Endometriosis is a common, benign and chronic gynecologic disorder. It is an estrogen dependent disease that can cause pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea and infertility. Because of its high rate of recurrence, medication after surgery is inevitable. GnRH agonist, Danazol, progestogen and oral contraceptive have been conventionally used for the medical treatment of endometriosis. However, systemic side effects of those agents restrict their usage as long-term management. Increasing knowledge about the pathogenesis of endometriosis has introduced new agents which were more targeted and specified for the prevention of recurrence of endometriosis.
Danazol ; Dysmenorrhea ; Endometriosis ; Estrogens ; Female ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone ; Infertility ; Pelvic Pain ; Recurrence

In patients with chronic renal failure, spontaneous tendon rupture may occur due to degenerative changes in the tendon. Transosseous suture and suture anchor are commonly used for repair of quadriceps tendon rupture. But in chronic renal failure patients, the fixation of the repaired tendon is weak due to degenerative changes in the tendon, and decreased bone mineral density results in a relatively high rerupture rate. In this case, spontaneous quadriceps tendon rupture in a patient who has chronic renal failure with dialysis over 10 years was repaired with a newly designed transosseous suture method in order to increase contact of patella base and to reduce the rate of rerupture. Divide ruptured tendon arbitrarily into four layers using the anatomical structure of quadriceps tendon, then pull them out through the three vertical transosseous tunnels and tied them each. This procedure may be considered as another option in the case with high rerupture risk.

Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) are the most common osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women. One the other hand, they may be misdiagnosed if the deformity is not severe at the time of occurrence. In general, it is treated through absolute bed rest and braces. Vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty is sometimes performed when there is a severe decrease in the height of the vertebral body. In addition, transpedi cular fixation can be performed when there is an accompanying injury to the posterior complex or neurologic symptoms. In this case, the authors performed minimally invasive transpedicular fixation after achieving vertebral body height recovery through postural reduction in OVCF patient who were neglected for one month after the injury. After securing initial stability through screw fixation, complete bony union was achieved more quickly and stably through weekly teriparatide administration. The authors report this case with a review of the relevant literature.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among depression, somatic symptoms, and activities of daily living of elderly women in urban areas. METHOD: After obtaining participant's consent forms, a one-time, face-to-face, and private interview was conducted with each participant from Sep, 2006 to Jan, 2007 by trained graduate-level students. The questionnaire consisted of K-GDS, PHQ-15, Barthel Index, and Instrumental Activity of Daily Living. The collected data was analyzed with the SPSS/PC 12.0 program, which was used for frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression. RESULTS: The major findings of this study were as follows 1) 34.1% of participants belonged to the depression group. 2) There were significant relationships between depression and monthly income, somatic symptoms, ADL, IADL, and number of chronic disease. 3) Significant factors influencing depression were somatic symptoms, ADL, and monthly income. CONCLUSION: The results of this study give useful information for designing interventions and program development for appropriate depression management and care for elderly women.
*Activities of Daily Living ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; *Depression ; Female ; Frail Elderly/*psychology ; Health Status ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations ; Middle Aged ; Questionnaires ; Social Isolation ; Urban Population

PURPOSE: This study was designed to assess the level of super-leadership and self-leadership, identify correlations among variables and identify the factors influencing organizational commitment of clinical nurses. METHODS: Participants were 217 nurses working in four hospitals located in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one way ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson Correlation, and Multiple Regression. RESULTS: The most influential factor for organizational commitment was super-leadership (β=.28, p<.001), followed by education (β=.16, p=.007), the number of unit nurses (β=-.18, p=.003), self-leadership (β=.17, p=.008), and the number of patients being under 10 (β=.12, p=.046). These factors accounted for 23% of the variance in organizational commitment (F=13.46, p<.001). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest a need for strategies to improve organizational commitment of nurses by enhancing nurse' self-leadership through nursing managers' super-leadership.
Education ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Nursing ; Seoul

No abstract available.
Antigens, Surface* ; Oncogenes*

Although helminth parasites have different life cycles, their hosts share similar immune responses involving Th2 cell-type. Here, we extracted proteins from the larvae of Anisakis simplex complex and Trichinella spiralis to identify common and specific antigens (or allergens) associated with the Th2 immune response. We performed two-dimensional electrophoresis analysis and Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight/time of flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF) experiments. We found 13 potentially immunogenic proteins, which included 5 spots specific to T. spiralis and 8 common to T. spiralis and A. simplex, by tandem mass spectrometry. These molecules were identified structurally as actin, tropomyosin, col cuticle N domain-containing protein, and heat shock proteins. We also identified molecules related to parasite-host immune modulation and interactions. Our results may contribute to reveal potential roles of immunological proteins in parasite-derived immune modulation.

