No abstract available.
Female ; Hysterectomy, Vaginal*

No abstract available.
Female ; Hysterectomy, Vaginal*

Most insects including the honeybee cause erythema and edema at the site of a sting in non-allergic individuals. This reaction usually resolves within a few days. However, in certain cases, the persistence of inciting materials in the cutaneous tissue may promote a local inflammatory foreign body reaction. Localized nodular lesions were seen in our two patients and erythemstous patches were present in one patient due to rarely encountered complications induced by retained sting materials. In these cases histopathology showed multiple foci of foreign body granuloma containing yellow refraetile material in the center surrounded by histiocytes and foreign body giant cells. The granulomatous skin lesions in these patients were treated with intralesional injections of triamcinolone acetonide and partial excisions of the nodular masses were performed.
Bites and Stings ; Edema ; Erythema ; Foreign-Body Reaction ; Giant Cells, Foreign-Body ; Granuloma* ; Granuloma, Foreign-Body ; Histiocytes ; Humans ; Injections, Intralesional ; Insects ; Skin ; Triamcinolone Acetonide

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Tuberculosis, Renal*

No abstract available.
Female ; Humans ; Vaginosis, Bacterial*

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have focused on characteristics of adolescents who use internet addictively. Due to many ambiguities in the definitions of internet addiction, it is hard to find a tool for diagnosing internet addiction. In this study, we attempt to identify the temperamental characteristics of adolescents who have addictive internet using patterns by administering a newly developed internet addiction scale based on a psychometric technique and temperament and character inventory (TCI) based on Cloninger's psychobiological model. METHODS: Participants were 566 high school students. 478 students were recruited from high schools, and 88 were selected from internet cafes. We applied the internet addiction scale and TCI. All the students were divided into 3 groups (high risk user group, potential risk user group and normal user group) according to the results of the internet addiction scale. TCI scores were compared and analyzed according to the participants' characteristics. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the distribution of internet user group according to gender. Boys had higher percentage of high risk and potential risk users than girls. When each TCI score was compared according to gender, girls showed significantly higher harm avoidance, reward dependence, cooperativeness scale scores and lower persistence, self-transcendence scale scores than boys. TCI scores were compared among the internet addiction risk user groups. Risky internet users showed lower scores in reward dependence, self-directness and cooperativeness dimensions than normal internet users. CONCLUSION: There was a gender difference in internet addiction risk in this study. These results suggest that adolescents who use internet addictively also have higher tendency of problematic social and interpersonal relationship. These tendencies need to be considered as one of the important aspects of internet addiction. This study shows that assessment of temperament and character in adolescents who have problems related to the internet may be needed for understanding their addiction behaviors and underlying psychopathologies.
Adolescent* ; Female ; Humans ; Internet* ; Interpersonal Relations ; Psychometrics ; Reward ; Temperament*

