No abstract available.
Hypertension, Pulmonary*

No abstract available.
Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Pneumothorax*

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is a condition caused by spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage, resulting in orthostatic headache as the main symptom, but other symptoms such as memory loss, nausea, and tinnitus may also be present. Various imaging techniques are used to diagnose SIH, with magnetic resonance imaging myelography being an important tool for detecting the leakage site of CSF. Conservative treatments including hydration, bed rest, and intravenous caffeine have been tried with limited success. Epidural blood patch (EBP) is the most commonly performed treatment for SIH after the failure of conservative management. There are different opinions about the EBP procedure (e.g., blind EBP vs. targeted EBP). This report describes the treatment of SIH with targeted EBP according to imaging diagnosis after the failure of initial blind lumbar EBP.

PURPOSE: We studied the usefullness of intravenous administration of contrast material to facilitate in situ shock wave lithotripsy(SWL) of ureteral stones in cases that stone localization was difficult as radioluscent, less radiodense, small stone, and interference with visualization by bone or intestinal gas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From March 1992 to June 1997 we treated 831 patients with ureteral stone by in-situ SWL using EDAP-LT02 piezoelectric lithotriptor which utilizes ultrasono and fluroscopy for stone localization. Among 831 patients, intravenous contrast material were used in 53 cases to facilitate stone localization during SWL treatments. To evaluate the effectiveness of stone localization by the assistance of intravenous contrast media we compared success rate, storages, treatment sessions, durations, and side effects of two groups with or without intravenous contrast material, based on the location and the size of stones. RESULTS: Among 53 patients, stone was localized without ureteral catheterization in 5.7%(25/437) of upper ureteral stone, 18.2%(18/99) of mid-ureteral stone, and 3.4%(10/295) of lower ureteral stone after administration of intravenous contrast material. There were no significant differences in success rate, storages, treatment sessions, and durations(p>0.05). There were no significant complications except dye hypersensitivity in two patients, who were managed conservatively. CONCLUSIONS: The administration of intravenous contrast material during SWL allows effective localization of ureteral stones that otherwise could not be imaged adequately without ureteral catheterization. We believe that the use of intravenous contrast material for localization of ureteral stone in SWL have the benefits of inexpensiveness, noninvasiveness, and painlessness.
Administration, Intravenous ; Contrast Media ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Shock ; Ureter* ; Urinary Catheterization ; Urinary Catheters

The purpose of this study was to identify the incidence of urinary incontinence in adult women and to identify factors related to life style and sexual intercourse that were related to incontinence. The sample consisted of 1,065 women living in Seoul or one of five provinces. Data for this study were collected from January 16 to June 23 using structured questionnaires. The Urinary Symptom Questionnaire developed by Jackson and a demographic questionnaire were used to collect the data. The data were analyzed using frequency, percentage with and SPSS/PC+ program. The major finding are as follows : 1. The distribution of age of subjects was as follows : 20-29(10.1%), 30-39(17.8%), 40-49(27.3%), 50-59(22.3%), 60-69(12.9%), 70-79(6.1%), 80-89(2.8%), more than 90(0.6%). The frequency of normal delivery, 0(15.5%), 1-2(36.0%), 3-4(29.2%), 5-6(13.0%), more than 7(6.3%). The rate of subjects with menopause was 40.8%. 2. It was reported that 50.7% of the subjects experienced urinary incontinence with stress, mixed, and urgency incontinence being 49.8%, 43.4%, 6.8% respectively. 3. The lower urinary symptoms and incidence with urinary incontinence were as follows : Daily frequency, 22.3%, nocturia, 40.8%, urgency, 71.2%, bladder pain, 47.8%, unexplained incontinence, 32.4%, nocturnal incontinence, 16.1%, and frequency of incontinence, 37.7%. In term of quantity of incontinence, drop/pants damp, 29.5%, dribble/pants wet, 20.5%, flood or soaking through to outer clothing, 1.7%, and flood or running down legs or onto floor, 0.2%. 4. The symptoms related to sexual intercourse and incidence of urinary incontinence were as follows : dry vagina, 39.1%, sex life trouble, 10.8%, pain during sexual intercourse, 27.4%, and urine leakage during sexual intercourse, 8.8%. 5. Life style problems related to urinary incontinence were as follows ; fluid intake restriction, 20.0%, affected daily task, 24.5%, avoidance of places and situations, 35.0%, interference in physical activities, 30.6%, interference in relationships with other people, 19.0%, interference in relationship with husband/companion, 8.1%, and time after attack of urinary symptoms, 76.9%. In term of the feeling about the rest of their lives the women reported : perfectly happy, 11.3%, pleased, 16.9%, mostly satisfied, 20.2%, mixed feelings, 21.0%, mostly dissatisfied, 21.0%, very unhappy 8.5%, and desperate, 1.0%. In conclusion, this study was a preliminary study to provide nursing practices guidelines for incontinence in adult women. Nurses working with adult women should develop and provide adequate care for these women.
Adult* ; Clothing ; Coitus ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Leg ; Life Style ; Menopause ; Motor Activity ; Nocturia ; Nursing ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Running ; Seoul ; Urinary Bladder ; Urinary Incontinence* ; Vagina