PURPOSE: The effects of fiber alignment and direction of mechanical strain on the ECM generation of human ACL fibroblast were assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The aligned nanofiber was fabricated using electrospinning with a rotating target. The amounts of collagen on aligned and randomly oriented structures were compared. To evaluate the effect of strain direction, 5% uniaxial strain (0.2 Hz) was applied to fibroblasts seeded on parallel aligned, vertically aligned to the strain direction, and randomly oriented nanofiber sheets. The amounts of collagen produced were measured 2 days after halting the strain application. RESULTS: The fibroblasts on the aligned nanofiber were spindle-shaped and oriented in the direction of the fibers. Significantly more collagen (22.5+/-2.7 ug/ngDNA) was synthesized on the aligned nanofiber than the randomly oriented (14.5+/-3.2 ug/ngDNA). And the amounts of collagen produced were increased by 150% and 50% approximately with the longitudinal and perpendicular cyclic strain, respectively. CONCLUSION: The aligned nanofiber scaffold used in this study constitutes a promising base material for tissue-engineered ligament in that it provides a more biomimetic structure, including the preferable mechanical environment.
Biomimetics ; Collagen ; Fibroblasts* ; Humans* ; Ligaments ; Nanofibers*

OBJECTIVES: As the prevalence of elderly depression increases, it becomes urgent problem to provide preventive and management measures. But in practice, it is difficult to detect depression in early stage. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between sociodemographic factors and depression in elderly welfare facility users in a city. METHODS: In this research, the severity of depression and sociodemographic factors(gender, age, education, comorbid disease, housing type, number of children, number of family members living with the subjects) was evaluated through PHQ-9 and interview. Using the data, the associations of depression and sociodemographic factors were analyzed. Based on PHQ-9 depression cut-off value(10 points), the subjects were divided into two groups, and the difference of the variables between groups were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: ‘Own house’(YES/NO), education(less than elementary school graduation/more than elementary school graduation) were sociodemographic factors which showed significance difference in mean PHQ-9 scores. Group with Over PHQ-9 10 points showed less ‘having their own house’ and less education level than group with less PHQ-9 10 points. CONCLUSIONS: With this research, it is expected that the risk factors for the elderly depression can be understood and the measures for early detection and invention of elderly depression would be provided.
Aged* ; Child ; Depression* ; Education ; Housing ; Humans ; Inventions ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors

To determine the source of Cysticercus-specific IgG antibody in cerebro-spinal fluid(CSF), paired samples of serum and CSF were collected from confirmed neurocysticercosis, other neurologic diseases and normal control. The antibody levels in serum and CSF were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). With the measurement of total protein, albumin and IgG concentration in serum and CSF, the contribution of IgG in CSF were calculated in transudation, exudation and intracranial synthesis using the formula of Tourtellotte and Ma (1978). Mean concentrations of total protein, albumin, IgG and proportional IgG levels in CSF by transudation, exudation and intracranial synthesis were elevated in neurocysticercosis. But only the intracranial synthesis of IgG showed a statistically significant correlation with the specific IgG antibody levels in CSF. In CSF from lateral ventricle in the 4th ventricular neurocysticercosis, the protein concentrations were normal and the specific antibody levels were negative. However, in consecutively secured lumbar CSF from the same patients, the former were increased and the latter were positive. These results indicated that, in neurocysticercosis, the specific IgG antibody in CSF was a local product of intracranial synthesis.
parasitology-helminth-cestoda ; Taenia solium ; cysticercus ; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ; cerebrospinal fluid ; brain ; IgG ; immunology