No abstract available.
Paragonimiasis*

No abstract available.
Anemia, Megaloblastic* ; Humans ; Megaloblasts* ; Methotrexate*

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of ferritin-folate-cyanocobalamin supplementation for prevention of anemia during pregnancy. METHODS: The authors conducted a clinical investigation on 50 pregnant women from 20th to 36th gestational weeks. The cobination of cyanocobalamin coenzyme 500mg, folic coenzyme 800mcg, and ferritin 20mg constituted the supplementation. The parameters examined in first trimester as baseline, before treatment(at 20th weeks), and after treatment(at 36th weeks) were : hemoglobin, hematocrit, ferritin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin(MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration(MCHC), mean corpuscular volume(MCV), red blood cell count(RDW), folic acid, and vit. BPaired sample t-test was used for comparison. RESULTS: The results indicated a significant increase in the value of hemoglobin(p<0.05) and hematocrit(p<0.01) in comparison to before and after the treatment. The values of serum ferritin, folic acid, vitamin Bwere increased after the treatment compared to those of before the treatment, though there was no statistical significance. The results of MCV, MCH, MCHC, and RDW showed no statistically significant in comparison to before and after the treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that supplementing ferritin 20mg-folate 800mcg-cyanocobalamine 500mcg per day from 20th to 36th weeks' gestation can increase values of hemoglobin, hematocrit, and ferritin concentration and can be cosidered as an appropriate method to prevent iron deficient anemia. It also might increase the value of folic acid and vitamin B12, concentration, but further study is stiU needed to determine whether the supplementation of folate and cyanocobalamine in combination with iron can have better eflicacy than iron alone in prevention of iron deficiency anemia.
Anemia* ; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency ; Erythrocyte Indices ; Erythrocytes ; Female ; Ferritins* ; Folic Acid* ; Hematocrit ; Humans ; Iron ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Vitamin B 12* ; Vitamins

Aortic transection or interruption is a rare condition which developed after an acute deceleration injury. Its occurrence depends on the location and direction of the force applied and is usually from motor vehicle accident or falling down. The exact incidence of aortic transection in trauma is not known but, when develops, only about 10-15% of the victims can furtive and be transported to the hospital. Even in the survivors, majority of them will be fatal within a few days if a prompt diagnosis and surgical treatments are not made. Aggressive diagnostic work-up is recommended for the patients with high suspicious index, which would salvage the victims with this fatal condition. We report the experience of two cases of aortic transection or interruption following motor vehicle accidents.
Deceleration ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Motor Vehicles ; Survivors ; Thorax* ; Wounds and Injuries*

Decreased number of the Neuropeptide-Y[NPY] immunoreactive neurons in the corpus striatum and primary motor cortex of aged rat was detected by the immunohistochemical method. The animals were categorized into control and aged group and we used 10 Sprague-Dawley rat weighing 250-300gm for control group. 10 Sprague-Dawley rat weighing over 600gm for aged group. The number of NPY-immunoreactive neurons in corpus striatum and primary motor cortex were counted under the light microscope and the following results were obtained. 1. The NPY-immunoreactive neurons were evenly distributed in corpus striatum and in the primaty motor cortex, the NPY-immunoreactive neurons were concentrated within the layer II, III and layer V, VI. The typical NPY-immunoreactive perikarya was multipolar shape. 2. Decreased number of NPY-immunoreactive neurons were detected in some areas of corpus striatum and primary mortor cortex of the aged rat. 3. Decrease of NPY-immunoreactive neurons were most prominent in the caudate-putamen and there were moderate decrease of NPY-immunoreactive neurons in the primary motor cortex, mild decrease of NPY-immunoreactive neurons in the nucleus accumbens but the NPY-immunoreactive neurons were not observed in the globus pallidus in both control and aged rat. NPY is supposed to act as a neurotransmitter of local circuit neurons in the striatum and may exert its potent vasoconstrictor effects on cerebral vessels which influences on the microcirculation of cerebral cortex and striatum. So our results seems to provide an important data on change of the function in the striatum and primary motor cortex of aged rat brain.
Aging ; Animals ; Brain ; Cerebral Cortex ; Corpus Striatum* ; Globus Pallidus ; Microcirculation ; Motor Cortex ; Neurons* ; Neuropeptide Y* ; Neuropeptides* ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Nucleus Accumbens ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

O1igodendrocytes are known to be responsible for the synthesis and maintenance of myelin sheath in the central nervous system, and their functional disturbance leads to defect in myelination. But, the fine mechanism of myelination by oligodendrocytes is not yet known, and iron metabolism in central nervous system is suspected to be related with myelination process by oligodendrocytes. Carbonic anhydrase-II[CA-II], transfe-rrin, and ferritin are known to be present at oligodendrocytes and suspected to play a role in iron metabolism of central nervous system. In this study, demyelination and remyelination of ICR mouse brains were induced using cuprizone, the copper-chelating agent, and immunohistochemical changes of CA-II-, transferrin-, and ferritin-immunoreactive oligodendrocytes at corpus callosum were observed. During demyelination by cuprizone feeding, the numbers of CA-II- and transferrin-immunoreactive oligodendrocytes were decreased. Especially, the decrease ratio of CA-II-positive cells was great. In contrast, the number of ferritin-positive oligodendrocytes was increased during demyelination by cuprizone feeding. Cessation of cuprizone feeding leaded remyelination and the numbers of CA-II-, transferrin-, and ferritin-immunoreactive oligodendrocytes were returned to normal level. In conclusion, the derangement of iron metabolism in oligodendrocytes may be related to demyelination mechanism of central nervous system, and the CA-II is suspected to have an important role in iron metabolism of oligodenrocytes in relation to demyelination and remyelination induced with cuprizone.
Animals ; Brain ; Carbon* ; Central Nervous System ; Corpus Callosum ; Cuprizone* ; Demyelinating Diseases ; Ferritins ; Iron ; Iron-Binding Proteins* ; Metabolism ; Mice* ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Myelin Sheath ; Oligodendroglia ; Transferrin

