BACKGROUND: There were several reports that thyroid autoimrnune disease commonly found in myasthenia gravis patients. We performed this study to determine the prevalence of thyroid autoimmune disease as well as analyze correlation between acetylcholine receptor antibody and various thyroid autoantibadies among the myasthenia gravis patients in Korea. METHOD: The patient group, 48 patients, diagnosed as myasthenia gravis from January 1985 to December 1995 at the department of Neurology, Internal medicine at Dongsan Medical Center was compaired to the control group, 40 patients, with no age and sex difference from the patient group. The samples were collected from both group for the measure of the values of acetylcholine receptor antibody, thyroid autoantibody and thyroid hormones. RESULT: 1) The values of acetylcholine receptor antibody in myasthenia gravis group and control group were 5.78+-0.7nM and 0.05+-0.06nM respectively. Of 48 patients with myasthenia gravis, 38 patients have been measured acetylcholine receptor antibody value > 0.5nM, Their mean average value was 7.24+-0.66nM. 2) The severe myasthenia gravis group with value of acetylcholine receptor antibody 0.5nM and severe myasthenia gravis group with value of acetylcholine receptor antibody 0.5nM showed thyroglobulin antibody value of 159.6+-79.91IU/mL versus 56.86+-32.99IU/mL. also thyroid microsomal antibody value showed 159.0+-79.9IU/mL and 23.633+-0.19IU/mL respectively. 3) Of 48 myasthenia gravis patients, 12 patients (24%) had high value of antithyroglobulin antibody or anti-microsomal antibody and 5 patients (10%) had both antibodies at the same times. In contrast, only 3 patients (8%) were observed with high value of either one of antibodies. Patient with both antibodies was not observed in normal control group. CONCLUSION: According to the datas we have obtained, appearence of the thyroid autoantibody is significantly greater in severe myasthenia gravis group than normal control group. Therefore it is suggested that the prevalence of thyroid autoimmune disease is higher in severe myasthenia gravis group than mild myasthenia gravis group or normal control group.
Acetylcholine* ; Antibodies ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Humans ; Internal Medicine ; Korea ; Myasthenia Gravis* ; Neurology ; Prevalence* ; Sex Characteristics ; Thyroglobulin ; Thyroid Diseases* ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Hormones

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of pretreatment of three different universal adhesives (Single Bond Universal [SBU], All-Bond Universal [ABU], and Prime&Bond universal [PBU]) on the bonding durability of an adhesive (Panavia F 2.0, PF) and a conventional (Duo-Link, DL) resin cements to air-abraded zirconia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rectangular-shaped zirconia specimens were prepared. The chemical composition and surface energy parameters of the materials were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and contact angle measurement, respectively. To evaluate resin bonding to the zirconia, all the bonding specimens were immersed in water for 24 h and the specimens to be aged were additionally thermocycled 10000 times before the shear bond strength (SBS) test. RESULTS: The materials showed different surface energy parameters, including the degree of hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity. While the DL/CON (no pretreatment) showed the lowest SBS and a significant decrease in the value after thermocycling (P < .001), the PF/CON obtained a higher SBS value than the DL/CON (P < .001) and no decrease even after thermocycling (P = .839). When the universal adhesives were used with DL, their SBS values were higher than the CON (P < .05), but the trend was adhesive-specific. In conjunction with PF, the PF/SBU produced the highest SBS followed by the PF/ABU (P = .002), showing no significant decrease after thermocycling (P > .05). The initial SBS of the PF/PBU was similar to the PF/CON (P = .999), but the value decreased after thermocycling (P < .001). CONCLUSION The universal adhesive pretreatment did not necessarily show a synergistic effect on the bonding performance of an adhesive resin cement, whereas the pretreatment was beneficial to bond strength and durability of a conventional resin cement.

