No abstract available.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Humans ; Neuroma*

Animal models for human chronic pain syndromes were developed and widely used for pain research. One of thsese neuropathic pain model by Kim and Chung[1992] has many advantages for operation and pain elicitation. We have examined the c-fos protein, substance P, CGRP immunoreactivity in dorsal root ganglia and dorsal horn in this neuropathic model. About 50 Sprague-Dawley rats were used for this study. L5 and L6 spinal nerve were ligated tightly to produce neuropathic pain model. After 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 hours and 1 week of surgery, rats were anesthesized and sacrificed by perfusion through the left ventricle with saline followed by 0.1M phosphate buffer[pH 7.4] containing 3% paraformaldehyde, 3% glutaraldehyde, and 0.1% picric acid. After confirmation of the roots transected by the surgery, the L5 and L6 dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord were removed and processed for immunohistochemistry. All tissue sections were immunohistochemically stained for substance P, CGRP and c-fos by using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase[PAP] method. Count the number of immunostained substance P and CGRP dorsal root ganglion cells and c-fos immunoreactive dorsal horn cells and analyzed statistically with Mann-Whitney U test. The results are as follows. 1. The number of c-fos protein immunoreactive neurons in the superficial layer of dorsal horn were increased markedly at 2 hours after operation, gradually decreased to normal level 1 week after operation. 2. The number of c-fos protein immunoreactive neurons in the deep layer of dorsal horn were gradually increased to the peak 24 hours after operation, decreased to normal level 1 week after operation. 3. The number of substance P and CGRP immunoreactive L5 and L6 dorsal root ganglion neurons were decreased markedly at 1 week after pain model operation. In conclusion, after neuropathic pain model operation, c-fos protein were immediately expressed in the superficial layer of spinal dorsal horn, thereafter c-fos protein in the deep layer of spinal dorsal horn were expressed. CGRP and substance P immunoreactive neurons were decreased markedly 1 week after neuropathic pain model operation.
Animals ; Chronic Pain ; Ganglia, Spinal* ; Glutaral ; Heart Ventricles ; Horns* ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Models, Animal ; Neuralgia ; Neurons* ; Perfusion ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases* ; Posterior Horn Cells ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Nerve Roots* ; Spinal Nerves ; Substance P

Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis in men over 40 years old and the prevalence is increasing. Asymptomatic hyperuricemia is predisposing condition of gout but the frequency of progression to acute gout is not high enough to need prophylactic treatment. In acute gout flare, first line therapy is non-steroid anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs) or corticosteroids, depending on comorbidities. Colchicine is now second line therapy. Urate lowering therapy for gout needs to be initiated when the second attack occurs in a year. Allopurinol, a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, has been the most widely used agent for the treatment of chronic gout. Now, febuxostat has emerged as a new xanthine oxidase inhibitor that is expected to be useful in patients with mildly decreased renal function. Uricosuric agents are alternative therapies for patients with preserved renal function and no history of nephrolithiasis. During urate lowering therapy, the dose should be titrated upward until the serum uric acid level is kept less than 6mg/dL. When initiating urate lowering therapy, concurrent prophylactic therapy with NSAIDs or low dose colchicine for more than six months is recommended for reducing flare-ups. In chronic gout treatment, dietary modification seems to have minimal effect, but alcohol drinking and weight control can be recommended.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Alcohol Drinking ; Allopurinol ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Arthritis ; Arthritis, Gouty ; Colchicine ; Comorbidity ; Complementary Therapies ; Food Habits ; Gout ; Humans ; Hyperuricemia ; Male ; Nephrolithiasis ; Prevalence ; Thiazoles ; Uric Acid ; Uricosuric Agents ; Xanthine Oxidase ; Febuxostat

The objectives of this study were to: (a) examine the overall operating conditions of both government-dominant and non-governmental food bank programs, (b) understand the operational management attributes on the target based on IPA (importance performance analysis)(c) analyze the present status of donating management, and (d) suggest a direction based on the analysis of advantages and disadvantages of food banks in each part. The random samples of 120 food bank operators were selected by a proportionate stratified random sampling method. A total of 60 government-dominant food banks and 25 non-governmental food banks were analyzed. The main results of this study were as follows: According to the Importance-Performance Analysis of operational management, "assistance for operating funds" and "deployment of experience staff" were placed at "Focus Here". There was a great shortage of experienced staff with food bank-specific knowledge. The average number of the government-dominant and non-governmental food bank program employees was 0.29 and 0.30 respectively, while the ratios of employees with other jobs were 0.96 and 0.83 respectively. Shortages of refrigeration facilities were an area that needs to be addressed. While 51.6% of donated food required cold storage, only 45% of government-dominant and 60% of non-governmental food bank programs had refrigeration facilities. Most of food bank operators (96.3%) were required to visit the donators' locations to pick up the donated foods. And the foods were distributed to the people in need, especially to the livelihood protectee.
Refrigeration

The purpose of this study was to examine the donators' characteristics and donative foods of both government-dominant and non-governmental food bank program, to understand the problems and benefits of food bank program, and to find the solutions to activate food bank program. The questionnaires were distributed to 120 food bank operators and 3 donators were selected from each food bank for the survey from April 2002 to May 2002. 118 sheets (32.8%) from government-dominant food bank and 53 sheets (20.1%) from non-governmental food bank were collected. The main results of this study were as follows: The largest donators to either government-dominant or non-governmental food bank programs were bakery and confectionery companies 31.4% and 45.3% respectively. The majority of donated foods were "goods in stock" (55.6%) and frequency of donation were largely on a daily basis (27.1% for government-dominant and 22.6% for non-governmental). Some of the donators who had more donative food did not donate, and the reasons were closeness to expiration date of food (67.3%), lack of legal protection in the event of food poisoning (54.5%), and poor public image of food related accidents (52.3%).
Foodborne Diseases

