Lectin is a non-immunological glycoprotein and binds specifically to carbohydrate terminals in tissue. Lectin histochemistry using 10 different biotinylated lectins was performed to investigate the effects on thirty-two pigmented rabbit retinas during wound healing. The results are as follows: 1) In normal retina. a) WGA, RCA I, and LCA were bound to the internal limiting membrane. b) WGA, RCA I, LCA, and PNA were bound to the photoreceptor layer. c) WGA, RCA I, LCA, SJA, ConA and BSL I were bound to the basal side of retinal pigment epithelium. d) PNA was bound to cone cell only. e) SBA, DBA, and UEA I didn't bind to any layers of retina. 2) In photocoagulated wound. One day after photocoagulation WGA, LCA and RCA I began to show increased reaction. At 3 and 5 days these lectins sustained reactivity. At 7 days increased reactivity began to decrease or disappear from wound. Macrophages had positive reaction to BSL I, WGA, LCA, and RCA I. In conclusion these results indicate that a-mannose, a glucose, a, beta-galactose, N-acetylglucosamine, and N-acetylneuramic acid are present in glycoconjugates of normal rabbit neural retina. It seems that some glycoconjugates may be related to vitreoretinal, retinal and chorioretinal adhesion in normnal retinal, and after argon laser photocoagulation. WGA-binding, LCA-binding and RCA I-binding glycoconjugates may play a part in cell adhesion during early wound healing.
Argon* ; Cell Adhesion ; Glucose ; Glycoconjugates* ; Glycoproteins ; Lectins ; Light Coagulation* ; Macrophages ; Membranes ; Retina* ; Retinal Pigment Epithelium ; Retinaldehyde ; Wound Healing* ; Wounds and Injuries*

Background and Objectives: To examine the maturational status of the auditory cortex in adults with cochlear implants (CIs) using the latencies of the P1, N1, and P2 components of cortical auditory-evoked potentials (CAEPs). Subjects and Methods: A total of 25 adults with CIs and 25 age-matched, normal-hearing control subjects participated in this study. Specifically, patients with CIs were divided into three groups depending on their age of deafness onset: Group A comprised patients with prelingual deafness who had received CI during early childhood (n=7), Group B comprised patients with early childhood-onset, progressive deafness who had received CI during childhood (n=6), and Group C comprised patients with adult-onset deafness (n=12). The P1, N1, and P2 latencies of their CAEPs were then compared between CI patients and normal-hearing subjects. Results: All participants showed clear CAEP responses. P1 and N1 latencies in Group A and Group C patients were significantly longer than those in the control group. Meanwhile, Group B patients had significantly longer N1 and P2 latencies, as compared with those in the control group. Conclusions Patients with prelingual deafness and those with early-childhood onset, progressive deafness who received CI developed primary and higher-order auditory areas postoperatively when they became adults. However, their auditory cortex maturational statuses seemed to be worse than that of normal-hearing individuals. Furthermore, adult patients with late-onset deafness might experience degenerative auditory cortex changes during the auditory deprivation period between deafness onset and cochlear implantation.

BACKGROUND: Automated external defibrillator(AED) represent a major breakdown to permit more widespread application of the principle of early defibrillation. Many recent efforts to improve emergency medical services(EMS) and increase survival rates are simply efforts to get defibrillation to patients as rapidly as possible. AED is major innovation for the prehospital care of ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest patients. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the course of initial training to three different groups(nurses, firefighters, and EMT trainee) to use AED. METHOD: We studies the efficacy of education of AED to 33 nurses, 15 EMT trainee, and 16 firefighters. Training lasted 75 mins and included 45 mins an overview of defibrillation, protocols for using the AED, and operation of the AED(Laerdal Heartstart 3000),15 mins demonstraion.4 check list was used to grade the performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, operation of the AED, and the time required to deliver the first three defibrillations. RESULT: There were no statistically significant differences in performance and time required to deliver an electrical countershock among the groups(p=0.4). To the second test 92fo of all group completed all steps successfully. The step most often foiled was the preparing of the AED for defibrillation. CONCLUSION: In nurses, EMT trainee, and firefighters, it is both feasible and effective to train AED use irrespective of the degree of the trainee.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ; Defibrillators* ; Education ; Emergencies* ; Firefighters* ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Survival Rate ; Ventricular Fibrillation

