PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine whether partially neovascularized Medpor(R) by preplacement of implant to buttock area for one month before secondary orbital insertion demonstrates earlier refibrovascular ingrowth into implant than that in primary orbital placement. METHODS: Thirty-five rabbits were divided into two groups: Group A (15 rabbits) ; primary orbital implantation of Medpor(R)(nonvascularized) after enucleation, Group B (15 rabbits) ; secondary orbital implantation of implant (vascularized) after enucleation after harvesting implants from buttock area, inserted for one month prior to orbital implantation. Five neovascularized implants by preplacement of implant to buttock area for one month were sectioned and investigated for the fibrovascular ingrowth, expression of bFGF, and CD-31 to evaluate the influence of pretreatment. Implants from group A and B were harvested from the orbit at 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks postoperatively. The implants were sectioned and studied grossly and histopathologically. Immunohistochemical study on bFGF and CD-31 were conducted to detect the angiogenetic factor and degree of angiogenesis in both group A and B. RESULTS: The fibrovascular ingrowth and expression of bFGF and degree of angiogenesis in group B were higher than those in group A. The degrees of angiogenesis were well correlated with bFGF expression. CONCLUSIONS: This animal model may provide the basis for the future investigation of agents and structural modifications directed towards optimization of fibrovascular ingrowth into porous anophthalmic socket implants and clinically apply to enucleation for the vascular compromised patients such as in the settings of postirradiation, diabetes.
Buttocks ; Humans ; Models, Animal ; Orbit* ; Orbital Implants ; Polyethylene* ; Rabbits*

From January 1982 to December 1991, we experienced 96 hands of 66 patients with Dupuytren's disease in Seoul National University Hospital. We performed retrospective analysis of these 96 hands of 66 patients and the results were as follows. Among 66 patients, 60 patients (91%) were male and 51 patients (77%) were in sixth or seventh decade, the average age 58.1 years. Occupations of 66 patients were manual laborer(18 patients, 28%), farmer(15 patients, 22%), sportsman(4 patients, 6%) and deskworker(29 patients, 44%). Among the diseases such as diabetes mellitus, alcoholics, epilepsy known as associated with Dupuytren's disease, diabetes mellitus was more common in our cases, whereas alcoholics and epilepsy were relatively rare. There was no case in which family history was present. Both hands were involved in 30 patients, right hand only in 30 patients, and left hand only in 6 patients. Right hand was involved in 60 patients(91%), whereas left hand was involved in 36 patients(55%). The case in which only the 4th finger was involved was most common(42 hands, 44%). The 4th finger was affected most frequently(81 hands, 84%). In diabetic patients, the middle finger was involved more frequently than in non-diabetic patients(p < 0.05). Most of patients(83 hands, 86%) had symptoms of flexion contracture, nodule or contracted cord simultaneously. Surgical treatment was per- formed in 32 hands of 22 patients, with the results of excellent in 24 hands(75%), good in 6 hands(19%) and no recurrence, in average follow-up 3.6 years(2.6 years to 5.0 years). In conclusion, it might be thought that Dupuytren's disease in which surgical treatment was required was relatively rare in Korean and even if necessary, partial fasciectomy resulted in rather good result.
Alcoholics ; Contracture ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Dupuytren Contracture ; Epilepsy ; Fingers ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hand ; Humans ; Male ; Occupations ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Seoul

Backgrounds: Thyroid hormones play a fundamental role in the initiation and maintenance of somatic growth in mammalian species, and the insulin-like growth factors(IGFs) occupy a position of central importance in the growth of all tissues. To evaluate the changes in serum insulin-like growth factor-I(IGF-I) and insulin-like growth factor binding proteins in hyperthyroid and hypothyroid patients, sera was obtained from 19 hyperthyroid patients, 9 hypothyroid patients, and 10 healthy volunteers. Methods: IGF-I concentration was determined by radioimmunoassay, and changes in IGFBPs were assesed by Western Ligand Blotting. To evaluate the binding pattern of IGF-I & IGFBPs, autoradiographs were obtained. Results & Conclusion: IGF-I levels were increased significantly in hyperthyroid patients(mean ±SE, 267.88±9.80 ng/ml, p<0.05) and decreased significantly in hypothyroid patients(154.81±1.43 ng/ml, p<0.01) compaired to healthy control group(209.45±.60 ng/ml). Autoradiograph of serum IGFBPs from patients with hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism did not show any change in the intensity of IGFBP-3 bands(40-45 KD) and IGFBP-1 bands, but in hyperthyroid patients, it showed increased intensity of IGFBP-2 band compared to healthy control group and hypothyroid patients.
Equidae ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Hyperthyroidism ; Hypothyroidism ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 1 ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 2 ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; Radioimmunoassay ; Thyroid Hormones

Fetal bilateral renal agenesis is a lethal congenital anomaly. An early and reliable prenatal diagnosis is extremely important as it may offer options for pregnancy termination as early as possible. The criteria for the ultrasonographic diagnosis of bilateral renal agenesis are severe oligohydramnios, nonvisualization of the bladder, and the empty renal fossa. However, severe oligohydramnios makes it difficult to diagnose the disease because of poor sonographic resolution. We present two cases of bilateral renal agenesis, one is diagnosed by ultrasonography after amnioinfusion at 24 weeks gestation, the other is diagnosed postnatally after term delivery.
Diagnosis ; Female ; Oligohydramnios ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Ultrasonography ; Urinary Bladder