Among chemical agents in herbicides, dioxin(2,3,7,8-tetrachloro dibenzo-rho-dioxin: a chemical contaminant in herbicides sprayed during the vietnam war has been known to be the major agent causing toxic effects. Approximately 320,000 korean soldiers participated the vietnam war from 1964 to 1974. Although the potential hazards of the herbicides among Korean veterans exposed were implicated, the problem had not been a public issue until 1991 when Korean veterans were informed U. S. companies, the herbicides manufacturer payed fund, from which a trust fund for New Zealand and Australian Class members were established in 1985. After a series of appeals and demonstration by the korean veterans demanding medical care and compensation for their serious health damages, a bill of medical care and compensation for herbicides victims was promulgated in March 1993 and become effective from May 1993. This study was carried out with two major objectives: the first to understand the health problems caused from the herbicides by reviewing literatures published, and the second to examine the nature and extent of health impacts among Korean veterans exposed and to develop valid study methods for the major study by interviewing and reviewing records on a part of veterans (638 persons) registered and completed medical examination in Seoul Veterans Administration Hospital from June to october 1993. The results obtained are as follows: 1. The literature review of 107 papers revealed that: l) Dioxin is teratogenic, carcinogenic and affects almost all organs including nertous, endocrine, and reproductive systems in animal experiments. 2) The diseases showing evidence of causal association were Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's disease, lung cancer, lymphoma, soft tissue sarcoma, chloroacne and polyneuropathy when judged on the basis of consistency in study results and biological plausibility. 2. Interview and medical record review study on 638 veterans, though limited validity owing to lack of control group, crude estimates of dioxin exposure levels (no biomarkers measurable), and uncertainty of diagnosis, showed that: 1) Most of the study subject's were in their 40's of age and had been dispatched to vietnam during the period from 1965-1970 around one year. 2) Most frequently complained symptoms in medical examination were motor weakness(32%), sensory abnormalities in extremities(23%), skin diseases(22%), and pain in extremities(20%) whereas in interview they were more frequent in order of skin problem(44%), motor weakness (38%), sensory abnormalities and pain in extremities(l7% and 19% each). Kappa indices on the same category of complaints between two sources of information were variable and relatively low. 3) On medical examination, only a part of the 638 subjects had initial impression (442 pts) and final diagnosis (218 pts) suggesting decision making on diagnosis appeared to be difficult even with all available modern medical technologies; in initial impression disorders from peripheral and central neuropathy were predominant whereas in final diagnosis various types of skin disorder were most frequent. 4) when dose-response relationship between several conditions (from questionnaire) and arbitrary exposure scores were examined by CMH linear trend test, spontaneous abortion, sexual problems and health problem of offsprings showed statistically significant linear trends. However, pregnancy, accident and suicidal attempts did not show any relationship in this study capacity. 5) Among complaints, psychosis and neurosis(anxiety, phobia) in interview study, and memory disorder and psychosis in medical record study revealed linear trend. 6) Skin disorder was the only condition showing linear trend in initial impression and none in final diagnosis on medical examination. Even though objective to select out dioxin-related disease or group of diseases from this study was not achieved the research experiences provided firm basis for developing various methodological approaches. 3. From this preliminary study we concluded that a larger scale major epidemiologic study on health impacts of herbicides among Korean veterans exposed is not only indispensible but also well designed study with more valid exposure information and diagnosis may be able to establish causal relationship between certain groups of diseases and exposure to the herbicides among Korean veterans.
Abortion, Spontaneous ; Animal Experimentation ; Biomarkers ; Compensation and Redress ; Decision Making ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiologic Studies* ; Female ; Financial Management ; Herbicides* ; Hodgkin Disease ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; Lymphoma ; Medical Records ; Memory Disorders ; Military Personnel ; New Zealand ; Polyneuropathies ; Pregnancy ; Psychotic Disorders ; Sarcoma ; Seoul ; Skin ; Uncertainty ; United States Department of Veterans Affairs ; Veterans* ; Vietnam*

Infectious mononucleosis caused by primary infection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a self-limiting lymphoproliferative disease, and shows concomitant clinical features such as pyrexia, anorexia, sore throat, cervical lymphadenopathy, liver dysfunction and hepatosplenomegaly. In rare cases, EBV establishes a latent infection in B lymphocytes and runs a chronic course and shows infectious mononucleosis-like symptoms repeatedly. This syndrome, named chronic active EBV infection, may trigger an autoimmune disease that mainly affectes the liver and red blood cells, and carries a very poor prognosis. The cardiovascular complications of chronic active EBV infection are very rare and may be associated with coronary arterial disease. This case describes a 5-year-old boy, who developed chronic active EBV infection and was diagnosed as having autoimmune hepatitis with a coronary aneurysm.
Anorexia ; Autoimmune Diseases ; B-Lymphocytes ; Child, Preschool ; Coronary Aneurysm* ; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections ; Erythrocytes ; Fever ; Hepatitis* ; Hepatitis, Autoimmune ; Herpesvirus 4, Human* ; Humans ; Infectious Mononucleosis ; Liver ; Liver Diseases ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Male ; Pharyngitis ; Prognosis

