BACKGROUND: Korea is, known to be an endemic area of viral hepatitis B, and 5-6% of population are carriers. Immunization can reduce the spread of hepatitis B infection. Hower, not all people respond to hepatitis B immunsation. 5-15% of primary vaccinees fail to be immunized. After revaccination, only 37.5 44% of the primary failures elicit antibody response. Recent studies have reported that it is effective to inject a double dose vaccination in immunocompromsed patients. In some country, they recommend that neonate whode mother is HBV carrier shoud receive double dose vaccination. This study documented the results of double dose vaccintion only once to nonrsponders toward the HBV immunzation. METHODS: Healthy nonresponders to Hepatitis B immunization were recuited from Sep. 1995 to Aug. 1996. Subjects with their AST/ALT level over 40, or over 65 years old were excluded. They were received 2ml of plasma-derived vaccine(Hepavax-B) intramuscularly in the deltoid muscle. Anti-HBs antibody testing were performed at 1 to 3 months after vaccintion. RESULTS: 17 healthy nanreponders to Hepatitis B immunization(male 10, female 7) were included. Their mean ages were 47(32 to64), AST/ALT level 20/19(16 to 28/11 to 35), smoking 4.3pys(1 to 7). Seroconversion occured in 13 of them(76.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Nonresponders to Hepatitis B vaccintion respond well to double dose vaccination once.
Aged ; Antibody Formation ; Deltoid Muscle ; Female ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Immunization ; Immunization, Secondary ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Mothers ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Vaccination*

No abstract available.
Thyroglobulin* ; Thyroid Gland*

Segmental dilatation of small intestine or colon can induce signs of intestinal obstruction, such as abdominal distension, vomiting and constipation. There are no anatomical gross obstructive lesions, and moreover, ganglion cells are observed in both dilated and undilated distal segments of the intestine. It often accompanied by other congenital anomalies. We reported two cases of segmental dilatation of the intestine in the newborn infants, one in small intestine and the other in colon, with brief review of the related literatures.
Colon ; Constipation ; Dilatation* ; Ganglion Cysts ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Intestinal Obstruction ; Intestine, Small ; Intestines* ; Vomiting

BACKGROUND: Although lack of exercise is well known to be a risk factor of osteoporosis, it is unclear whether weight-bearing exercise has different effects on bone mineral density compared to non weight-bearing exercise, and the amount of exercise needed to prevent osteoporosis is not clearly defined. This study was performed to clarify the relations between the type and the amount of exercise with BMD. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 3,661 women who had undertaken health screening including BMD measurement at Health Promotion Center of SNUH between May 1997 and March 1999. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, menarche, childbirth andexercise were gathered by means of self-reported questionnaire, and BMD was measured using DEXA. RESULTS: The number of women with lumbar osteoporosis were 601 (16.4%) and femoral neck osteoporosis 372 (10.2%). Lumbar osteoporosis occurred more frequently with increasing age and age at menarche, and in menopausal women, but less frequently with increasing fat-free mass in multiple logistic regression analysis. When adjusted for age, age at menarche, menopause and fat-free mass, lumbar osteoporosis was less common in women who exercised, but the type and the amount of exercise had no bearing. Especially, lumbar osteoporosis was least common in women engaging in moderate amount of exercise. Femoral neck osteoporosis decreased significantly only in weight-bearing exercise group and in women engaging in high amount of exercise. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that lumbar osteoporosis can be prevented through exercise regardless of its type and amount, and high amount or weight- bearing exercise is most effective to prevent femoral neck osteoporosis.
Adult* ; Body Composition ; Bone Density* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Femur Neck ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Mass Screening ; Menarche ; Menopause ; Osteoporosis ; Parturition ; Risk Factors ; Weight-Bearing ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Background: In this study, we aimed to investigate the recent trends for health care indicators including maternal mortality ratio, infant mortality rate, under-five mortality rate, life expectancy, years of life lost, and healthcare resources in South Korea, North Korea, Germany, Russian Federation, Mongolia, Vietnam, China, Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary. Methods: We used data from five sources: World Health Organization, Federal Institute for Population Research, World Bank, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development health statistics, and national statistics. Results: In the early 1990s, health indicators continued to improve in countries that switched to the health insurance system, but the gap widened in North Korea as health indicators worsened. Conclusion The establishment of a sustainable health care system after unification of the Korean peninsula requires substantial changes in the health care system and efforts to improve the health of North Koreans.

