No abstract available.
Animals ; Linoleic Acid* ; Macrophages, Peritoneal* ; Mice*

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study is to identify the factors that predict mortality in elderly trauma patients. METHOD: We reviewed retrospectively the medical record of 144 cases of geriatric trauma admitted to Kyungpook National University Hospital firm January 1998 to December 1998. We evaluated the general characteristics, mechanisms of injury, Revised Trauma Score(RTS), Injury Severity Score(ISS), Probability of survival(Ps) by TRISS(Trauma and Injury Severity Score) method, amount of blood transfused, preexisting disease, complications, length of stay, and mortality. RESULTS: 1. The mean age was 75.39+/-7.89 years old, and male to female ratio was 0.89 : 1. 2. The mechanisms of injury were primarily frills(56.3%) followed by bicycle or motorcycle(13.9%), and pedestrian injuries(13.2%) and motor vehicle accidents(6.9%). 3. The mean Glasgow Coma Scale(GCS), RTS and ISS ate 13.3+/-3.5, 7.2+/-1.4 and 14.2 +/-11.6 respectively. 4. The actual mortality rate was 18.1% (26/144). But by TRISS method, predicted mortality rate was 9.3%(12.5/144), excess mortality rate was 108% and Z score was 3.99 indicating that actual number of death exceed predicted number of death. 5. Between the survivors and nonsurvivors, the insults were significantly different as follows ; systolic blood pressure(141.9+/-28.3 vs. 116.8+/-48.7 mmHg), GCS(14.3+/-2.0 vs. 9.0 +/-5.1), RTS(7.8+/-0.7 vs 5.4+/-2.3), ISS(11.3+/-5.6 vs 27.2+/-20.2), Ps by TRISS(0.97+/-0.06 vs 0.65+/-0.37), preexisting diseases(50.8 vs 69.8%). CONCLUSION: Geriatric patients are more likely to die after trauma than other age groups. The cause of higher actual mortality rate compared to predicted mortality rate was considered as the higher incidence of delayed death due to sepsis or multiple organ failure. In order to reduce the mortality, even with relatively stable initial vile sign, invasive hemodynamic monitoring and intensive treatment are recommended and also, prevention and treatment of nosocomial infection are very important.
Aged ; Coma ; Cross Infection ; Female ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Incidence ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Medical Records ; Mortality* ; Motor Vehicles ; Multiple Organ Failure ; Preexisting Condition Coverage ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis ; Survivors

Arotinolol, a now alpha and beta bloking agent, was administered orally in 32 hypertensive patients for 8 weeks in order to evaluate the antihypertensive effects and side effects. The doses were from 20mg to 30mg a day. The serum chemistries and chest X-ray were taken before and after Arotinolol administration. The results were as follows; 1) Blood pressure which was measured in sitting, supine and standing position was 176.37+/-4.73/116.54+/-4.34, 170.14+/-5.35/103.12+/-3.67, 156.37+/-7.54/104.31+/-3.34mmHg in control and 144.63+/-2.78/94.41+/-2.87, 146.47+/-5.41/89.12+/-4.34, 140.71+/-4.47/89.73+/-3.71mmHg in the treatment group. The differences between both blood pressure were statistically significant(P<0.001). 2) There was no significant change in pulse rate before and after medication. 3) There was no significant change in the laboratory findings such as CTR, GOT, GPT, alkaline phosphatase, CPK, creatinine, BUN, uric acid, cholesterol, fasting blood sugar and triglyceride before and after treatment. 4) The side effects of arotinolol were observed in 6 of 32 cases(18.7%), which were not required discontinuing the medication or decreasing the dose.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Cholesterol ; Creatinine ; Fasting ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Thorax ; Triglycerides ; Uric Acid