While metabolic syndrome (MS) is rapidly expanding and dietary pattern, the known risk factor of MS, goes through heavy transition to western diet, not many researches have been done on the association between dyslipidemia and dietary factors in Korean adults. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between compliance with dietary guidelines and dyslipidemia among Koreans. The subjects of 399 adults who visited health examination center were classified into dyslipidemia (n = 180) and control (n = 219). Diagnosis of dyslipidemia was based on NCEPATPIII criteria (triglyceride > = 150 mg/d, HDL-C < 50 mg/dl for male, HDL-C < 40 mg/dl for female). A questionnaire based interview was done to collect information on compliance with dietary guidelines, general characteristics and health related behaviors. Anthropometric variables were measured during the survey. Mean compliance score of dietary guideline was significantly lower in dyslipidemia group than in control. It was associated negatively with waist circumference and positively with serum HDL-cholesterol (p < 0.05). Risks of dyslipidemia were significantly decreased in the group with highest dietary guideline score; high serum triglyceride levels (OR = 0.484, 95% CI = 0.268-0.875), abdominal obesity (OR = 0.296, 95% CI = 0.159-0.553), and dyslipidemia (OR = 0.481, 95% CI = 0.266-0.869). These results indicated that increasing compliance with dietary guidelines could be an effective strategy to lower the risk of dyslipidemia among Koreans.
Adult ; Compliance* ; Diagnosis ; Diet ; Dyslipidemias* ; Humans ; Male ; Nutrition Policy* ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides ; Waist Circumference

Leptin, the product of ob gene, is an endocrine hormone that regulates adipose tissue mass. Recently, leptin has been found to generate a growth signal involving a tyrosine kinase-dependent intracellular pathway and promote angiogenic processes via activation of leptin receptor (Ob-R) in endothelial cells. However, it is not clear how leptin functions to promote multi-step processes involved in the neovascularization at the atherosclerotic plaque. We have examined the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) and Ob-R in human atherosclerotic lesions, leptin-mediated angiogenesis in vivo and in vitro. Immunohistochemical analysis of human atherosclerotic aorta revealed an increased expression of Ob-R in the intima of neorevascularized regions and of both MMPs and TIMPs predominantly in the endothelial lining of intimal neovessels and macrophages/foam cells. In the rat corneal angiogenesis assay, leptin elicited a comparable sensitivity of angiogenic activity to those of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The immunohistological analysis of the leptin-treated rat cornea showed definitive rises in Ob-R, MMPs and TIMPs expression as well as those of VEGF receptor (VEGFR-1). Leptin (10-40 ng/ml) induced proliferation of the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and elevation of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 expression in a dose-dependent manner. Leptin also induced increases of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and Up-regulated the human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (HCASMCs). These findings suggest that leptin, a hormone with pluralistic properties including a mitogenic activity on vascular endothelial cells, plays a role in matrix remodeling by regulating the expression of MMPs and TIMPs. Taken together, our findings further provide evidences for leptin's role as an angiogenesis inducer in the normal organ (rat cornea) and in aberrant vasculature under duress like atherosclerosis.
Animal ; Arteriosclerosis/metabolism ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Division ; Cells, Cultured ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Endothelial Growth Factors/metabolism ; Endothelium, Vascular/*cytology/*enzymology ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2/metabolism ; Immunohistochemistry ; Leptin/*chemistry/metabolism/*physiology ; Lymphokines/metabolism ; Matrix Metalloproteinases/*biosynthesis ; *Neovascularization, Pathologic ; Rats ; Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases/metabolism ; Receptors, Growth Factor/metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins/metabolism ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases/metabolism ; Umbilical Veins/metabolism ; Up-Regulation