BACKGROUND: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the accuracy of reduction based on postoperative computed tomography (CT) images after arthroscopic stabilization using tightrope system for unstable distal clavicle fracture. METHODS: Twelve patients with distal clavicle fracture combined with coracoclavicular (CC) ligament injury (type II, V) who received arthroscopically assisted fixation using a flip button device were evaluated for accuracy of reduction using 3-dimensional postoperative CT scan by measuring the degree of distal clavicular angulation and clavicular shortening. RESULTS: Immediate postoperative plain radiograph confirmed restoration of the CC distance (CCD) in 10 patients. At final follow-up, the CCD remained reduced anatomically on plain radiographs in these patients. All patients showed excessive posterior angulation and shortening compared to the opposite side. The average Constant score recovered to 94.8 at final follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Indirect reduction and arthroscopic subacromial approach with flip button fixation of unstable distal clavicle fractures demonstrated favorable clinical results despite unavoidable posterior angulation of distal clavicle and shortening the total length of clavicle.
Arthroscopy ; Clavicle ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Ligaments ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.

The purpose of the present study lied in examining the incidence, treatment and failure causes of peri-implantitis by analyzing medical charts of those patients who underwent implant placement for the past 2 years. The subjects included those patients who underwent implant placement at the present hospital from January 2001 to December 2002. 3i implants were used for the analysis for the comparison of significance. A total of 301 patients were examined, among whom 102 were females and 199, males. Implants were placed in a total of 578 cases. The number of peri-implantitis was present in a total of 29 cases (21 males and 8 females), giving the incidence at 9.6%. The evidence of peri-implantitis was seen in 60 cases, which was in 10.4% of the patients. Among those cases with peri-implantitis, 28 cases (47%) underwent bone graft and 22 cases (43%) underwent maxillary sinus lift. Furthermore, 4 of these patients had systemic diseases such as diabetes or hypertension. Regular management is important for the preven ion of peri-implantitis. In other words, early prevention through regular follow-ups to check the status of surrounding soft tissue would be needed to maintain implants.
Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Male ; Maxillary Sinus ; Peri-Implantitis* ; Retrospective Studies* ; Transplants

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the differences Quality of Life(QOL) according to menopausal symptoms in middle aged women. METHOD: The subjects consisted of 578 women(45-60 years old) residing in urban area by convenience sampling from March 15 to May 30, 2002. The data were collected by structured questionnaire that included general characteristics, menopausal symptoms and QOL scale. the collected data were analyzed by the SPSS 11.0 program that included descriptive statistics, t-test and ANOVA. RESULT: The averaged age of menopause of subjects was 48.29 4.66 years and 74.8% in the subjects complained menopausal symptoms. As for the orders of complained menopausal symptom, it was fatigue, hot flashes, benumbed hands and feet, and irritability. The mean score of the QOL scale was showing above average level of quality of life. Religion was significantly different to the score for activity of QOL, monthly income was different to the score for activity and physical well-being of QOL. Menopausal status was significantly different to the QOL. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that a replicate study is needed. The results are also useful in developing various programs for health promotion of middle aged women.

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Infant* ; Urinary Tract Infections* ; Urinary Tract*

