PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify associated factors of chewing discomfort among community-dwelling elderly. METHODS: The study was cross-sectional design and secondary data analysis using the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Among the total of 7,550 participants, data was analyzed with 1,126 adults aged 65 years and over. Chewing discomfort was assessed by the perceived chewing discomfort. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to find the associated factors of chewing discomfort. RESULTS: Along with 61.7% of the participants reported having chewing discomfort, 85.2% reported to perceive poor oral health and 35.0% had oral pain. In multivariate logistic regression, perceived oral health (OR 3.22, 95% CI 2.24~4.63), oral pain (OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.76~3.43), activity limitation (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.05~2.80), teeth requiring treatment (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.14~2.26), number of remaining teeth (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.22~2.10) and educational level (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.15~2.12) were the significant predictors of chewing discomfort. CONCLUSION: The prevalence in chewing discomfort was high in elderly Koreans and various factors were associated with chewing discomfort. To improve chewing ability, it is suggested that the national level of policies offer strategical oral health programs in this population.
Adult ; Aged* ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Mastication* ; Nutrition Surveys ; Oral Health ; Prevalence ; Statistics as Topic ; Tooth

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the changed parenting experiences of mothers of elementary school kids living in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak in Korea. Methods: From July to August in 2020, 10 mothers parenting elementary school students under the COVID-19 were interviewed in depth. For data analysis, a phenomenological research methodology suggested by Colaizzi was used. Results: According to the analysis, the experiences of mothers consisted of four categories: the ‘pain from the uncontrollable COVID-19’, ‘the problem of family relations due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation’, ‘standing firm against the drastic changes’, and ‘accepting the world changed by the COVID-19’. Conclusion The findings in this study vividly represent the parenting experiences of mothers of elementary school students after the outbreak of COVID-19. As the pandemic persists, mothers parenting elementary school students feel complex emotions and experience exhaustion, but in the process, they found family members growing positively and trying to adjust to each other to overcome the crisis. To support positive adaptation to catastrophic situations, an institutional and political foundation is needed to develop a systematic crisis management program customized for mothers and families of elementary school students. The results of this study can be used as basic data when establishing national policies and support systems so that mothers parenting elementary school students can better adapt to and overcome crisis situations.

PURPOSE: Cytokines play important roles on the expression of various neuronal inflammatory disease and insults. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the levels of interleukine (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in children with aseptic meningitis and compare them with those of the patients having other acute neurological symptoms. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of the children who admitted in the pediatric department of Hanyang University Guri Hospital for acute neurological symptoms and had CSF examinations from September 2012 to July 2013. We classified them into six groups as acute encephalopathy, epilepsy, febrile convulsion, headache, infantile fever, and meningitis. We analyzed the clinical and laboratory data from them. RESULTS: A total of 87 CSFs of the patients were available. The levels of CSF IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 were significantly increased in the group with aseptic meningitis group as compared to the other groups (P<0.05). CSF IL-6 (r=0.576, P=0.000), IL-8 (r=0.329, P=0.003), and IL-10 (r=0.523, P=0.000) were all significantly correlated with CSF White bood cell (WBC) count. Among the patients with aseptic meningitis, CSF enterovirus positive patients (CSF entero+) showed significantly increased IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 levels than CSF enterovirus negative patients (CSF entero-) (P<0.05). In addition, the CSF entero+ and the increase of IL-10 were significantly correlated (x2=6.827, P=0.033). CONCLUSION: In patients with aseptic meningitis, the CSF IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 were more expressed than in other neurological disease group. Among them, the enteroviral meningitis may be more related with IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 expression than in other causes of aseptic meningitis.
Cerebrospinal Fluid* ; Child* ; Cytokines ; Enterovirus ; Epilepsy ; Fever ; Headache ; Humans ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-6 ; Interleukin-8 ; Interleukins ; Medical Records ; Meningitis ; Meningitis, Aseptic* ; Neurons ; Retrospective Studies ; Seizures, Febrile