OBJECTIVE: This study was to examine the effects of DRD2 TaqI A polymorphism on the smoking in Koreans. Also this study examined molecular heterosis and gender difference in the genetic effect of cigarette smoking. METHODS: DRD2 TaqI A RFLP genotyping was carried out with DNA extracted from blood samples of 187 healthy individuals including 94 smokers and 93 non-smokers, RESULTS: Among the total subjects, the smokers were not significantly different from the non-smokers in respect to the frequency and prevalence of A1 allele, the genotype distribution, or the frequency of heterozygotes. Separating the subjects by gender, however, in male subjects smokers showed a significantly higher frequency (p=0.049) and prevalence of A1 allele (p=0.016) than non-smokers. Also, genotype distribution (p=0.055) and frequency of heterozygotes (p=0.058) of smokers showed some different distributions, but there were no significant statistical difference. In contrast, female subjects showed significant difference between smokers and non-smokers in the comparison of frequency of heterozygotes (p=0.018), but not in the comparison of the frequency (p=0.582) and prevalence (p=0.082) of A1 allele and genotype distribution (p=0.060). CONCLUSION: No significant difference between smokers and non-smokers in the genotype distributions of the total sample could be explained by the reciprocal effects of gender difference in the genetic effect of DRD2 A1 allele of the smoking. Our findings support gender difference and molecular heterosis at the DRD2 gene effects of smoking.
Alleles ; DNA ; Dopamine* ; Female ; Genotype ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Hybrid Vigor ; Male ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Prevalence ; Receptors, Dopamine D2* ; Smoke ; Smoking* ; Tobacco Products*

Thirteen patients were operated for cubital tunnel syndrome and followed for an average of 26 months postoperatively. Ten patients had a history of relevant trauma and three patients had degenerative osteoarthritis of the elbow. The average duration of symptoms was 18 months (range, 2 to 96 months). Diagnosis was made by physical examination, electromyography and nerve conduction study. Among these, nerve conduction study was found to be the most valuable diagnostic method for the patients with atypical clinical findings. Most of the operations were performed by anterior transposition of the ulnar nerve. At the most recent follow-up, the result was excellent in two patients, good in eight, and fair in three; thus ten patients(77%) showed satisfactory results. The rating system for ulnar neuropathy based on sensory, motor dysfunction and pain was useful for evaluating the operative results. The postoperative gain of score for pain and sensory function were larger than that of motor function. Factors known to influence the result of the operation (age, duration of symptom, history of trauma, method of operation) did not effect the outcome in this study. For successful operation, the ulnar nerve must be thoroughly examined, all possible levels of compression must be released and new foci of compression must be created.
Cubital Tunnel Syndrome ; Diagnosis ; Elbow ; Electromyography ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Methods ; Neural Conduction ; Osteoarthritis ; Physical Examination ; Sensation ; Ulnar Nerve ; Ulnar Neuropathies

For the estimation of the proliferative activity, related to the biologic behaviour, malignant potential, and prognosis, of human thyroid tumors, PCNA(proliferating cell nuclear antigen) immunohistochemical staining was performed on paraffin-embedded sections of 9 normal thyroid tissues, 9 adenomatous goiters, 9 follicular adenomas, 4 Hurthle cell tumors, 12 papillary carcinomas, 4 follicular carcinomas, and 3 anaplastic carcinomas. The results were as follows: 1) The PCNA labeling indices in adenomatous goiter, follicular adenoma, and Hurthle cell tumor were 1.1, 1.5, and 2.4, respectively. They were significantly higher than the labeling index in normal thyroid. 2) The PCNA labeling indices in papillary carcinoma and follicular carcinoma were 3.5 and 4.4, respectively. They were significantly higher than the labeling indices in adenomatous goiter and follicular adenoma, but there was no significant difference between papillary and follicular carcinoma. 3) The PCNA labeling index in anaplastic carcinoma, 14.1, was significantly higher than those in benign and other malignant tumors. According to the results, the PCNA labeling index was well correlated with the malignant potential of a tumor. So the PCNA immunohistochemical staining is thought to be a useful method for the evaluation of the malignant potential and prognosis of a tumor.
Humans