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical and ultrasonographic (US) findings in patients with scleredema adultorum of Buschke, who presented with sclerotic skin on their posterior neck. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After obtaining IRB approval, eight patients with scleredema adultorum of Buschke were enrolled. They underwent US examination of their posterior neck. The diagnoses were confirmed pathologically. The clinical history and US images were evaluated retrospectively. Dermal thickness was compared between the patient group and the age- and sex-matched control group. RESULTS: The patients included seven males and one female with a mean age of 51.5 years. All patients presented with thickening of the skin and/or a palpable mass on the posterior neck. Five (62.5%) of the eight patients showed erythematous discoloration. Six patients (75.0%) had a history of diabetes. The Hemoglobin A1c level was found to be increased in all patients. US images did not show any evidence of a soft tissue mass or infection. The mean dermal thickness in patients (7.01 ± 1.95 mm) was significantly greater than that in the control group (3.08 ± 0.87 mm) (p = 0.001). Multiple strong echogenic spots in the dermis were seen in all patients. Seven patients (87.5%) showed posterior shadowing in the lower dermis. CONCLUSION: When a patient with a history of diabetes presents with a palpable mass or erythematous discoloration of the posterior neck and US shows the following imaging features: 1) no evidence of a soft tissue mass or infection, 2) thickening of the dermis, 3) multiple strong echogenic spots and/or posterior shadowing in the dermis, scleredema adultorum of Buschke should be considered in the differential diagnosis.
Dermis ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Ethics Committees, Research ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Neck* ; Retrospective Studies ; Scleredema Adultorum* ; Shadowing (Histology) ; Skin ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVE: Bipolar disorder patients often show excessive goal-directed and pleasure-seeking behavior during manic episodes and reduced hedonic capacity during depressive episodes, indicating that bipolar disorder might involve altered reward processing. As such, bipolar disorder subjects have been reported to show impaired reward learning in situations requiring integration of reinforcements over time. In this study, we examined characteristics of reward learning in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder using a probabilistic reward task. METHODS: We recruited 23 euthymic patients with bipolar disorder and 47 healthy subjects for the probabilistic reward task. This task is a reward-based paradigm to produce a response bias, in which correct identifications of two ambiguous stimuli are differently rewarded. The other dependent measures were the discriminability, hit rate and reaction time. RESULTS: Relative to comparison subjects, bipolar patients showed a reduced acquisition of response bias toward the more frequently rewarded stimulus (p<0.01). The overall reward learning was positively correlated with state and trait anxiety levels in bipolar patients (p<0.01). No significant differences of discriminability, hit rates, and reaction time were found between bipolar patients and controls. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that euthymic patients with bipolar disorder may have deficits in reward learning related to anxiety.
Anxiety ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Bipolar Disorder ; Humans ; Learning ; Reaction Time ; Reinforcement (Psychology) ; Reward

OBJECTIVES: Autobiographical memory (ABM) is a special type of episodic memory, containing events that have occurred in a personal life. Overgeneral tendency of ABM refers to the retrieval of memory with only general and categorical descriptions rather than specific events. ABM specificity in depression and posttraumatic stress disorder is a robust finding with relation to cognitive vulnerability, affect regulation, problem-solving ability. It is also implicated in bipolar disorder with frequent relapses. In this study, we investigated whether ABM specificity was related to manic or euthymic mood states in patients with bipolar disorder. METHODS: Forty bipolar patients with manic and euthymic episodes and 25 healthy controls participated in this study. Prompted by 5 positively and 5 negatively valenced emotional cue words, each participant was instructed to recall positive or negative memories and describe them in detail. The one-way ANOVA was used to compare ABM scores and post-hoc analyses were done. RESULTS: Comapred to the healthy persons, the bipolar patients reported significantly more general than specific negative memories in both manic and euthymic episodes (p = 0.003). However, there was no significant difference between manic and euthymic patients (p = 0.074). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that overgeneral tendency of negative ABM may be a trait abnormality in bipolar disorder. Moreover, this phenomenon might be related to underlying cognitive deficits or affect regulation irrespective of the mood state.
Bipolar Disorder ; Cues ; Depression ; Humans ; Memory ; Memory, Episodic ; Recurrence ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

OBJECTIVES: Cord blood stem cells have been widely used as donor cells for bone marrow transplantation recently. These cells can give rise to a variety of hematopoietic lineages to repopulate the blood. Recent observations reveal that some bone marrow cells and bone marrow stromal cells(MSCs) can grow to become either neurons or glial cells. It is, however, unclear whether or not there exists stems cells which can differentiate into neurons in the blood during the early stages of postnatal life. METHODS: Human cord blood stem cells were prepared from human placenta after full term delivery. To induce neuronal differentiation of stem cells, beta-mercaptoethanol was treated. To confirm the neuro-glial characteristics of differentiated stem cells, immunocytochemical stain for NeuN, neurofilament, glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP), microtubule associated protein2(MAP2) was performed. RT-PCR was performed for detecting nestin mRNA and MAP2 mRNA. RESULTS: We showed in this experiment that neuro-glial markers(NeuN, neurofilament, MAP2, GFAP) were expressed and axon-like cytoplasmic processes are elaborated in the cultured human cord blood stem cells prepared from new born placenta after full term delivery. Nestin mRNA was also detected in fresh cord blood monocytes. Conclusions: These results suggest that human cord blood derived stem cells may be potential sources of neurons in early postnatal life.
Bone Marrow ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Cytoplasm ; Fetal Blood* ; Humans* ; Microtubules ; Monocytes ; Nestin ; Neural Stem Cells ; Neuroglia ; Neurons ; Placenta ; RNA, Messenger ; Stem Cells ; Tissue Donors ; Umbilical Cord*

No abstract available.
Amniotic Fluid* ; beta-Endorphin* ; Female