Lithium salts are being used increasingly to treat patient with affective disorders, especially acute mania, or bipolar manic-depressive illness. For therapeutic effect the lithium content must be maintained at or above a particular level. Lithium poisoning due to overdosage may be seen occasionally, and its course is determined primarily by the rate of renal lithium elimination. A search is therefore indicated for procedures that could raise the lithium clearance. In a number of reports renal lithium excretion has been studied in relation to the excretion of water, sodium, potassium and hydrogen, but effects of sodium or water on the lithium excretion has not yet been clarified. Hence the present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of corticosteroid on the excretion of lithium ion. The female rat (Sprague-Dowley), weighing from 200 to 300g, was injected with 50mg/kg of lithium chloride intraperitoneally, and then injected with graded dosage of fludrocortisones and dexamethasone in each group. During the injected rats were incubated in metabolic cage, 24 hour urine of rats were collected. At 24 hours after injection, the rats were sacrificed with guillotine, the blood were collected. And then the concentrations of Na⁺, K⁺, Li⁺ of collected urine and serum were checked by Flame photometer. The results are summarized as follows 1. Fludrocortisone decreased the serum concentration of lithium and increased the urinary excretion of lithium. 2. In the group treated with low dose of dexamethasone (0.1 mg/kg), the serum concentration of lithium was decreased and high dose of dexamethasone (1 mg/kg) increased the urinary excretion of lithium. 3. Fludrocortisone increased the urinary [Na⁺]/[K⁺] in serum and decreased [Na⁺]/[K⁺] inurine, but opposite effects were occurred in dexamethasone. By above results, it may be concluded that corticosteroid increased the urinary excretion of lithium and decreased the serum concentration of lithium, but it seems to be there in no relationship between these effects of corticosteroid and of the renal Na⁺ or K⁺ transport.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones* ; Animals ; Bipolar Disorder ; Dexamethasone ; Female ; Fludrocortisone ; Humans ; Hydrogen ; Lithium Chloride ; Lithium* ; Mood Disorders ; Poisoning ; Potassium ; Rats ; Renal Elimination* ; Salts ; Sodium ; Water

An accurate diagnosis and early treatment for high risk pregnancy can certainly lessen neurological sequence, psycho-motor development and disturbance in mental development according to a modern medicine. Also it helps children develop and adujust to a normal life. The authors studied 230 cases of high risk infants admitted in the nursery of Taegu Presbyterian Medical Cender during the period from January, 1978 to June 1979, and following results have been obtained by closely observing the factor, frequency and infection of these cases: 1. The most frqeuent factor of high risk infant and pregnancy was 108 cases of low birth weight which indicated 46.9% of the 230 cases, and 22 cases of C-Section which indicated 9.5%. 2. The relation of mortality rate, gastational age and low bitrh weight indicated the lowest mortality rate in the gestational age between 37 weeks and 43 weeks and weight between 2,500 gm and 4,000 gm. The highest mortality rate was 71 percent in the gestationa lage of 30 weeks and weight under 1,500gm. 3. The frequency of low birth weight(prematured) babies and ages of their mothers indicated that there was none under the age of 16 and 4 cases above the age of 40. 4. Congenital Anomaly: Seven cases of 230 cases. 5. Bacterial study performed within 23 hours of 37 Premature of Membrane indicated that 17 cases were Hemolytic staphylo-epidermis(48.6%) observed from their skin and 4-cases were L-hemolytic streptococcus(11.1%) observed from their throat.
Child ; Daegu ; Diagnosis ; Gestational Age ; History, Modern 1601- ; Humans ; Infant* ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Membranes ; Mortality ; Mothers ; Nurseries ; Parturition ; Pharynx ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, High-Risk ; Protestantism ; Skin ; Statistics as Topic*