PURPOSE: To investigate the teratogenic potential of dopamine using a topical method of application to the developing Korean native chick embryo. METHODS: A 5 pg(0.05cc) of dopamine was applied to a 3-days-old chick embryo and the same amount of saline solution was applied as control. The embryo was then returned to the incubator and monitored. After 3 weeks the embryo was sacrificed and examined for cardiovascular malformation. RESULTS: The survival rate of the dopamine-administered group was not significantly lower than that of the control group(32.2% vs 41.5%). Cardiovascular malformation rates between the two groups were 14.3% and 2.6%, respectively. The dopamine-administered group had significant higher malformation rate(P=0.049). The type of malformation was ventricular septal defect and no aortic arch anomaly. In the control group, one trabecular type was observed. In the dopamineadministered group, malformations were 3 trabecular ventricular septal defects(VSDs), 2 infracrista VSDs, 1 inlet VSD and 1 large supracrista VSD. These results were quite different from each other. CONCLUSION: We proposed that low doses of dopamine influence the cardiovascular morphogenesis through -1 receptor weakly or through dopaminergic receptor.
Animals ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Bays ; Chick Embryo ; Dopamine* ; Embryonic Structures ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular ; Heart* ; Incubators ; Morphogenesis ; Sodium Chloride ; Survival Rate

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Laboratory research was carried out to investigate the teratogenic effect of X-ray on chick embryos, especially with regard to cardiovascular malformation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The chick embryos, 242, 242 and 215 eggs, were irradiated with X-ray at the dose of 500, 750 and 1000 cGy, respectively, during the incubation period between 0 and 9 days. A control group of 90 eggs received no irradiation. After 2 weeks of incubation, the embryos were sacrificed and examined. RESULTS: The survival rate of irradiated group was significantly lower than that of control group (62.5 vs. 87.8%, p<0.0001). The incidence rate of cardiovascular malformation was significantly higher in the irradiated than the control group (16.2 vs. 2.5%, p<0.005). The rate of cardiovascular malformation in the irradiated group increased from 9.4% with 500 cGy to 24.5% with 1000 cGy (p<0.05). There were a total of 33 cases of cardiac malformation, of which 24 were ventricular septal defects and 9 were complex congenital heart diseases. The higher the administered dose of radiation, the higher the observed incidence rate of cardiac malformation and the more complex the cardiac anomaly. Also, the rates of exocardia, exencephaly, beak anomalies and anopia were all increased in the irradiated group. CONCLUSION: X-ray irradiation of chick embryos increased the rates of death and cardiovascular malformation. The highest dose resulted in greater complexity of the cardiovascular malformation.
Animals ; Beak ; Cardiovascular System* ; Chick Embryo* ; Eggs ; Embryonic Structures ; Heart ; Heart Diseases ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular ; Incidence ; Neural Tube Defects ; Ovum ; Survival Rate

Purpose: Chromosomal instability (CIN) contributes to intercellular genetic heterogeneity and has been implicated in paclitaxel (PTX) resistance in breast cancer. In this study, we explored polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) as an important regulator of mitotic integrity and as a useful predictive biomarker for PTX resistance in breast cancer. Methods: We performed PTX resistance screening using the human kinome CRISPR/ Cas9 library in breast cancer cells. In vitro cell proliferation and apoptosis assays and in vivo xenograft experiments were performed to determine the effects of PLK1 on breast cancer cells. Immunofluorescence microscopy was used to measure the degree of multipolar cell division. Results: Kinome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screening identified various kinases involved in PTX resistance in breast cancer cells; among these, PLK1 was chosen for further experiments.PLK1 knockdown inhibited the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 cells in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, PLK1 silencing sensitized breast cancer cells and mouse xenograft tumor models to PTX cytotoxicity. Silencing of PLK1 induced the formation of multipolar spindles and increased the percentage of multipolar cells. In addition, PLK1 silencing resulted in the downregulation of BubR1 and Mad2 in breast cancer cells. Furthermore, PLK1 upregulation in primary breast cancer was associated with decreased overall patient survival based on the analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas and Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium databases. Conclusion PLK1 plays an important role in PTX resistance by regulating CIN in breast cancer cells. Targeting PLK1 may be an effective treatment strategy for PTX-resistant breast cancers.

