OBJECTIVES: To examine emotional and psychological characteristics associated with suicide attempts in depressed patients. METHODS: A sample of 37 inpatients diagnosed with major depressive disorder or depressive disorder NOS was divided into two groups : lifetime suicide attempters(N=15 ; 40.54%), non-attempters(N=22 ; 59.46%). Beck Depression Scale(BDI), Beck Anxiety Scale(BAI), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale(HDRS), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale(HARS), and MMPI-2 were used to evaluate symptoms severity and psychological characteristics. RESULTS: Suicide attempters scored higher on the BDI though there were no group differences on the HDRS and on the both anxiety scales. Also they showed higher scores on the F, Fb, Pa, RC1, DEP, HEA, PK, AAS among MMPI-2 subscales. Our findings suggest that suicide attempters among depressed patients undergo more severe subjective distress and difficulties in adjustment than non-attempters. Also they were more hostile to others and showed lower trust. Lastly, they showed more somatic complaints and substance related problems. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that suicide attempters among depressed patients have distinct emotional and psychological characteristics. MMPI-2 would be helpful to assess suicidal risk of depressed patients.
Anxiety ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Pyrrolidines ; Suicide ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVE: The tripartite model categorizes symptoms of depression and anxiety into three groups: 1) non-specific general distress that is shared between depression and anxiety, 2) depression-specific symptoms that include low positive affect and loss of interest, and 3) anxiety-specific symptoms that include somatic arousal. The Mood and Anxiety Symptoms Questionnaire (MASQ) was developed to measure these three factors of depression and anxiety. The purpose of the present study was to test the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the MASQ (K-MASQ) in adolescents. METHODS: Community-dwelling adolescents (n=933) were randomly assigned to two groups. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted in each group to identify the factor structure of the K-MASQ. The reliability and validity of the K-MASQ were also evaluated. RESULTS: Our results support the three-factor structure of the K-MASQ in adolescents. However, we found that the specific items of each factor differed from those of the original MASQ. That is, the depression-specific factor was only related to low positive affect and not loss of interest, and the anxiety-specific factor included more items related to general somatic symptoms of anxiety. The reliability and validity of the K-MASQ were found to be satisfactory. CONCLUSION: The K-MASQ supports the tripartite model of depression and anxiety and has satisfactory reliability and validity among Korean adolescents. The K-MASQ can be used to distinguish unique symptoms of depression and anxiety in Korean adolescents.
Adolescent* ; Anxiety* ; Arousal ; Depression ; Humans ; Korea ; Psychometrics ; Surveys and Questionnaires* ; Reproducibility of Results

Asarum sieboldii Miq. (Aristolochiaceae) is a perennial herbaceous plant and has been used as traditional medicine for treating diseases, cold, fever, phlegm, allergies, chronic gastritis, and acute toothaches. Also, it has various biological activities, such as antiallergic, antiinflammatory, antinociceptive, and antifungal. However, the anticancer effect of A. sieboldii have been rarely reported, except anticancer effect on lung cancer cell (A549) of water extracts of A. sieboldii. This study investigated the anticancer activity of methanol extracts of A. sieboldii (MeAS) and the underlying mechanism in human FaDu hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells. MeAS inhibited FaDu cells grown dose-dependently without affecting normal cells (L929), as determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide and live and dead assay. In addition, concentration of MeAS without cytotoxicity (0.05 and 0.1 mg/mL) inhibited migration and colony formation. Moreover, MeAS treatment significantly induced apoptosis through the proteolytic cleavage of caspase-3, -7, -9, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, and downregulation of Bcl-2 and upregulation of Bax in FaDu cells, as determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis, 4`6-diamidino-2-phenylindole stain, and western blotting. Altogether, these results suggest that MeAS exhibits strong anticancer effects by suppressing the growth of oral cancer cells and the migration and colony formation via caspase- and mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathways in human FaDu hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells. Therefore, MeAS can serve as a natural chemotherapeutic for human oral cancer.

Asarum sieboldii Miq. (Aristolochiaceae) is a perennial herbaceous plant and has been used as traditional medicine for treating diseases, cold, fever, phlegm, allergies, chronic gastritis, and acute toothaches. Also, it has various biological activities, such as antiallergic, antiinflammatory, antinociceptive, and antifungal. However, the anticancer effect of A. sieboldii have been rarely reported, except anticancer effect on lung cancer cell (A549) of water extracts of A. sieboldii. This study investigated the anticancer activity of methanol extracts of A. sieboldii (MeAS) and the underlying mechanism in human FaDu hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells. MeAS inhibited FaDu cells grown dose-dependently without affecting normal cells (L929), as determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide and live and dead assay. In addition, concentration of MeAS without cytotoxicity (0.05 and 0.1 mg/mL) inhibited migration and colony formation. Moreover, MeAS treatment significantly induced apoptosis through the proteolytic cleavage of caspase-3, -7, -9, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, and downregulation of Bcl-2 and upregulation of Bax in FaDu cells, as determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis, 4`6-diamidino-2-phenylindole stain, and western blotting. Altogether, these results suggest that MeAS exhibits strong anticancer effects by suppressing the growth of oral cancer cells and the migration and colony formation via caspase- and mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathways in human FaDu hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells. Therefore, MeAS can serve as a natural chemotherapeutic for human oral cancer.