PURPOSE: To determine the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging characteristics of traumatic transient lateral dislocation of the patellae. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In eight patients (6 males, 2 females, mean age: 22.4 years) in whom transient lateral dislocation of the patella was diagnosed, the distinctive MR imaging findings reflecting known injury mechanism were retrospectively analyzed with regard to bone contusion, chondral defect, fracture, loose body, joint effusion, and the associated soft tissue abnormalities. RESULTS: All of eight patients had bone contusions in the lateral femoral condyle and medial facet of the patella, while in five, chondral defects were present in this latter region. In three patients, fractures of the on lateral femoral condyle (n=2) and medial facet of the patella (n=3) were noted, and in three others, loose bodies were noted. Joint effusion [simple effusion (n=4), lipohemarthrosis (n=3)] was observed in seven patients, and associated soft tissue injuries [to the medial patellar retinaculum (n=8), patellar tendon (n=2), and anterior cruciate ligament (n=1)] in eight. Patellar subluxation was found in seven. CONCLUSION: MR imaging is a useful technique for the diagnosis of traumatic lateral dislocation of the patella. The significant MR findings are bone contusion in the lateral femoral condyle and medial facet of the patella, chondral defect, fracture, joint effusion, injury to the medial patellar retinaculum, and patellar subluxation.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament ; Contusions ; Diagnosis ; Dislocations* ; Female ; Humans ; Joint Loose Bodies ; Joints ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Patella* ; Patellar Ligament ; Retrospective Studies ; Soft Tissue Injuries

Intervertebral disc herniation is rare in children and is reportedly related with disc calcification and traumatic injury. We report an 8 years old girl, who complained of tingling sensation in both arms and intentional tic like neck stretching for about 1 month. She had got unnoticed whiplash Injury 2 weeks before symptoms. She also had been taking lessons for taekwondo for one and half year. Physical examination was unremarkable. Her symptoms got aggravated over the next 4 weeks. Plain vertebral x-ray showed no abnormalities, but cervical spinal MRI revealed disc central herniations at C 5-6 and C 6-7 levels. We concluded that her paresthesia and tic like motion were related with cervical disc herniation from hyperflexion neck injury.
Arm ; Child ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc ; Neck ; Neck Injuries ; Paresthesia ; Physical Examination ; Sensation ; Tic Disorders ; Tics ; Whiplash Injuries

We report the case of a 22-month-old boy with a new mosaic partial unbalanced translocation of 1q and 18q. The patient was referred to our Pediatric Department for developmental delay. He showed mild facial dysmorphism, physical growth retardation, a hearing disability, and had a history of patent ductus arteriosus. White matter abnormality on brain magnetic resonance images was also noted. His initial routine chromosomal analysis revealed a normal 46,XY karyotype. In a microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) analysis, subtle copy number changes in 1q32.1-q44 (copy gain) and 18q21.33-18q23 (copy loss) suggested an unbalanced translocation of t(1;18). Repeated chromosomal analysis revealed a low-level mosaic translocation karyotype of 46,XY,der(18)t(1;18)(q32.1;q21.3)[12]/46,XY[152]. Because his parents had normal karyotypes, his translocation was considered to be de novo. The abnormalities observed in aCGH were confirmed by metaphase fluorescent in situ hybridization. We report this patient as a new karyotype presenting developmental delay, facial dysmorphism, cerebral dysmyelination, and other abnormalities.
Brain ; Comparative Genomic Hybridization ; Ductus Arteriosus, Patent ; Hearing ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; Infant ; Karyotype ; Male ; Metaphase ; Parents

BACKGROUND: Recently, liquid-based cytology (LBC) has been introduced as an alternative to the conventional smear (CS) technique in thyroid fine needle aspiration, due to its diagnostic convenience. METHODS: We assessed 77 cases of thyroid fine needle aspiration using the SurePath(TM) method (SP) as LBC and CS via split-sample techniques. BRAF mutation tests were carried out via polymerase chain reaction and pyrosequencing immediately after diagnosis or a delay of more than one year. RESULTS: In a comparison between SP and CS, the rate of concordance between SP and CS was as high as 84.4% (kappa value, 0.754). In comparison with histologic diagnosis, the overall sensitivity was 100% for both. The specificity was 62.5% for SP and 56.3% for CS. Relative to CS, papillary carcinomas on SP slides revealed more accentuated nuclear irregularities, nucleoli, and reduced nuclear size. In contrast to CS, the delayed BRAFV600E mutation test using SP slides after 1-2 years failed. The use of new primers amplifying shorter product size could help the delayed test achieve success. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in the diagnostic efficacy of SP and CS were negligible. The failure of the delayed BRAF mutation test on the SP slides might be associated with DNA degradation.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; DNA ; Needles ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thyroid Gland