OBJECTIVE: The number of Korean women of childbearing age who drink alcohol and binge drink has increased remarkably in recent years. In the present study, we examined self-reported rates of alcohol use before and during pregnancy and identified maternal characteristics associated with drinking in pregnancy. METHODS: One thousand pregnant Korean women who visited the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) completed a self-administered questionnaire that sought information on their demographic characteristics and incorporated features of the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT)-C to investigate their use of alcohol, including binge drinking, during three time periods ("in the year before this pregnancy," "during this pregnancy," and "in the previous 30 days"). RESULTS: Of these participants, 16.4% reported using alcohol during their pregnancy, 12.2% had used alcohol in the previous 30 days, and 1.7% reported binge drinking during their pregnancy. In the year before pregnancy, 77.1% had used alcohol, and 22.3% had binge drunk. The group using any amount of any alcohol during pregnancy showed a lower educational level, a lower rate of planned pregnancy, a lower level of knowledge relating to the risks of drinking alcohol during pregnancy, and a higher frequency of alcohol drinking in the year before pregnancy when compared with the abstinent group. Low educational level and unplanned pregnancy were revealed to be significant risk factors for alcohol consumption in pregnant women. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to examine any alcohol and binge alcohol drinking during pregnancy in Korea. Clinical attention and monitoring system on alcohol use during pregnancy are necessary in Korea.
Alcohol Drinking ; Binge Drinking ; Drinking ; Family Planning Services ; Female ; Fetal Alcohol Syndrome ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Korea ; Obstetrics ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Unplanned ; Pregnant Women ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have suggested that hyperhomocysteinemia and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR C677T) mutations are associated with increased risk of recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA). Recently, a second site polymorphism in MTHFR, 1298A-->C, which changes a glutamic acid into an alanine residue, was shown to be associated with a decreased enzyme activity. We tested whether the variant alleles of MTHFR C677T and A1298C are risk factor (biomarker) for RSA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed DNA from a case-control study in the Korean DNA was extracted from blood samples of 118 patients with RSA and 123 healthy fertile patients as the controls. MTHFR variant alleles were determined by a PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. RESULTS: We found no evidence for an association between 677TT genotype and risk of RSA (OR=1.95, 95% CI=0.84~4.50, p=0.12). However, the MTHFR 1298AC (OR=0.36, 95% CI=0.20~ 0.63, p=0.0004) and 1298AC+CC (OR=0.35, 95% CI=0.20~0.61, p=0.0002) genotypes were lower among 118 RSA cases compared with 123 controls, conferring a 2.8-fold decrease in risk of RSA, respectively. Moreover, the combined genotypes of MTHFR 677CC/1298AC (OR=0.30, 95% CI= 0.10~0.88, p=0.029) and 677CT/1298AC (OR=0.77, 95% CI=0.60~0.99, p=0.043) also showed significantly lower risk than those with MTHFR 677CC/1298AA type. CONCLUSION: MTHFR 1298AC, MTHFR 677CC/1298AC and 677CT/1298AC genotypes may represent genetic markers for the protection of RSA at least in Korean women.
Abortion, Spontaneous* ; Alanine ; Alleles ; Case-Control Studies ; DNA ; Female ; Genetic Markers ; Genotype ; Glutamic Acid ; Humans ; Hyperhomocysteinemia ; Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2) ; Oxidoreductases* ; Pregnancy ; Risk Factors ; Vascular Diseases

CV(bDAT) cell line, expressing dopamine transporter stably, has been established by transfection of CV-1 cells with bovine dopamine transporter cDNA. Using CV(bDAT) cells, the effects of various antipsychotic drugs on dopamine uptake were investigated. All of antipsychotic drugs tested, inhibited the [3>H]dopamine uptake into CV(bDAT) cells with IC50s in the low to mid micromolar, implying that antipsychotic drugs may produce overflow of dopamine in the synaptic cleft of dopaminergic neuron.
Antipsychotic Agents* ; Cell Line ; DNA, Complementary ; Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins* ; Dopamine* ; Dopaminergic Neurons ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Transfection

Purpose: To understand the effects of datasets with various parameters on pretrained network performance, the generalization capacity of the artificial neural network for myelin water imaging (ANN-MWI) is explored by testing datasets with various scan protocols (i.e., resolution and refocusing RF pulse shape) and types of disorders (i.e., neuromyelitis optica and edema). Materials and Methods: ANN-MWI was trained to generate a T2 distribution, from which the myelin water fraction value was measured. The training and test datasets were acquired from healthy controls and multiple sclerosis patients using a multiecho gradient and spin-echo sequence with the same scan protocols. To test the generalization capacity of ANN-MWI, datasets with different settings were utilized.The datasets were acquired or generated with different resolutions, refocusing pulse shape, and types of disorders. For all datasets, the evaluation was performed in a white matter mask by calculating the normalized root-mean-squared error (NRMSE) between the results from the conventional method and ANN-MWI. Additionally, for the patient datasets, the NRMSE was calculated in each lesion mask. Results: The results of ANN-MWI showed high reliability in generating myelin water fraction maps from the datasets with different resolutions. However, the increased errors were reported for the datasets with different refocusing pulse shapes and disorder types. Specifically, the region of lesions in edema patients reported high NRMSEs. These increased errors indicate the dependency of ANN-MWI on refocusing pulse flip angles and T 2 characteristics. Conclusion This study proposes information about the generalization accuracy of a trained network when applying deep learning to processing myelin water imaging.