Eclampsia and hypertensive encephalopathy share similar pathophysiological mechanisms, which present as vaso-genic edema and vasospasm. In majority of the patients, neurologic manifestations are reversible. A 31-year-old pregnant woman in her 40 weeks of gestation developed repeated attacks of seizure and confused mentality. As consciousness improved, multiple neurologic deficits were detected. Cerebral angiography a showed diffuse vasospasm. Six months later, neurologic manifestations were partially recovered. We report a rare case of eclampsia with irreversible neurologic deficits, in which cerebral vasospasm was confirmed by an angiography. (J Korean Neurol Assoc 19(5):537~540, 2001)
Adult ; Angiography ; Cerebral Angiography ; Consciousness ; Eclampsia* ; Edema ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertensive Encephalopathy ; Neuroimaging* ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Seizures ; Vasospasm, Intracranial

Idiopathic hypertrophic cranial pachymeningitis (IHCP) is a rare disease, which causes chronic progressive inflammation and thickening of the basal dura mater and produces multiple cranial neuropathies, headache, ataxia, and seizure. A 40 year-old man presented with a continuous, diffuse, dull headache with left periorbital pain, exophthalmos, ptosis and loss of visual perception. Brain MRI revealed thickened, highly enhanced pachymeninges in all supratentorial areas in association with the left cavernous sinus. A subsequent meningeal biopsy showed non-specific chronic inflammations of the pachymeninges. The patient dramatically responded to steroid therapy. To our knowledge, this is an extremely rare case of IHCP associated with Tolosa-Hunt syndrome. (J Korean Neurol Assoc 19(1):56~59, 2001
Adult ; Ataxia ; Biopsy ; Brain ; Cavernous Sinus ; Cranial Nerve Diseases ; Dura Mater ; Exophthalmos ; Headache ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Meningitis* ; Rare Diseases ; Seizures ; Tolosa-Hunt Syndrome* ; Visual Perception

PURPOSE: In recent years, obesity in children has become one of the major nutritional problems, and the trend is that number of obese children is increasing. The purpose of this research is to examine the incidence of obesity in pubescent school children in Seoul and Cheju, and to analyze body fat component, complications and eating habits of those obese children in order to obtain basic information for prevention of obesity in children in the future. METHODS: The total number of 4,555 junior high school students from 4 schools consisting of 1,234 boys and 3,321 girls were examined based on their height and weight. For those children, obesity index was calculated based on the 50th percentile obtained from standard weight for height of children proposed by the Korean Pediatric Association in 1985. The body fat component was measured and compared between 275 children of 530 obese children(11.6%) and 275 children from the control group by Futrex-5000 A body fat and fitness computer. Of those children, oral glucose tolerance test, blood pressure, and biochemical studies were performed on 31 children whose follow-up was possible, and their exercise load and eating habits were examined. RESULTS: It was found that 11.6% of the subject children were obese, which consisted of 12.4% in boys and 11.4% in girls. The study showed 11.4% obesity ratio in Seoul and 13.2% obesity ratio in Cheju, but the difference was insignificant. Percents of bodyfat was 25.3+/-5.7% (mean+/-SD) for control group, 32.9+/-4.8% for mild obesity group, 35.6% for moderate obesity group, and 37.2+/-4.0% for severe obesity group. The morbidity of complications of those 31 children whose follow-up was possible showed the highest percentage of 29.0% in hyperlipidemia, and lower percentage in hypertension, elevated AST and/or ALT, glucose intolerance, diabetes, respectively. The eating habit analysis showed the total calorie intake/total energy expenditure ratio of 1.10 which is higher in calories than energy consumption, and the food intake evaluation showed that 23.3% of fat was contained in total calorie intake. CONCLUSIONS: The childhood obesity becomes the primary cause of adult obesity, hypertension and diabetes, and therefore, eating habits and exercise load should be carefully observed in order to prevent childhood obesity. In addition to the health care provided currently by schools, regular physical check-up should undertaken for early diagnosis to conduct appropriate tests and treatment.
Adipose Tissue ; Adult ; Blood Pressure ; Child* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Early Diagnosis ; Eating ; Energy Metabolism ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glucose Intolerance ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Incidence* ; Jeju-do ; Obesity* ; Obesity, Morbid ; Pediatric Obesity ; Seoul

The transpetrosal transtentorial supra- and infratentorial combined approach has been used by many skull base surgeons for the total removal of large tumors in the cerebellopontine, petroclival, and dumbbell-shaped mass of the middle and posterior cranial bases. When surgeons use the retrolabyrinthine approach for hearing preservation, adequate exposure of the presigmoid dura might be hard to achive. In order to get a wider operating field with hearing preservation, the authors used the transpetrosal approach with partial labyrinthectomy for a large dermoid cyst in the cerebellopontine angle which extened to the middle cranial base through the Meckel's cave.
Cerebellopontine Angle ; Dermoid Cyst ; Hearing* ; Skull Base

