No abstract available.
Dental Enamel* ; Dental Porcelain*

PURPOSE: Cough variant asthma may be defined as a presentation of asthma that fulfills all the criteria of asthma, inflammatory process of the airways and airway hyperresponsiveness. Because of the cough is only the manifestation in cough variant asthma especially in children, it may be very difficult to assess by the physical examination and routine spirometry. Airway function may be further evaluated by bronchial provocation, usually with methacholine or exercise, to supprot or exclude the diagnosis of asthma. In children too young to perform pulmonary function tests, a therapeutic trial can serve as a diagnostic tool. In this study we evaluate the effectiveness of inhaled bronchodilator and corticosteroid treatment to the children with cough variant asthma. METHODS: Forth-eight children who visited to our pediatric allergy clinic having a chronic cough more than 3 weeks were enrolled to our study. We defined a children who showed bronchial hyperresponsiveness after exercise challenge as a cough variant asthma. We analyzed the changes of PEFR before and after exercise and treatment for 4 weeks. RESULTS: 1) All the patients with cough variant asthma or sinobronchitis have a night aggravating cough as a sole manifestation. 2) The baseline % predicted PEFR showed within normal range in the study subjects. But there was significant decrease of % perdicted PEFR after execise challenge in the patients with cough variant asthma. 3) There was significant increase of % predicted PEFR after treatment with inhaled bronchodilator and corticosteroid in the patients with cough vatiant asthma. Also it is noted in the patients with sinobronchitis treated with antibiotics. CONCLUSION: We can find significant improvement of clinical manifestation and pulmonary function in the patients with cough variant asthma who treated with inhaled bronchodilator and corticosteoid. Because of many children suffering from chronic cough may have a cough variant asthma, we emphasized that inhaled bron-chodilator and corticosteroid treatment is effective for long-term control of cough variant asthma.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Asthma* ; Child ; Cough* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Inhalation* ; Methacholine Chloride ; Peak Expiratory Flow Rate ; Physical Examination ; Reference Values ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Respiratory Therapy* ; Spirometry

Chaga mushrooms are widely used in folk remedies and in alternative medicine. Contrary to many beneficial effects, its adverse effect is rarely reported. We here report a case of end-stage renal disease after long-term taking Chaga mushroom. A 49-year-old Korean man with end stage renal disease (ESRD) was transferred to our hospital. Review of kidney biopsy finding was consistent with chronic tubulointerstitial nephritis with oxalate crystal deposits and drug history revealed long-term exposure to Chaga mushroom powder due to intractable atopic dermatitis. We suspected the association between Chaga mushroom and oxalate nephropathy, and measured the oxalate content of remained Chaga mushroom. The Chaga mushroom had extremely high oxalate content (14.2/100 g). Estimated daily oxalate intake of our case was 2 times for four years and 5 times for one year higher than that of usual diet. Chaga mushroom is a potential risk factor of chronic kidney disease considering high oxalate content. Nephrologist should consider oxalate nephropathy in ESRD patients exposed to Chaga mushrooms.

The seed of Vigna angularis has long been cultivated as a food or a folk medicine in East Asia. Genistein (4',5,7-trihydroxyisoflavone), a dietary phytoestrogen present in this plant, has been known to possess various biological properties. In this study, we investigated the possible lifespan-extending effects of genistein using Caenorhabditis elegans model system. We found that the lifespan of nematode was significantly prolonged in the presence of genistein under normal culture condition. In addition, genistein elevated the survival rate of nematode against stressful environment including heat and oxidative conditions. Further studies demonstrated that genistein-mediated increased stress tolerance of nematode could be attributed to enhanced expressions of stress resistance proteins such as superoxide dismutase (SOD-3) and heat shock protein (HSP-16.2). Moreover, we failed to find genistein-induced significant change in aging-related factors including reproduction, food intake, and growth, indicating genistein exerts longevity activity independent of affecting these factors. Genistein treatment also led to an up-regulation of locomotory ability of aged nematode, suggesting genistein affects healthspan as well as lifespan of nematode. Our results represent that genistein has beneficial effects on the lifespan of C. elegans under both of normal and stress condition via elevating expressions of stress resistance proteins.
Caenorhabditis elegans* ; Eating ; Far East ; Genistein* ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; Hot Temperature ; Longevity ; Medicine, Traditional ; Phytoestrogens ; Plants ; Reproduction ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Survival Rate ; Up-Regulation