PURPOSE: The detection of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is increasing these days; however, there is currently no satisfactory definitive preoperative diagnostic method. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is now the most accurate method to diagnose PTC preoperatively. It is known that the specificity of BRAF mutation is high in papillary thyroid carcinoma. Therefore, detection of BRAF mutation using a FNAC slide can be helpful to diagnose PTC preoperatively. METHODS: 13 patients with benign disease, 36 patients with PTC and 23 patients with an indeterminate diagnosis as determined histologically on the FNAC slide were evaluated to detect BRAF mutation with using FNAC slides and intraoperative fresh tissue. RESULTS: Mutation was detected using direct sequencing and the colorimetric method. The frequency of BRAF mutation was 86.3% for all the PTC cases. The concordance between the colorimetric method and direct sequencing was 57.1%. During DNA extraction from the FNAC slide, the DNA damage is so severe that direct sequencing is succeeded in only one case. CONCLUSION: We have to take measures to overcome and prevention DNA damage during extraction. The colorimetric method is not reliable.
Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Carcinoma ; DNA ; DNA Damage ; Factor IX ; Humans ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thyroid Neoplasms

A gastric duplication cyst is an extremely rare developmental anomaly, comprising 2~8% of all alimentary duplication cysts with most being reported in children. However, this condition should be included in a differential diagnosis of partially obstructing cystic masses of the stomach. Moreover, the possibility of a malignancy within it should be considered particularly in adults. The excision of duplication cysts has become feasible with the introduction of laparoscopic gastric surgery. We report a 17-year-old female suffering from postprandial abdominal discomfort and nausea. Two cystic lesions in her stomach were found by preoperatively endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and the computed tomography (CT). Laparoscopic wedge resections of the gastric lesions were performed, and the postoperative pathologic examination disclosed multiple gastric duplication cysts with no evidence of a malignancy. The patient made an uneventful postoperative recovery and has remained a asymptomatic for 8 months after surgery.
Adolescent ; Adult* ; Child ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Endosonography ; Female ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Nausea ; Stomach

BACKGROUND: Arm span measurements provide a practical substitute for standing height to predict normal spirometric values in subjects unable to stand or those with a skeletal deformity such as kyphoscoliosis. The relationship between arm span and height has previously been reported as either a fixed ratio unaffected by age or as a regression equation in which the ratio varies as a function of age. The fixed ratio or regression equation is known to be specific for sex and race. METHODS: We studied the relationship between standing height, arm span, and age in 381 Korean adult female subjects (ages 20 to 69 yrs) sampled in a general population. RESULTS: The mean ratio for arm span to height is 1.004. Multiple linear analysis found arm span and age to be predictive of standing height (p=0.0001, r2=0.76). We performed the analysis of the difference between the predicted height using either fixed ratio or regression equation and actual height. At the extremes of arm span and age, the ratio method either underestimated (at smaller arm span or younger age) or overestimated (at larger arm span or older age) as compared with actual height (p=0.0001). CONCLUSION: This results indicate that the estimated height using the fixed ratio method provides a less acceptable method of estimating height for the prediction of lung volumes in the Korean adult women when compared with the regression equations, especially at the extremes of stature or age.
Adult* ; Arm* ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Continental Population Groups ; Female ; Humans ; Lung ; Spirometry

Very virulent infectious bursal disease virus (vvIBDV) causes high mortality in chickens but measures to reduce the mortality have not been explored. Chickens (8–9 weeks) were treated with 3 agents before and during vvIBDV inoculation. Dexamethasone treatment reduced the mortality of infected chickens (40.7% vs. 3.7%; p < 0.001), but treatment with aspirin or vitamin E plus selenium did not affect the mortality. The bursa of Fabricius appeared to have shrunk in both dead and surviving chickens (p < 0.01). The results indicate that dexamethasone can reduce mortality in vvIBDV-infected chickens and may provide therapeutic clues for saving individual birds infected by the virus.

Very virulent infectious bursal disease virus (vvIBDV) causes high mortality in chickens but measures to reduce the mortality have not been explored. Chickens (8–9 weeks) were treated with 3 agents before and during vvIBDV inoculation. Dexamethasone treatment reduced the mortality of infected chickens (40.7% vs. 3.7%; p < 0.001), but treatment with aspirin or vitamin E plus selenium did not affect the mortality. The bursa of Fabricius appeared to have shrunk in both dead and surviving chickens (p < 0.01). The results indicate that dexamethasone can reduce mortality in vvIBDV-infected chickens and may provide therapeutic clues for saving individual birds infected by the virus.