OBJECTIVES: The neural substrate of fear is thought to be highly conserved among species including human. The purpose of this review was to address the neural substrates of fear based on recent findings obtained from animal and human studies. METHODS: Recent studies on brain regions related to fear, particularly fear conditioning in rodents and humans, were extensively reviewed. RESULTS: This paper suggests high consistency in anatomical structure and physiological mechanisms for fear perception, response, learning and modulation in animals and humans. CONCLUSIONS: Fear is manifested and modulated by well conserved neural circuits among species interconnected with the amygdala, such as the hippocampus and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Further research is required to incorporate findings from animal studies into a better understanding of neural circuitry of fear in human in a translational approach.
Amygdala ; Animals ; Brain ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; Learning ; Neuroanatomy ; Prefrontal Cortex ; Rodentia

Background: This study aims to figure out the gaps in health status by estimating amenable mortality rate by region, reflecting the characteristics of Korea, and estimating the years of life lost (YLL) per capita by disease. Methods: People who died from amenable diseases between 2008 and 2018 were extracted from the cause of death statistics provided by Statistics Korea. The age-standardized amenable mortality rates were estimated to compare the health status of 229 regions. YLL per capita was calculated to compute the burden of diseases caused by treatable deaths by region. The YLL per capita by region was calculated to identify the burden of disease caused by amenable deaths. Results: First, while the annual amenable mortality rate in Korea is on a steady decline, but there is still a considerable gap between urban and rural areas when comparing the mortality rates of 229 areas. Second, YLL per capita due to the amenable deaths is approximately 14 person-years during the analysis period (2008–2018). Conclusion Although the health status of Koreans has continuously improved, there is still a gap in health status region by region in terms of amenable mortality rates. Amenable death accounts for a loss of life equivalent to 14 person-years per year. Since the amenable mortality rate is an indicator that can measure the performance of the health care system, efforts at each local area are required to lower it.

Background: This study aims to figure out the gaps in health status by estimating amenable mortality rate by region, reflecting the characteristics of Korea, and estimating the years of life lost (YLL) per capita by disease. Methods: People who died from amenable diseases between 2008 and 2018 were extracted from the cause of death statistics provided by Statistics Korea. The age-standardized amenable mortality rates were estimated to compare the health status of 229 regions. YLL per capita was calculated to compute the burden of diseases caused by treatable deaths by region. The YLL per capita by region was calculated to identify the burden of disease caused by amenable deaths. Results: First, while the annual amenable mortality rate in Korea is on a steady decline, but there is still a considerable gap between urban and rural areas when comparing the mortality rates of 229 areas. Second, YLL per capita due to the amenable deaths is approximately 14 person-years during the analysis period (2008–2018). Conclusion Although the health status of Koreans has continuously improved, there is still a gap in health status region by region in terms of amenable mortality rates. Amenable death accounts for a loss of life equivalent to 14 person-years per year. Since the amenable mortality rate is an indicator that can measure the performance of the health care system, efforts at each local area are required to lower it.

PURPOSE: Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) is a 65-kDa acute phase protein, derived from the liver, which is present in high concentrations in plasma. Data regarding the association between circulating plasma LBP levels and obesity-related biomarkers in the pediatric population are scarce. We aimed to determine whether there was a difference in plasma LBP levels between overweight/obese and normal-weight adolescents and to assess the correlation of circulating LBP levels with anthropometric measures and obesity-related biomarkers, including insulin resistance, liver enzyme levels, and lipid profiles. METHODS: The study included 87 adolescents aged 12-13 years; 44 were overweight/obese and 43 were of normal-weight. We assessed anthropometric and laboratory measures, including body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, insulin resistance, liver enzyme levels, and lipid profiles. Plasma LBP levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 12.9±0.3 years. Circulating plasma LBP levels were significantly increased in overweight/obese participants compared with those in normal-weight participants (7.8±1.9 µg/mL vs. 6.0±1.6 µg/mL, P<0.001). LBP levels were significantly and positively associated with BMI, systolic blood pressure, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, fasting glucose and insulin, and insulin resistance as indicated by the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (all P<0.05). In multivariate linear regression analysis, BMI and HOMA-IR were independently and positively associated with plasma LBP levels. CONCLUSION: LBP is an inflammatory biomarker associated with BMI and obesity-related insulin resistance in adolescents. The positive correlation between these parameters suggests a potentially relevant pathophysiological mechanism linking LBP to obesity-related insulin resistance in adolescents.
Acute-Phase Proteins ; Adolescent* ; Alanine Transaminase ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Biomarkers ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Cholesterol ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance* ; Insulin* ; Linear Models ; Liver ; Obesity ; Plasma*