BACKGROUND: To assess the preoperative nutritional status of patients with various disorders and to provide data for pre- and postoperative patient management plans, particularly in the elderly. There is no published information on age-matched and disease-matched preoperative nutritional/immunologic status for orthopedic patients, especially in the elderly, in Jeju. METHODS: In total, 331 patients with four categories of orthopedic conditions were assessed: 92 elective surgery patients, 59 arthroplasty patients, 145 patients with fractures, and 35 infection patients. Malnutrition was defined as body mass index (BMI) below 18 kg/m2 of expected body weight (below 20% of normal), serum albumin/globulin ratio below 1.5 (normal range, 1.5 to 2.3), albumin level below 3.5 g/dL, total lymphocyte count below 1,500 cells/mm3, and lymphocyte/monocyte ratio below 5 versus 1. RESULTS: In 92 elective surgery patients, the average BMI was 23 kg/m2, hemoglobin was 15 g/dL, lymphocytes (2,486 cells)/monocytes (465 cells) ratio was 6.1, and the albumin (4.4 g/dL)/globulin (2.5 g/dL) ratio as a protein quotient was 1.7. Among the 59 hip and knee arthroplasty patients, the average BMI was 25 kg/m2, hemoglobin was 12 g/dL, lymphocytes (2,038 cells)/monocytes (391 cells) ratio was 6.6, and albumin (4.1 g/dL)/globulin (2.4 g/dL) ratio was 1.6. No subject showed malnutrition. Among the 145 fracture patients, the average BMI was 23 kg/m2. The hemoglobin level was 13 g/dL, monocytes (495 cells)/lymphocytes (1,905 cells) ratio was 1 versus 4.6, and albumin (4.1 d/gL)/globulin (2.5 d/gL) ratio was 1.6. However, both ratios decreased after 70 years of age. Among the 17 of 35 infection patients, albumin levels were below 3.5 g/dL, the average BMI was 22 kg/m2, lymphocytes (1,532 cells)/monocytes (545 cells) ratio was 2.4 versus 1, and albumin (3.0 g/dL)/globulin (3.3 g/dL) ratio was 0.9, while in 18 patients albumin levels were over 3.5 g/dL, the average BMI was 22 kg/m2, hemoglobin was 12 g/dL, lymphocytes (1,998 cells)/monocytes (583 cells) ratio was 3 versus 1, and albumin/globulin ratio was 1.4. Thus, in the infection group, approximately 50% of the patients showed poor nutrition and immunosuppression. CONCLUSIONS: It was found that nutritional and immune condition deteriorated gradually to some degree in elderly patients over 60 years of age.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Body Mass Index ; Body Size ; Child ; Humans ; Malnutrition/blood/complications/*diagnosis ; Middle Aged ; Musculoskeletal Diseases/complications/*surgery ; *Nutritional Status ; Preoperative Period ; Republic of Korea ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: To determine a method to improve the efficacy and accuracy of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) - polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we compared hot start PCR and conventional multiplex nested PCR. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was performed with single lymphocyte isolated from whole blood samples that were obtained from two couples with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). We proceeded with conventional multiplex nested PCR and hot start PCR in which essential reaction components were physically removed, and we compared the amplification rate, allele dropout rate and nonspecific products. Afterward, we used selective method for PGD. RESULTS: In the two couples, the respective amplification rate were 93.5% and 80.0% using conventional multiplex nested PCR and 95.5% and 92.0% using hot start PCR. The respective mean allele dropout rates for the two couples were 42.0% and 14.0% with conventional multiplex nested PCR and 36.0% and 6.0% with hot start PCR. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that the hot start PCR procedure provides higher amplification rates and lower allele dropout rate than the conventional method and that it decreased the nonspecific band in multiplex nested PCR. The hot start method is more efficient for analyzing a single blastomere in clinical PGD.
Alleles ; Blastomeres ; Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Lymphocytes ; Osteogenesis Imperfecta ; Patient Dropouts ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Preimplantation Diagnosis ; Prostaglandins D