BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome increases the risk for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Many studies have revealed that eating frequency influences the total serum cholesterol level, glucose tolerance and obesity. Hypothesizing that an increase in eating frequency decreases the prevalence of metabolic syndrome with total energy intake adjusted, we evaluated the association between eating frequency and the risk of metabolic syndrome in Koreans aged more than 20 years old. METHODS: We used the data from the 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III and the Asia-Pacific regional obesity guidelines. To examine the association of metabolic syndrome with eating frequency, snack frequency and meal frequency, we performed multiple logistic regression analysis adjusting for age, sex, physical activity, daily caloric intake, smoking and drinking. RESULTS: Meal frequency was associated with metabolic syndrome in the 20-45 years group (P=0.011). Eating frequency was significantly related with metabolic syndrome in the group aged more than 45 years (P=0.025). Within the subgroup of subjects more than 45 years who had one or two meals a day, snack frequency showed a significant association with metabolic syndrome (P=0.038). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that a decreased eating frequency is associated with a risk of metabolic syndrome, although the causal relationship is not exactly known. It would be useful to pursue this question through further studies.
Adult ; Aged ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cholesterol ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Eating ; Energy Intake ; Food Habits ; Glucose ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Meals ; Motor Activity ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity ; Prevalence ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Snacks

Menetriers disease is a rare disease, characterized by a marked hypertrophy of the mucosa of the fundus and corpus of the stomach and gastrointestinal loss af protein often causing transient edema. The 16-Year-old female patient was admitted to the Seoul Adventist Hospital and she complained epigastric pain & discomfort for 20 days. Under the UGI & endoscoyy, pathologic examination was done. The diagnosis was estabilished. She wes treated medically.
Adolescent ; Diagnosis ; Edema ; Female ; Gastritis, Hypertrophic* ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Mucous Membrane ; Rare Diseases ; Seoul ; Stomach

Only 6% of conjoined twins are of the ischiopagus type in which the twins are joined symmetrically at the pelvis and fusion begins at the level of the common umbilicus. Two sets of female ischiopagus tetrapus conjoined twins were born in August, 1994. The longitudinal axis extended in a straight line in opposite directions and the heart, large vessels, musculo-skeletal system and genitourinary tracts were shared. Tetrapus is a subtype in which all 4 extremities are present. At 20 hours of age, separation was successfully performed under general anesthesia, requiring 185 minutes for twin A and 225 minutes for twin B at the Hanyang University Hospital. We describe the associated anomalies, surgical operation and anesthesia management of these 2 sets of ischiopagus tetrapus twins and now, l year after the operation, the two continue to live.
Anesthesia* ; Anesthesia, General ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Extremities ; Female ; Heart ; Humans ; Pelvis ; Twins, Conjoined* ; Umbilicus

Local anesthesia in strabismus surgery allows for the evaluation of ocular alignment during the operation and enables early postoperative recovery.However, extraocular muscle traction results in decreased heart rate and discomfort for the patient. Therefore, it is our attempt to reveal the degree of of decreased heart rate during extraocular muscle traction and the patient`s pain perception. This was done prospectively on personalities of the patient, preoperative heart rate in the operating room, change of heart rate and pain perception of the patient during surgery. The statistically significant decrease in heart rate due to the ocular cardiac reflex occurs during medial rectus resection, lateral rectus recession, and leads to less satisfaction in the anxious patients. Strabismus surgery under topical anesthesia does not decrease the heart rate significantly, therefore it is relatively safe and the patient`s personality was influence on the intraoperative pain perception of the patients.
Anesthesia* ; Anesthesia, Local ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Operating Rooms ; Pain Perception ; Prospective Studies ; Reflex ; Reflex, Oculocardiac ; Strabismus* ; Traction

Squamous cell carcinoma of the conjunctiva is a rare disease and usually arises at the limbus and spreads to the cornea, adjacent bulbar conjunctiva and sclera. We experienced two cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the cornea and bulbar conjunctiva. One patient was a 36-year old male with progressive loss of visual acuity and discomfort in the nasal side of the left eyeball for about 7 months. The other patient was a 67-year old male with excessive tearing, recurrent conjunctival injection and elevated mass on inferonasal side of the limbus of the left eye. Excisional biopsy was carried out and histopathologic examination revealed bulbar squamous cell carcinoma in both patients.
Adult ; Aged ; Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Conjunctiva* ; Cornea ; Humans ; Male ; Rare Diseases ; Sclera ; Visual Acuity

Purpose: To investigate the long-term clinical outcomes of transplanted amniotic membrane in patients who underwent permanent amniotic membrane transplantation (P-AMT) on cornea. Methods: From April 2014 to March 2021, medical records and digital photographs of 68 patients (72 eyes) who underwent P-AMT were analyzed retrospectively. The duration of complete re-epithelization of cornea and wearing therapeutic contact lense (T-lens) after surgery were investigated, the size of preserved amniotic membrane (AM) excluding the melted portion was analyzed using the Image J program every year up to 6 years after surgery, and it was compared by dividing into a single-layer group and a double-layer group. In addition, when the AM melts, the cause, time, and related factors of melting were analyzed. Results: The average duration to complete re-epithelialization after surgery was 12.2 ± 11.0 days, and T-lens were worn on average up to 8.7 ± 8.5 months after surgery. In total group, the average ratio of preserved AM annually up to 6 years after surgery was 94.9%, 94.3%, 97.8%, 96.4%, 95.8%, 91.6% respectively, and there was no significant difference between the single-layer group and the double-layer group. AM melting appeared in 38.9% (28 eyes) of the total group, and melting was first observed on average 16.4 ± 17.2 months after surgery. The formation and rupture of bullae was the most common cause of melting at 71.4% (20 eyes), and there were no statistically significant related factors involved in the formation of bullae. Conclusions In the case of P-AMT performed in various diseases of the cornea, the transplanted AM is partially melt but considered to be well preserved up to 6 years after surgery to form a stable ocular surface.

The objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness of 16-month milk consumption as a part of the health promotion community program for women in Asan. Subjects included 313 women belonging to the milk group (mean age = 69.1, range 47~89 y) and 66 women to the control (mean age = 43.6, range 20~69 y) group. For those in the milk group, one cup (200ml) of partially lactose-digested low-fat milk was provided everyday for 16 months. Each subject was interviewed to assess calcium intake by a 24-h recall after fasting blood was obtained for analyzing bone turnover markers, and calcaneus broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) was measured by quantitative ultrasound (QUS) on the left heel before and after the milk supplementation. After 16 months, the calcium intake levels changed from 55% of recommended dietary allowance (RDA) to 85% RDA in the milk group and from 73% RDA to 84% RDA in the control group. BUA were reduced from 67.9+/-8.1 to 64.7+/-17.5 dB/MHz for milk and from 90.4+/-13.0 to 87.2+/-15.2 dB/MHz for control groups. Paired ttest showed the changes of BUA for both groups (-3.24 and -3.15 dB/MHz for milk and control groups, respectively) were significant, but the two groups did not show any differences in absolute changes. When post-BUA was analyzed after age, initial BUA and menopausal status were controlled as covariates in ANCOVA model, the milk group showed significantly (p < 0.05) smaller changes than the control group (-3.50 vs -6.71 dB/MHz, respectively). According to a multiple regression analysis, milk consumption and initial BUA showed significant interaction meaning that those with lower initial BUA showed higher milk effects. We conclude that one-cup a day milk consumption for 16 month can prevent further bone loss and significantly improve calcium intake.
Calcaneus ; Calcium ; Chungcheongnam-do* ; Fasting ; Female ; Health Promotion ; Heel ; Humans ; Milk* ; Osteocalcin ; Recommended Dietary Allowances ; Ultrasonography*

Background: Soft tissue fillers are increasingly used to rejuvenate and beautify the body and face. Unknown foreign materials that have not always been proven to be safe for human use have been used for injections in the past. Various commercial injectable materials have since been developed and are used; however, the number of complications has increased as soft tissue fillers have increased in use. Methods: A retrospective study of 39 patients with facial foreign body complications who underwent surgical treatment between March 2012 and February 2021 was conducted. Patient information was analyzed, and patient satisfaction was evaluated using a questionnaire after surgical treatment. A comparative statistical analysis was undertaken. Results: Patients who underwent procedures performed by unlicensed practitioners tended to be older at the time of presenting to the hospital (P=0.004). The degree of satisfaction after surgical repair was significantly lower following the direct approach than after the indirect approach using a bypass incision (P=0.044). The degree of satisfaction significantly decreased (P=0.001) as the number of operations the patient received increased. Conclusions When treating complications caused by foreign material injections, surgical removal is a more reliable method than treatment with medication or further injections; however, treatment decisions should be made thoughtfully, and many factors must be considered. Patient satisfaction can be improved by reducing the number of operations and making the appropriate corresponding incisions or excisions to treat the full range of symptoms caused by foreign substances and by indirectly using bypass incisions to mitigate post-surgery scars.

Pulmonary hamartoma is uncommon benign tumor-like malformation, which comprises abnormal mixing of the normal components of the lung i.e., cartilage, fat, smooth muscle or respiratory epithelium. The majority occurs in fourth and fifth decades of life, but extremely rare in the pediatric age. Pulmonary hamartoma is clinically classified to endobronchial and intrapulmonary hamartoma. The majority of the pulmonary hamartomas have no clinical symptoms and are detected incidentally by routine chest roentgenograms. But definite diagnosis should be necessary, because of its difficulty to differentiate from malignant and inflammatory lesions. We report a case of intrapulmonary hamartoma which was detected by routine chest roentgenogram check up and diagnosed by fine needle aspiration biopsy and pathological examination with the review of the literature.
Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Cartilage ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Hamartoma* ; Humans ; Lung ; Muscle, Smooth ; Respiratory Mucosa ; Thorax

Objective: Endometrial fibrosis, the primary pathological feature of intrauterine adhesion, may lead to disruption of endometrial tissue structure, menstrual abnormalities, infertility, and recurrent pregnancy loss. At present, no ideal therapeutic strategy exists for this fibrotic disease. Eupatilin, a major pharmacologically active flavone from Artemisia, has been previously reported to act as a potent inducer of dedifferentiation of fibrotic tissue in the liver and lung. However, the effects of eupatilin on endometrial fibrosis have not yet been investigated. In this study, we present the first report on the impact of eupatilin treatment on transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β)-induced endometrial fibrosis. Methods: The efficacy of eupatilin on TGF-β–induced endometrial fibrosis was assessed by examining changes in morphology and the expression levels of fibrosis markers using immunofluorescence staining and quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: Eupatilin treatment significantly reduced the fibrotic activity of TGF-β–induced endometrial fibrosis in Ishikawa cells, which displayed more circular shapes and formed more colonies. Additionally, the effects of eupatilin on fibrotic markers including alpha-smooth muscle actin, hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha, collagen type I alpha 1 chain, and matrix metalloproteinase-2, were evaluated in TGF-β–induced endometrial fibrosis. The expression of these markers was highly upregulated by TGF-β pretreatment and recovered to the levels of control cells in response to eupatilin treatment. Conclusion Our findings suggest that suppression of TGF-β–induced signaling by eupatilin might be an effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of endometrial fibrosis.