BACKGROUND: Recent reports suggest that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may play an important role in such a wide spectrum of human neoplasia. Recently, peripheral T cell lymphomas and particularly, angiocentric lymphomas (ACL), increasingly are reported to be associated with EBV.Nasal-type and nasal T/NK cell lymphoma (TNKL) have recently been reported to comprise most of ACLs. The prognosis of these tumors has been extremely poor. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate EBV association in primary or secondary cutaneous T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders and to identify any prognostic association. METHODS: Thirty six patients with primary or secondary cutaneous T-cell lymphoproliferative (CTCL) disorders were examined to evaluate the presence of Epstein-Barr virus using in situ hybridization for EBV-encoded RNA (EBER). RESULTS: EBER was detected in tumor cells in one third of the total cases (13/36); 4/4 secondary skin lymphoma from nasal TNKL, 8/8 primary cutaneous nasal type TNKLs and 1/5 mycosis fungoides (MF).EBER was not detected in the following disease: 6 cases of anaplastic large cell lymphomas (ALCL) including 2 cases of probable NK-like T cell lineage, 3 lymphomatoid papulosis, 2 CD56 (-) T cell ACLs and 7 subcutaneous panniculitic T-cell lymphomas (SPTL) by Revised European-American Lymphoma (REAL) classification and recent concept of further classification into NK-cell lineage. One case of T-cell pseudolymphoma as a negative control was also negative in EBER. CONCLUSION: High incidence of EBV was observed in primary or secondary CTCLs in Koreans, with predilection for nasal and nasal type TNKL. In MFs, an erythrodermic MF with fatal outcome was associated with EBV and the EBV detection might reflect worse prognosis in MFs as seen in an aggressive course of nasal and nasal type TNKLs.
Cell Lineage ; Classification ; Fatal Outcome ; Herpesvirus 4, Human* ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization ; Incidence ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, Large-Cell, Anaplastic ; Lymphoma, T-Cell ; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral ; Lymphomatoid Papulosis ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders* ; Mycosis Fungoides ; Prognosis ; Pseudolymphoma ; RNA* ; Skin ; T-Lymphocytes*

This study was conducted to compare the eating habits of disabled and non-disabled children in Seoul and Gangneung, Korea. Questionnaires about eating habits were answered by the children's parents and their teachers. The subjects of this study consisted of 146 disabled children (108 boys and 38 girls) from two special education schools and 241 nondisabled children (control group, 120 boys and 121 girls) from two elementary schools in Seoul and Gangneung, respectively. The percentage of the children who required more than 30 minutes to eat was 11.3% in the disabled group and 2.5% in the non-disabled group. In the disabled group, 44.0% ate excessive amounts of food or could not control their intake. The percentage of the children whose frequency of eating breakfast was less than 1 to 2 times per week was 21.0% in the disabled group and 9.7% in the non-disabled group. Also, 7.6% of the disabled group and 13.9% of the nondisabled group had snacks more than three times per day. The percentage of children who were able to eat by themselves was lower in the disabled group (47.9%) than in the non-disabled group (87.8%). Of the remainder of the disabled group, 28.6% spilled food, and 14.3% needed the aid of others when picking up side dishes. The percentage of parents who worried about their children's eating an unbalanced diet was 48.5% in the disabled group and 41.8% in the non-disabled group. In addition, there were problems with eating behaviors in 22.7% in the disabled group ; and with under-eating (15.9%) and with excessive intake of instant foods (16.8%) in the non-disabled group. These results suggest that the eating habits and eating behaviors of disabled children are different from those of non-disabled children. Thus, nutritional educational programs and educational materials for disabled children and their parents should be developed.
Breakfast ; Child* ; Diet ; Disabled Children ; Eating* ; Education, Special ; Feeding Behavior* ; Gangwon-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Parents ; Seoul ; Snacks ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Thyroglobulin* ; Thyroid Gland*

Opsoclonus is the involuntary, repetitive, rapid conjugate ocular movements occurring in all directions that are irregular in amplitude and frequency. The cause of opsoclonus are idiopathic, paraneoplastic or postinfectious. Opsoclonus of the postinfectious origin often accompanies other abnormal movements such as tremor, myoclonus and ataxia, and shows a relatively benign course with good response to steroid. Six patients who suffered from myalgia, chilling, fever, cough and generalized weakness fior one to two weeks prior to the admission, experienced visual disturbance, gait unsteadiness and clumsiness of the upper extremities,, Prominent opsoclonus, tremulous movements of trunk and limbs, and intermittent myoclonus were observed. These symptoms markedly improved several days following the use of ACTH or dexametasone.
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; Adult* ; Ataxia ; Cough ; Dyskinesias ; Extremities ; Fever ; Gait ; Humans ; Myalgia ; Myoclonus ; Ocular Motility Disorders* ; Tremor ; Upper Extremity

Opsoclonus is the involuntary, repetitive, rapid conjugate ocular movements occurring in all directions that are irregular in amplitude and frequency. The cause of opsoclonus are idiopathic, paraneoplastic or postinfectious. Opsoclonus of the postinfectious origin often accompanies other abnormal movements such as tremor, myoclonus and ataxia, and shows a relatively benign course with good response to steroid. Six patients who suffered from myalgia, chilling, fever, cough and generalized weakness fior one to two weeks prior to the admission, experienced visual disturbance, gait unsteadiness and clumsiness of the upper extremities,, Prominent opsoclonus, tremulous movements of trunk and limbs, and intermittent myoclonus were observed. These symptoms markedly improved several days following the use of ACTH or dexametasone.
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; Adult* ; Ataxia ; Cough ; Dyskinesias ; Extremities ; Fever ; Gait ; Humans ; Myalgia ; Myoclonus ; Ocular Motility Disorders* ; Tremor ; Upper Extremity