No abstract available.
Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Biopsy ; Echocardiography, Doppler, Color ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; Endocarditis, Bacterial/complications/diagnosis/drug therapy/*microbiology ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular/*complications/diagnosis/surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Pulmonary Valve Stenosis/*complications/diagnosis ; Purpura, Schoenlein-Henoch/diagnosis/drug therapy/*etiology ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVES: In the previous studies, it has been suggested that temperament and character may affect specialty choice in medical students. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of temperament and character on specialty interests in medical students. METHODS: A total 132 third-year medical students initially participated in this study. Among these participants, 128 students had filled out both demographic and Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) questionnaires. Socio-demographic data, specialty interests and Cloninger's TCI scores were obtained. The specialty interests were categorized into surgical, medical and other departments. RESULTS: Among 128 students, 88 (68.7%), 29 (22.7%) and 22 (8.6%) students chose medical, surgical and other departments, respectively. Students choosing surgery departments showed lower Harm Avoidance scores (F = 4.39, df = 1, p = 0.04) and higher Self-Directedness scores (F = 4.30, df = 1, p = 0.04) than those who chose medical departments. There was no significant differences in Novelty Seeking, Reward dependence, Persistence, Cooperativeness, Self-Transcendence scores between groups. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that has demonstrated the relationship between TCI scores and specialty interests of medical students in Korea. The current study suggests that temperament and character influence specialty interests in medical students. These findings could have implications for medical education research and career counseling.
Education, Medical ; Humans ; Korea ; Reward ; Specialties, Surgical ; Students, Medical ; Temperament ; Vocational Guidance

Donepezil is a cholinesterase inhibitor used extensively to treat Alzheimer disease. The increased cholinergic activity is associated with adverse effects, therefore gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, are common. Hypokalemia is a rare adverse event that occurs in less than 1% of donepezil-treated patients. Although hypokalemia of mild and moderate grade does not present serious signs and symptoms, severe hypokalemia often results in prolonged hospitalization and mortality. Herein, we report a case of hypokalemia developed after the initiation of donepezil therapy for cognitive impairment.

Crohn’s disease is usually diagnosed according to intestinal symptoms, but extra-intestinal manifestations are important in approximately one-third of cases. Although several extra-intestinal symptoms associated with various organs have been reported, renal involvement is uncommon in patients with Crohn’s disease. Tubulointerstitial nephritis in a patient with Crohn’s disease is usually caused by infection, sarcoidosis, or medications. However, primary tubulointerstitial nephritis caused by Crohn’s disease alone is extremely rare. A 19-year-old male patient was referred to our hospital because of an increase in serum creatinine level. He underwent a kidney biopsy with renal insufficiency. Renal histological findings revealed granulomatous tubulointerstitial nephritis. Thereafter, a colonoscopy was performed with suspicion of Crohn’s disease. Ultimately, he was diagnosed with granulomatous tubulointerstitial nephritis based on Crohn’s disease. The patient had improved gastrointestinal symptoms after the last treatment. This case report presents a rare case of primary tubulointerstitial nephritis caused by Crohn’s disease.

A tunneled hemodialysis (HD) catheter is preferred due to its lower incidence of infection and malfunction than non-tunneled ones. For safer insertion, fluoroscopic guidance is desirable. However, if the patient is unstable, transfer to the fluoroscopy may be impossible or inappropriate. Methods: From June 2019 to September 2022, 81 tunneled HD catheter insertion cases performed under ultrasound guidance without fluoroscopy and 474 cases with fluoroscopy in our institutional HD catheter cohort were retrospectively compared. Results: Immediate complications, later catheter-associated problems, including infections and catheter dysfunction, were comparable between the two groups (p = 0.20 and p = 0.37, respectively). The patency of tunneled catheters inserted without fluoroscopy was comparable to the patency of tunneled catheters inserted with fluoroscopic guidance (p = 0.90). Conclusion: Tunneled HD catheter insertion without fluoroscopy can be performed safely and has durable patency compared to the insertion with fluoroscopy. Therefore, this method can be considered for the selected unstable patients (e.g., ventilator care) in the intensive care unit.