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Adenoid enlargement occurs most commonly between the age of three and ten. Atrophy usually begins at the age of ten and is completed before the age of twenty. In recent years, an increasing number of adolescents undergoing adenoidectomy has been noticed. We investigated the age change in 1990s. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A retrospective study was performed on 1,198 patients who underwent adenoidectomy due to adenoid vegetation confirmed by physical, radiologic, and endoscopic studies. The mean age was analyzed annually and the period of 1990s was divided into the first (from January 1990 to December 1994) and second half (from January 1995 to December 1999). In addition, the same analysis was performed for each age group below ten and above eleven. RESULTS: The study showed that the mean age of study population was 7.35, with the mean age of the first half being 7.10 and the second 7.52. Specifically, the mean age of the group below ten was 6.37 in the first half and 6.16 in the second half, and the group above eleven was 12.56 in the first half and 13.32 in the second half. CONCLUSION: The mean age of the patients who underwent adenoidectomy have increased during the econd half, especially in the age groups greater more than eleven.
Adenoidectomy* ; Adenoids ; Adolescent ; Atrophy ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although the necessity of hearing aids as one of the rehabilitation methods is increasing, many hearing impaired persons are avoiding the use of behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids and prefer the complete-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aids. CIC hearing aids have cosmetic and acoustic advantages but have problems of acoustic feedback and discomfort in wearing. Changes in the external auditory canal (EAC) by mandibular movements are a primary factor for the acoustic feedback and discomfort. The purpose of this research is to study the pattern of changes in the EAC by mandibular movement using the Korean population as subjects and to get basic data concerning the manufacture of impressions and shells for CIC hearing aids. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subjects were 19 men with a fit external ear diameter to make CIC hearing aid. Impressions were made by taking 5 different conditions of jaw into consideration : fully opened state, 1/2 opened state, biting state, chewing state and resting state. Impressions were scanned at intervals of O.1mm using a 3D Laser digitizing system. We measured anterior to posterior (AP) width and superior to inferior (SI) height of each impression at the first bend, interbend and the 2nd bend of 5 conditions. RESULTS: Compared with the resting state, statistically significant changes in the AP width of the ear canal were observed at the interbend in the following order : fully opened jaw, 1/2 opened jaw (p <0.05), at 1st bend: 1/2 opened jaw (p<0.05). The 2nd bend biting state showed maximal AP width of the ear canal (p<0.05). The SI height of ear canal revealed statistically insignificant changes. CONCLUSION: We recommend making of ear impressions in the chewing state and shells to be supported at the interbend of the ear canal. The SI dimension of a shell tip should be more ground than AP dimension.
Acoustics ; Ear Canal* ; Ear* ; Ear, External ; Hearing Aids ; Humans ; Jaw ; Male ; Mandible ; Mastication ; Persons With Hearing Impairments ; Rehabilitation

BACKGROUND: Neurodegenerative diseases are associated with oxidative stress. Antioxidants including 15-deoxy- Delta (12,14) prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2) have been tried as potential therapeutic regimens of the experimental model of neurodegenerative disease. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective role of 15d-PGJ2 on cytochrome c mediated apoptotic signals in oxidative stress injured neuronally-differentiated PC12 cells (nPC12 cells) by exposing them to H2O2. METHODS: Following 100 micor M H2O2 exposure, the viability of nPC12 cells (pretreated with 15d-PGJ2 vs. not pretreated) was evaluated by using MTT assay. Immunoreactivity (IR) of cytochrome c, caspase-3, and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) was examined by using a Western blot. RESULTS: In this study, 15d-PGJ2 pretreated nPC12 cells showed an increase in cell viability until the concentrations of 15d-PGJ2 reached up to 4 micor M, but there was no increment of cell viability in higher concentrations. The inhibition of cytochrome c release, activation of caspase-3, and cleavage of PARP were demonstrated by the pretreatment of 15d-PGJ2 up to 4 micor M. However, these were not observed in the pretreatment with 8 micor M 15d-PGJ2. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that 15d-PGJ2 affects the apoptotic pathway through downstream signals including cytochrome c and caspase-3 pathway. Therefore, these results suggest that 15d-PGJ2 could be a new potential therapeutic candidate for the oxidative stress-injury model of neurodegenerative diseases.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Caspase 3 ; Cell Survival ; Cytochromes c ; Models, Theoretical ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Oxidative Stress ; PC12 Cells*