Purpose: Circulating cell-free single-stranded DNA (ccf-ssDNA) is extracellular DNA and it is a useful biomarker for the diagnosis of tumors and predicting the prognosis of tumors. However, the clinical usefulness of ccf-ssDNA in colorectal cancer (CRC) is not well known. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical usefulness of ccf-ssDNA in CRC. Methods: The study was conducted on 44 patients who had undergone surgery for CRC, and ccf-ssDNA level was measured before surgery and statistical analysis was performed on clinical factors. Results: The association between ccf-ssDNA level and clinicopathological factors was analyzed and compared, and these factors included age, sex, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, tumor markers (carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 19-9), tumor location, size, stage (TNM), recurrence, and death. The group with a ccf-ssDNA level of ≥ 7.5 ng/μL had a lower age (P = 0.010), and was associated with diabetes mellitus (P = 0.037) and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.049). Multivariate analysis of disease-free survival showed that lymph node metastasis and ccf-ssDNA level (hazard ratio, 10.011; 95% confidence interval, 2.269–44.175; P = 0.002) were independent prognostic factors for recurrence. In terms of overall survival, there were no statistically significant results except for vascular invasion. Conclusion This study showed that ccf-ssDNA level in plasma in CRC patients was an independent prognostic factor that could predict recurrence non-invasively. In this regard, further evaluation with a prospective, large sample size study will be needed to obtain additional results.

Because the 'Tsunami of type 2 diabetes' is presently rolling on a global scale, owing to the ever-increasing prevalence of obesity, increasing physical inactivity, and aging populations worldwide, the economic burden of diabetes caused by increased health resource use and lost productivity increase rapidly. So prevention in general population and good glycemic controls become even more important with earlier diagnosis and more aggressive cardiovascular prevention and treatment. Diabetes requires continuing medical care and patient self-management education to prevent acute complications and to reduce the risk of long-term complications. Diabetes care is very complex and requires that many issues, beyond glycemic control, be solved by the active governmental policy. Lifestyle modifications are the cornerstones of management of type 2 diabetes. The progressive nature of type 2 diabetes requires use of one or more oral agents and eventually insulin, along with lifestyle modification and intensification. Rapid achievement of the target goals often prompts providers to consider combination therapy to target different pathogenic mechanisms and manage both fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels. Maintenance of glycemic control over the lifespan of a patient with diabetes is overwhelmingly likely to require combination therapy with oral diabetes medications. Ultimately, because of the progressive nature of the disease and the progressive decline in pancreatic beta-cell function, insulin therapy is almost always obligatory to achieve optimal glycemic goals.
Achievement ; Aging ; Blood Glucose ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Efficiency ; Fasting ; Health Resources ; Humans ; Insulin ; Life Style ; Obesity ; Prevalence ; Self Care

Typhoid fever is an acute systemic febrile disease caused by Salmonella Typhi, characterized by persistent fever, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea and rose spots. Salmonella infection can lead to diffuse organ involvement including bone, lung, thyroid, kidney, liver, spleen, heart, intestine and skin. While a variety of complications may be seen in typhoid fever, sensorineural hearing loss or pancreatitis has been rarely observed. Recently, we experienced a case of typhoid fever complicated by sensorineural hearing loss, acute pancreatitis and hepatitis in a 21-year-old female patient, who was improved with ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin administration and supportive care. We report this case with a review of the literature.
Abdominal Pain ; Ceftriaxone ; Ciprofloxacin ; Diarrhea ; Female ; Fever ; Headache ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural* ; Heart ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Intestines ; Kidney ; Liver ; Lung ; Pancreatitis* ; Salmonella Infections ; Salmonella typhi ; Skin ; Spleen ; Thyroid Gland ; Typhoid Fever* ; Young Adult

No abstract available.
Abdomen ; Syringoma

No abstract available.
Abdomen ; Syringoma

OBJECTIVES: The definition of a hidden youth is a young person who has completely withdrawn from society and shut himself or herself away for more than 3 months. Those pathologically-withdrawn youths have become a burden not only to society but also to the family. However, screening of these hidden youths cannot be done easily. This study focused on developing a primary effective screening tool for these hidden youths. METHODS: The 42 participants of this study were parents of hidden youths that are between 8 to 25 years old. They were selected from from mental health centers and psychiatric clinics around Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. We also recruited 239 parents of middle and high school students in the Seoul metropolitan area for a control group. In order to decide the concurrent validity of this questionnaire, we used the Symptom Checklist-90-Revision, Children's Depression Inventory, Beck Depression Inven-tory, Social Anxiety Scale for Children-Revised, Social Anxiety and Distress Scale, Avoidant Personality Disorder Scale, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. SPSS version 12.0 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha values, the reliability coefficient to represent internal consistency, were between 0.396 and 0.935, which showed relatively high internal consistency for this questionnaire. The test-retest coefficient was between 0.68 and 0.78, which was a statistically significant result. In a factor analysis, 4 factors such as avoidance, withdrawal, isolation, and apathy were extracted. In a concurrent validity test with SCL-90-R, the isolation factor showed a statistically-significant relationship with a phobic-anxiety sub-scale, and avoidance and withdrawal sub-scales were remarkably correlated with the interpersonal sensitivity sub-scale. CONCLUSION: Since the questionnaire for socially withdrawn youths has achieved statistically-satisfactory reliability and validity, it will be a useful method to screen for hidden youths in educational, community, and clinical settings.
Adolescent ; Anxiety ; Apathy ; Child ; Depression ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Mental Health ; Parents ; Personality Disorders ; Reproducibility of Results ; Surveys and Questionnaires