Ficus carica L. (fig) is one of the first cultivated crops and is as old as humans. This plant has been extensively used as a traditional medicine for treating diseases, such as cough, indigestion, nutritional anemia, and tuberculosis. However, the physiological activity of fig leaves on oral cancer is as yet unknown. In this study, we investigated the anticancer effect of methanol extracts of Ficus carica (MeFC) and the mechanism of cell death in human FaDu hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells. MeFC decreased the viability of oral cancer (FaDu) cells but did not affect the viability of normal (L929) cells, as determined by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay and Live and Dead assay. In addition, MeFC induced apoptosis through the proteolytic cleavage of procaspase-3, -9, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), downregulation of Bcl-2, and upregulation of Bax, as determined by 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride staining and western blot analysis. Moreover, a concentration of MeFC without cytotoxicity (0.25 mg/mL) significantly suppressed colony formation, a hallmark of cancer development, and completely inhibited the colony formation at 1 mg/mL. Collectively, these results suggest that MeFC exhibits a potent anticancer effect by suppressing the growth of oral cancer cells and colony formation via caspase- and mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathways in FaDu human hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma cells. Therefore, the methanol extract of Ficus carcica leaves provide a natural chemotherapeutic drug for human oral cancer.

PURPOSE: Noonan syndrome (NS) is characterized by short stature, congenital heart defects, mild mental retardation, and characteristic faces. We investigated the efficacy of growth hormone (GH) treatment and the adverse effect compared to sex and age-matched patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). METHODS: We included patients whose Noonan scores were over 60, treated with GH in Severance Children's Hospital. We analyzed height and height velocity before and during GH treatment in 14 NS patients (0.81 +/- 0.13 U/kg/wk) and also in 42 patients with sex- and age-matched GHD as a control group (0.78 +/- 0.17 U/kg/wk) at intervals of 3 months. RESULTS: At the start of GH treatment, mean age was 10.0 +/- 2.4 years, and mean height was 123.3 +/- 13.5 cm, and the height SDS was -2.79 +/- 0.85 in NS, while the mean age was 10.3 +/- 2.6 years, mean height was 119.6 +/- 13.5 cm, and the height SDS was -3.43 +/- 1.56 in GHD. Mean duration was 3.8 +/- 2.1 years in NS and 4.9 +/- 2.4 years in GHD. Mean height SDS increased from -2.79 SDS to -1.94 SDS in NS (p = 0.007) and from -3.43 SDS to -1.82 SDS in GHD (p 0.0001). Growth velocity increased from 3.7 +/- 1.2 cm/yr to 8.5 +/- 2.5 cm/yr (p < 0.0001) and 6.5 +/- 2.9 cm/yr (p = 0.016) during the first and second years of GH treatment, respectively, in NS and from 3.4 +/- 1.5 cm/yr to 8.8 +/- 2.3 cm/yr (p < 0.0001) and 8.1 +/- 3.2 cm/yr (p < 0.0001) in GHD. No severe adverse effects were observed during treatment. CONCLUSION: GH treatment in the NS patients increased growth velocity significantly, especially during the 1st year of treatment. GH treatment in NS is thought to be effective and relatively safe.
Growth Hormone ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; Noonan Syndrome ; Treatment Outcome

PURPOSE: We observed the frequencies of microvascular complications and their related factors in patients with type 1 diabetes. METHODS: Two hundred seventy one patients (111 males and 160 females, mean age 21.9 +/- 5.8 years) with type 1 diabetes were included. Subjects were all at least 10 years old and had diabetes for at least two years. Three types of microvascular complications (diabetic nephropathy, retinopathy, and neuropathy) were evaluated, and their frequencies and risk factors were analyzed. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of microvascular disease was 83/271 (30.6%). Microalbuminuria had developed in 39 patients (14.4%), persistent microalbuminuria in 31 patients (11.4%), and proteinuria in 12 (4.4%). Diabetic retinopathy had developed in 35 patients (12.9%) and neuropathy in 39 patients (13.7%). The mean HbA1c for 10 years was significantly higher in the patients with microvascular complications (10.5 +/- 2.8% vs. 8.4 +/- 1.4%). The rate of intensive management in the non-complication group was higher than in the microvascular complication group. The incidence of microalbuminuria was greater in males than females, but there were no gender differences in either diabetic retinopathy or neuropathy. Puberty and the duration of diabetes may be associated with microvascular complications. CONCLUSION: The incidence of microvascular complications in type 1 diabetes is declining. Sex, puberty, and the duration of diabetes as well as prolonged hyperglycemia are all related to microvascular complications. Therefore, intensive insulin management and regular screening for microvascular complications should be performed in patients who have either entered into puberty or have had diabetes for more than 5 years.
Diabetes Complications ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 ; Diabetic Retinopathy ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia ; Incidence ; Insulin ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Prevalence ; Proteinuria ; Puberty ; Risk Factors

Hypomagnesemia may arise from various disorders such as renal magnesium wasting, familial hypomagnesemia, inadequate intake and increased gastrointestinal loss. Hypomagnesemia and hypocalcemia were found in a month-old female patient with generalized tonic-clonic seizure. Twenty-four hour urine collection samples were used to assess renal magnesium wasting; fractional excretion of 24-hr urine magnesium was less than 1.45%, i.e., within the normal limits. The patient had no history of chronic diarrhea or failure to thrive, which supports the conclusion that intake was adequate. She had no family history of hypocalcemia, hypomagnesemia, or seizures. Here, we report a case of idiopathic hypomagnesemia.
Diarrhea ; Failure to Thrive ; Female ; Humans ; Hypocalcemia ; Magnesium ; Seizures ; Urine Specimen Collection