than in the control men of corresponding ages, but differences in the incidences of smoking and obesity were not statistically significant. Abnormal VRFs were significantly (all p<0.01) more common in patients aged 40 to 59 years than in the control men of the same ages. In men over 60 years of age, there were no differences between the patients and control subjects in number of VRFs or the incidences of HLP, DM, and hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: Especially in men 40 to 59 years of age, DM, HLP, and hypertension were significantly correlated with erectile dysfunction. The aging process, rather than such specific risk factors, might be a main cause of erectile dysfunction in men aged over 60 years.
Aging ; Body Weight ; Cholesterol ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Erectile Dysfunction* ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Ideal Body Weight ; Incidence* ; Lipoproteins ; Male ; Obesity ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Risk Factors* ; Smoke ; Smoking