Corticosterone is known to modulate GABAergic synaptic transmission in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus. However, the underlying receptor mechanisms are largely unknown. In the anterior hypothalamic area (AHA), the sympathoinhibitory center that project GABAergic neurons onto the PVN, we examined the expression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) of GABAergic neurons using intact GAD65-eGFP transgenic mice, and the effects of corticosterone on the burst firing using adrenalectomized transgenic mice. GR or MR immunoreactivity was detected from the subpopulations of GABAergic neurons in the AHA. The AHA GABAergic neurons expressed mRNA of GR (42%), MR (38%) or both (8%). In addition, in brain slices incubated with corticosterone together with RU486 (MR-dominant group), the proportion of neurons showing a burst firing pattern was significantly higher than those in the slices incubated with vehicle, corticosterone, or corticosterone with spironolactone (GR-dominant group; 64 vs. 11~14%, p<0.01 by chi2-test). Taken together, the results show that the corticosteroid receptors are expressed on the GABAergic neurons in the AHA, and can mediate the corticosteroid-induced plasticity in the firing pattern of these neurons. This study newly provides the experimental evidence for the direct glucocorticoid modulation of GABAergic neurons in the AHA in the vicinity of the PVN.
Animals ; Anterior Hypothalamic Nucleus ; Brain ; Corticosterone ; Fires ; GABAergic Neurons ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic ; Mifepristone ; Neurons ; Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus ; Plastics ; Receptors, Glucocorticoid ; Receptors, Mineralocorticoid ; Receptors, Steroid ; RNA, Messenger ; Spironolactone ; Synaptic Transmission

The production of miniature animals has been suggested for use in organ transplantation. At present, many of the studies about application of animal organs to human have been focused on pigs because of the number of advantages involved and due to their similarities with human. However, a physiological analysis of the organs to be transplanted has not yet been carried out. Therefore, this study analyzed whether or not there were physiological and morphological differences in the hearts of conventionallyreared pigs and micropigs. In this study, the morphological and physiological functions of the heart were examined using radiographic and echocardiographic equipment. In the lateral radiographic view, the heart of the micropig has a larger cardiac long axis : short axis ratio than does the conventional pig, but the difference in the vertebral heart score was not significant. In addition, there were no morphological differences on the X-ray fluoroscopic view. There were no differences in echocardiographic values, except for several values in the left ventricle traces. Overall, it is expected that the values measured in this study will contribute to understanding of the physiological characteristics of micropigs.
Animals ; Echocardiography/veterinary ; Fluoroscopy/veterinary ; Heart/*physiology/*radiography ; Stroke Volume/physiology ; Swine ; Swine, Miniature

Dental primary afferent (DPA) neurons and proprioceptive mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus (MTN) neurons, located in the trigeminal ganglion and the brainstem, respectively, are essential for controlling masticatory functions. Despite extensive transcriptomic studies on various somatosensory neurons, there is still a lack of knowledge about the molecular identities of these populations due to technical challenges in their circuit-validated isolation. Here, we employed high-depth single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) in combination with retrograde tracing in mice to identify intrinsic transcriptional features of DPA and MTN neurons. Our transcriptome analysis revealed five major types of DPA neurons with cell type-specific gene enrichment, some of which exhibit unique mechano-nociceptive properties capable of transmitting nociception in response to innocuous mechanical stimuli in the teeth. Furthermore, we discovered cellular heterogeneity within MTN neurons that potentially contribute to their responsiveness to mechanical stretch in the masseter muscle spindles. Additionally, DPA and MTN neurons represented sensory compartments with distinct molecular profiles characterized by various ion channels, receptors, neuropeptides, and mechanoreceptors. Together, our study provides new biological insights regarding the highly specialized mechanosensory functions of DPA and MTN neurons in pain and proprioception.
Animals ; Mice ; Neurons ; Proprioception ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Pain ; Sequence Analysis, RNA