BACKGROUND: Low levels of serum vitamin D is associated with several lung diseases. The production and activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) may play an important role in the pathogenesis of emphysema. The aim of the current study therefore is to investigate if vitamin D modulates the expression and activation of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in human lung fibroblasts (HFL-1) cells. METHODS: HFL-1 cells were cast into three-dimensional collagen gels and stimulated with or without interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) in the presence or absence of 100 nM 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) or 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) for 48 hours. Trypsin was then added into the culture medium in order to activate MMPs. To investigate the activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9, gelatin zymography was performed. The expression of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP-1, TIMP-2) was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Expression of MMP-9 mRNA and TIMP-1, TIMP-2 mRNA was quantified by real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: IL-1beta significantly stimulated MMP-9 production and mRNA expression. Trypsin converted latent MMP-2 and MMP-9 into their active forms of MMP-2 (66 kDa) and MMP-9 (82 kDa) within 24 hours. This conversion was significantly inhibited by 25(OH)D (100 nM) and 1,25(OH)2D (100 nM). The expression of MMP-9 mRNA was also significantly inhibited by 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D, 25(OH)D, and 1,25(OH)2D play a role in regulating human lung fibroblast functions in wound repair and tissue remodeling through not only inhibiting IL-1beta stimulated MMP-9 production and conversion to its active form but also inhibiting IL-1beta inhibition on TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 production.
Collagen ; Emphysema ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Fibroblasts* ; Gelatin ; Gels ; Humans ; Interleukin-1beta ; Lung Diseases ; Lung* ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; Matrix Metalloproteinases ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reverse Transcription ; RNA, Messenger ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-2 ; Trypsin ; Vitamin D* ; Wounds and Injuries

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical efficiency of fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) in the prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal aneuploidy. METHODS: We reviewed data of 268 cases to identify women undergoing genetic amniocentesis at cytogenetic laboratory, from January 2000 to December 2002. Amniotic fluid was submitted for both rapid FISH on uncultured interphase amniocytes using a commercially available DNA probe for chromosome 13, 18, 21, X, Y and standard karyotyping on cultured metaphase amniocytes. Results from FISH and full karyotype were compared. RESULTS: There were 251 cases (84%) normal and 17 cases (16%) abnormal in FISH results. All 17 cases of trisomy 13, 18, 21 including two cases of mosaicism and sex chromosome aneuploidies which are detected by FISH were confirmed with conventional cytogenetics and there was no false positive result. Twenty two cases had karyotypically proven abnormalities that could not have been detected by the targeted FISH. CONCLUSION: Interphase FISH analysis of uncultured amniotic fluid cells has been shown to be an effective and reliable technique for rapid fetal aneuploidy screening during pregnancy as an adjunctive test to conventional cytogenetics.
Amniocentesis ; Amniotic Fluid* ; Aneuploidy* ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 13 ; Cytogenetics ; DNA ; Female ; Fluorescence* ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization* ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; Interphase* ; Karyotype ; Karyotyping ; Mass Screening ; Metaphase ; Mosaicism ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Sex Chromosomes ; Trisomy

PURPOSE: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection can cause various neurological complications. This study aimed to investigate the RSV-associated neurologic manifestations that present with seizures. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients aged less than 15 years with laboratory-confirmed RSV infections and seizures between January 2011 and December 2016 in a regional hospital in South Korea. RESULTS: During this period, 1,193 patients with laboratory-confirmed RSV infection were identified. Of these, 35 (35 of 1,193, 2.93%; boys, 19; girls, 16; mean age: 20.8±16.6 months) presented with seizure. Febrile seizure was the most common diagnosis (27 of 35, 77.1%); simple febrile seizures in 13 patients (13 of 27, 48.1%) and complex febrile seizures in 14 (14 of 27, 51.9%). Afebrile seizures without meningitis or encephalopathy were observed in 5 patients (5 of 35, 14.3%), seizures with meningitis in 2 (2 of 35, 5.7%), and seizure with encephalopathy in 1 (1 of 35, 2.9%) patient. Lower respiratory symptoms were not observed in 8 patients. In a patient with encephalopathy, brain diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging revealed transient changes in white matter, suggesting cytotoxic edema as the mechanism underlying encephalopathy. Most patients recovered with general management, and progression to epilepsy was noted in only 1 patient. CONCLUSION: Although febrile seizures are the most common type of seizure associated with RSV infection, the proportion of patients with complex febrile seizures was higher than that of those with general febrile seizures. Transient cytotoxic edema may be a pathogenic mechanism in RSV-related encephalopathy with seizures.
Brain ; Brain Diseases ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Edema ; Epilepsy ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Medical Records ; Meningitis ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses ; Retrospective Studies ; Seizures ; Seizures, Febrile ; White Matter