BACKGORUND: Endotracheal intubation in patients undergoing general anesthesia often causes hypertension and tachycardia. Nitrous oxide (N2O), which is frequently used during the induction of anesthesia, is known to augment sympathetic nervous activity in humans. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether N2O affects cardiovascular response to intubation. METHODS: After iRB approval, 100 ASA i patients (aged 35 60 yr) were assigned randomly to receive one of four concentrations (0, 25, 50 or 75%; n = 25 for each) of N2O in oxygen throughout the study period, beginning 3 min before intubation. Anesthesia was induced with iV thiopental (5-7mg/kg) and tracheal intubation was faciliated with iV vecuronium (0.12 mg/kg), while patients were ventilated with the designated concentrations of N2O in oxygen. After intubation, all patients received 2% sevoflurane and N2O in oxygen via a semiclosed anesthesia circuit. Systolic arterial pressure (SAP), heart rate (HR) and rhythm were recorded before and after intubation at intervals for up to 5 min. Plasma concentrations of catecholamines were measured before and 3 min after induction, and 1 and 5 min after intubation. RESULTS: The intubation caused significant increases in SAP and HR in all groups (P<0.05). increasing concentrations of N2O gradually attenuated the pressor response to intubation, without affecting the tachycardiac response. No significant differences were observed between the groups in plasma concentrations of either norepinephrine or epinephrine:norepinephrine concentration increased significantly 1 min after intubation in all N2O-treated groups, while it remained unchanged in the control group. in contrast, the epinephrine concentration remained unaltered in all N2O-treated groups, but increased significantly in the control group. incidence of tachycardia, bradycardia, and arrhythmia was not different among the groups. CONCLUSiONS: These results indicate that N2O suppresses the pressor but not the tachycardiac response associated with endotracheal intubation, while it enhances the increases in plasma norepinephrine concentrations.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Arterial Pressure ; Bradycardia ; Catecholamines ; Epinephrine ; Ethics Committees, Research ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Intubation ; Intubation, Intratracheal* ; Laryngoscopy* ; Nitrous Oxide* ; Norepinephrine ; Oxygen ; Plasma ; Tachycardia ; Thiopental ; Vecuronium Bromide

Etretinate, an acitretin metabolite, has a long retention duration in adipose tissues with a teratogenic potential. FDA advises a contraceptive period of at least three years after discontinuing acitretin. However, the effect of accumulated etretinate in adipose tissues on fetus is unknown. Although the teratogenic threshold for serum concentration of etretinate has been presented as higher than 2 ng/mL, that of acitretin is unknown. To examine factors affecting body retention of acitretin and etretinate, effects of acitretin dosage, acitretin-taking duration, elapsed time after stopping acitretin, age, sex, concomitant alcohol consumption, and foods and supplements rich in vitamin A intake on serum concentrations of acitretin and etretinate were analyzed in 14 acitretintaken patients and 58 controls without taking acitretin or etretinate. Serum concentrations of acitretin, but not etretinate, tended to be inversely related to the discontinuation duration. They were also related to old age. Different from a published result that alcohol consumption could promote the metabolism of acitretin into etretinate, alcohol intake did not affect serum concentrations of etretinate. Unexpectedly, more frequent intake of vitamin A or provitamin A-rich food and supplements was associated with higher serum acitretin, whereas less frequent intake of vitamin A or provitamin A-rich food and supplements was associated with higher serum levels of etretinate in acitretin-taken patients. Despite preliminary data, inter-individual variations in serum retention of etretinate suggest the necessity of further research before applying the same guidelines to everyone to minimize unnecessary contraception.

No abstract available.
Humans ; Interferon-alpha* ; Prednisolone*

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognosis of pregnancy and perinatal outcomes of epileptic women used antiepileptic drugs. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 66 consecutive pregnancies of 41 epileptic women from January 1989 through December 2005 was performed. The maternal and perinatal outcomes of pregnancies with epilepsy were compared with those of 1,000 normal pregnancies of similar age and parity occurred during the same period. We also compared the perinatal outcomes regarding protocol of antiepileptic drugs (monotherapy vs polytherapy), existence of gestational seizure, and duration of epileptic history. Statistical analyses with chi-square test and t-test were performed. RESULTS: In our comparison study between epilepsy and normal groups, with the exception of primigravida (43.8% vs 31.8%, p=0.009), induction of labor (43.1% vs 22.1%, p=0.001) and major congenital malformation (6.9% vs 2.0%, p=0.015), no other significant differences regarding maternal and perinatal outcomes were noted between two groups. There were no different obstetrical outcomes between monotherapy and polytherapy groups. In epileptic women with gestational seizure, the rate of fetal distress (20.0% vs 2.3%, p=0.02) was significantly increased. In longer epileptic history (> or =10 years), the rates of preterm birth, low birth weight, and major congenital malformation were increased, but there was no statistical significance. CONCLUSION: There are no increased maternal and perinatal complications in epileptic women used antiepileptic drugs, except for major congenital malformation.
Anticonvulsants* ; Epilepsy ; Female ; Fetal Distress ; Humans ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Parity ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women* ; Premature Birth ; Prognosis* ; Retrospective Studies ; Seizures