OBJECTIVE: We studied the correlation of duration and frequency of febrile convulsion with peripheral leukocytosis and hyponatremia and identified whether peripheral leukocytosis and hyponatremia to be prognostic factors. METHODS: Two hundred sixty three children who admitted to Pediatric Department of Dongsan Medical Center for febrile convulsion from April, 1999 to March, 2001 were studied. We grouped patients according to the duration of convulsion, daily frequency and total frequency. Body temperature on admission, leukocytes count, platelet count, serum Na level and CSF findings were analysed among the groups. RESULTS: Febrile convulsions occurred more ofthe in males(61%) than females(31%) and most frequently occured in winter(37.2%). There were no meaningful differences in serum sodium concentration and peripheral WBC count among groups according to seizure duration. There were no meaningful differences between groups according to seizure frequency. The protein concentrations of CSF were high in children who developed seizures before 9 months of age(P<0.003). There were no meaningful differences among groups according to seizure types. CONCLUSION: When we compared each group, we could not find any significant statistical correlation. We concluded that peripheral leukocytosis and serum Na level are not predicting factors but they are helpful to find etiology of fever.
Body Temperature ; Child ; Fever ; Humans ; Hyponatremia ; Leukocytes ; Leukocytosis ; Platelet Count ; Seizures ; Seizures, Febrile* ; Sodium

OBJECTIVE: Given the considerable disagreement between the Peer Assessment Rating (PAR) index and the American Board of Orthodontics Cast-Radiograph Evaluation, we aimed to develop a novel assessment system-the Improvement and Completion of Outcome (ICO) index-to evaluate the outcome of orthodontic treatment. METHODS: Sixteen criteria from 4 major categories were established to represent the pretreatment malocclusion status, as well as the degree of improvement and level of completion of outcome during/after treatment: dental relationship (arch length discrepancy, irregularity, U1-SN, and IMPA); anteroposterior relationship (overjet, right and left molar position, ANB); vertical relationship (anterior overbite, anterior open-bite, lateral open-bite, SN-MP); and transverse relationship (dental midline discrepancy, chin point deviation, posterior cross-bite, occlusal plane cant). The score for each criterion was defined from 0 or −1 (worst) to 5 (ideal value or normal occlusion) in gradations of 1. The sum of the scores in each category indicates the area and extent of the problems. Improvement and completion percentages were estimated based on the pre- and post-treatment total scores and the maximum total score. If the completion percentage exceeded 80%, treatment outcome was considered successful. RESULTS: Two cases, Class I malocclusion and skeletal Class III malocclusion, are presented to represent the assessment procedure using the ICO index. The difference in the level of improvement and completion of treatment outcome can be clearly explained by using 2 percentage values. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, the ICO index enables the evaluation of the quality of orthodontic treatment objectively and consecutively throughout the entire treatment process.
Chin ; Dental Occlusion ; Malocclusion ; Molar ; Orthodontics ; Overbite ; Treatment Outcome

Prosthetic valve thrombosis (PVT) can be a life-threatening complication that requires immediate treatment. We present a case of 57-year-old woman with tricuspid PVT who was definitely diagnosed by multi-detector-row computed tomography limited with echocardiography. The patient was treated successfully with an alternative approach using low molecular weight heparin bridging therapy followed by intensifying anticoagulation alone.
Echocardiography ; Female ; Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Thrombosis* ; Tricuspid Valve*

As elderly population is growing rapidly, the number of patients with arthritis is also increasing. Because of the prolonged lifetime, arthritic patients become to have more chances to undergo surgical procedures. Many of these patients chronically receive medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroid, and various disease-modifying anti-rheumatic disease (DMARDs) including biologic agents. Decisions regarding withholding or modifying the regimens of these medications may be critical in the perioperative period to optimize surgical outcome. Consultation with a rheumatologist is recommended, but the surgeon also should be aware of these medications. This review article suggests a balanced perioperative medication management to minimize potential surgical complications and maintain disease control in arthritic patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This meta-analysis compared the effects of amlodipine besylate, a charged dihydropyridine-type calcium channel blocker (CCB), with other non-CCB antihypertensive therapies regarding the cardiovascular outcome. METHODS: Data from seven long-term outcome trials comparing the cardiovascular outcomes of an amlodipine-based regimen with other active regimens were pooled and analyzed. RESULTS: The risk of myocardial infarction was significantly decreased with an amlodipine-based regimen compared with a non-CCB-based regimen (odds ratio [OR], 0.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.84 to 0.99; p = 0.03). The risk of stroke was also significantly decreased (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.79 to 0.90; p < 0.00001). The risk of heart failure increased slightly with marginal significance for an amlodipine-based regimen compared with a non-CCB-based regimen (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.98 to 1.31; p = 0.08). However, when compared overall with beta-blockers and diuretics, amlodipine showed a comparable risk. Amlodipine-based regimens demonstrated a 10% risk reduction in overall cardiovascular events (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82 to 0.99; p = 0.02) and total mortality (OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.91 to 0.99; p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Amlodipine reduced the risk of total cardiovascular events as well as all-cause mortality compared with non-CCB-based regimens, indicating its benefit for high-risk cardiac patients.
Amlodipine/*therapeutic use ; Antihypertensive Agents/*therapeutic use ; Blood Pressure/*drug effects ; Calcium Channel Blockers/*therapeutic use ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; Heart Failure/etiology/mortality/*prevention & control ; Humans ; Hypertension/complications/diagnosis/*drug therapy/mortality/physiopathology ; Myocardial Infarction/etiology/mortality/*prevention & control ; Odds Ratio ; Risk Factors ; Stroke/etiology/mortality/*prevention & control ; Treatment Outcome