PURPOSE: Standardization quality assurance (QA) program of CyberKnife for suitable circumstances in Korea has not been established. In this research, we investigated the development of QA program for CyberKnife and evaluation of the feasibility under applications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Considering the feature of constitution for systems and the therapeutic methodology of CyberKnife, the list of quality control (QC) was established and divided dependent on the each period of operations. And then all these developed QC lists were categorized into three groups such as basic QC, delivery specific QC, and patient specific QC based on the each purpose of QA. In order to verify the validity of the established QA program, this QC lists was applied to two CyberKnife centers. The acceptable tolerance was based on the undertaking inspection list from the CyberKnife manufacturer and the QC results during last three years of two CyberKnife centers in Korea. The acquired measurement results were evaluated for the analysis of the current QA status and the verification of the propriety for the developed QA program. RESULTS: The current QA status of two CyberKnife centers was evaluated from the accuracy of all measurements in relation with application of the established QA program. Each measurement result was verified having a good agreement within the acceptable tolerance limit of the developed QA program. CONCLUSION: It is considered that the developed QA program in this research could be established the standardization of QC methods for CyberKnife and confirmed the accuracy and stability for the image-guided stereotactic radiotherapy.
Constitution and Bylaws ; Humans ; Korea ; Mortuary Practice ; Quality Control ; Radiotherapy

The authors would like to amend a reference (Lee et al., 2003) that was cited in "Cell culture" section of "Materials and Methods". Instead of "(Lee et al., 2003)", we would like to change the reference to "(Kim et al., 2003)". In "References", it also needs to include the following reference. Kim YY, Seol HW, Ahn HJ. Temporal expression of differentiation markers in embryoid bodies from various human embryonic stem cell line. International Society for Stem Cell Research 1st Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. U.S.A. June 8-11, 2003, Abstract No. 35. The authors apologize for any inconvenience.

BACKGROUND: In the Republic of Korea, due to the low birth rate, blood donation is expected to decrease. However, the demand for blood is increasing as the proportion of elderly has increased. Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention operate the Korea Blood Inventory Monitoring System (KBIMs) for detection and response to the shortage of blood. The aim of this study was to show the trend of blood supply monitored by KBIMs. METHODS: This study analyzed the red blood cell inventory ratio, average daily usage, time-lag from blood donation to transfusion and from receipt to transfusion in blood banks monitored by KBIMs from 2009 to 2012. RESULTS: A total of 25 hospitals have participated in KBIMs since 2009. The average inventory ratio of blood banks was 5.3 days. By month, the inventory ratio was highest between November and February; and by week, highest on Fridays. Daily amount of RBC utilized in hospitals peaked on Thursday by week. Time-lag from blood donation to transfusion and from receipt to transfusion in blood banks was 12.2 and 6.4 days, respectively. The inventory ratio of type-A RBC was the lowest, because of the highest level of demand. In addition, time-lags from blood donation to transfusion and from receipt to transfusion were shortest in type-A RBC. CONCLUSION: The inventory ratio in blood banks monitored by KBIMs was stable throughout the years. However, due to higher level of demand, there is a risk of shortage of type-A RBC.
Aged ; Birth Rate ; Blood Banks ; Blood Donors ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Erythrocytes ; Humans ; Korea ; Republic of Korea

PURPOSE: In recent years, the number of elderly patients visiting from residential aged care facilities (RACFs) has been increasing. We analyzed a comparison of characteristics between patients who visited the ER with diseases from RACFs and those who visited from home. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in a public hospital between January 2013 and December 2014. The subjects included patients who visited the ED from RACFs and elderly patients who visited the ED from home. Comparisons of the following parameters were made between the two groups: gender, age, mode of insurance, mode of ED visit, mobile status, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), chief complaint, final results in the ED, and length of stay (LOS) in the ED and hospital. RESULTS: A total of 7,603 patients were enrolled during the study period. There were 6,401 elderly patients who visited from home and 1,202 patients who visited from RACFs. Patients from RACFs were older than those from home (79.90±8.01 vs. 75.78±7.26, p<0.001). More patients from RACFs were on Medicaid (56.6% vs. 27.9%, p<0.001), took more ambulance (86.3% vs. 49.4%, p<0.001), more bedridden (68.2% vs. 6.4%, p<0.001), and higher CCI (2.38±1.99 vs. 1.45±1.84, p<0.001). Compared with patients from home, those from RACFs showed a significantly higher proportion of admission (63.2% vs. 32.9%, p<0.001), ED LOS (403.03±361.77 vs. 277.07±258.82, p<0.001), and hospital LOS (19.65±18.58 vs. 15.67±15.63, p<0.001). Patients from RACFs showed especially longer ED LOS from discharged ED than those from home (388.87±422.88 vs. 221.90±215.30, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Compared with elderly patients from home, patients from RACFs also had higher admission rate and longer ED LOS, as well as hospital LOS. Patients from RACFs had long ED LOS. The findings in this study suggest that there could be ED overcrowding in the near future.
Aged* ; Ambulances ; Comorbidity ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Hospitals, Public ; Humans ; Insurance ; Length of Stay ; Medicaid ; Nursing Homes ; Residential Facilities ; Retrospective Studies