The results in thrity-six adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients(thirty-nine curves) who have been treated with the Boston brace are reported. The average follow-up was two years and three months(range, one year to four years ten months). Before treatment, all the patients had a curve that measured 20 to 35 degrees; 26 patients were in Risser sign of zero or 1, 10 patients in Risser sign 2 to 4. Although the magnitude of the curve was generally reduced about 40 percent by the initial application of the brace, a gradual loss of this initial correction was observed both during active treatment and after the wearing of the brace. Although eleven(28.2 percent) of the curves had progressed more than 5 degrees at follow up. Sixty-seven percent of the thoracic curve, 33.3 percent of the thoracolumbar, 27.8 percent of the lumbar curve had progression of more than 5 degrees. Twelve patients wore the brace for sixteen hours a day, 19 patients wore for 16 to 20 hours a day and 5 patients wore more than 20 hours a day. 41.7 percent of sixteen hours bracing, 15,8 percent of 16 to 20 hours bracing and 60 percent of 20 hours bracing had progression of more than 5 degrees. Our finding indicates that the Boston brace prevents deterioration in certain cases but does not convert major deformity into minor ones, and part time bracing can prevent progression of the curve and can even afford some correction.
Adolescent ; Braces ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Scoliosis

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Humans*

This is to report a case of the homogeneous transplantation of the single articular surface and its supporting bone of the proximal one third of the humerus and humeral head for the treatment of the giant cell tumor involving the proximal humerus.
Giant Cell Tumors ; Humeral Head ; Humerus

No abstract available.

The present study was intended to examine the effect of sodium vanadate on contractility of vascular smooth muscle. Aortic ring preparations were made from the rabbit thoracic aorta and endothelial cells were removed from the ring. The contractility of the aortic ring was measured under various conditions. The results were summarized as follows; 1) Sodium vanadate induced contraction of vascular smooth muscle in a dose-dependent fashion. 2) The contractile effects were not blocked by treatments with adrenergic blocking agent(phentolamine) and indomethacin, indicating the direct action of the drug on vascular smooth muscle. 3) In the presence of ouabain, Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase inhibitor, sodium vanadate still increased the contractility of vascular smooth muscle. 4) Treatment with 4.4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2.2'-disulfonic acid(DIDS) blocked completely the contractile effects of sodium vanadate. 5) In the presence of verapamil, lanthanum and ryanodine, the contractility of the vascular smooth muscle by sodium vanadate was decreased. From the above results. it was suggested that sodium vanadate acts directly on vascular smooth muscle and causes contraction. It was probably due to inhibition of Ca(++)-ATPase in plasma membrane as well as increasing the release of Ca(++) from sarcoplasmic reticulum and Ca(++) influx across the plasma membrane, but not inhibition of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase.
Aorta, Thoracic ; Cell Membrane ; Endothelial Cells ; Indomethacin ; Lanthanum ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular* ; Ouabain ; Ryanodine ; Sarcoplasmic Reticulum ; Sodium* ; Vanadates* ; Verapamil

No abstract available.
Breech Presentation* ; Female ; Fetus* ; Pregnancy

BACKGROUND: Various molecular methods such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA hybridization have been introduced to diagnose the hepatitis B more accurately. Recently, Hybrid Capture Assay (HCA) was developed, which uses the signal amplification solution hybridization capture assay with chemiluminescent detector. So we evaluated the sensitivity and clinical utility of the HCA and PCRs for the detection of hepatitis B virus DNA (HBV DNA) and compared these results with serologic markers. METHODS: We analysed the 50 samples from the hepatitis B patients using enzyme immunoassay, HCA and nested PCRs with two different primer sets. The primers of PCR I and PCR II were targeted to pol and core region respectively. RESULTS: In 18 cases, HBV DNA were detected by HCA in which the positive rates by PCR I and PCR II were 55.6%, and 88.9%, respectively. And in 32 cases in which HBV DNA by HCA was negative, the positive rates by PCR I and PCR II were 6.2% and 31.3%, respectively. In 44 cases which were positive for HBsAg, the positive rates for HBV DNA were 38.6% by HCA, 27.3% by PCR I, and 56.8% by PCR II. In cases positive for HBeAg, the positive rates were 93.3% by HCA, 60.0% by PCR I and 80.0% by PCR II. In cases positive for anti-HBe and negative for HBeAg, the positive rates were 10.3% by HCA, 10.3% by PCR I, and 44.8% by PCR II. CONCLUSIONS: Both HCA and PCR compensated each other yet as to the accurate investigation of the viral replication in patients with hepatitis B and the sensitivity was better in HBV PCR with primers to core region than to pol region.
DNA ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus* ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Polymerase Chain Reaction*

No abstract available.
Prune Belly Syndrome*

No abstract available.
Prune Belly Syndrome*