OBJECTIVE: It has been known that mind-body training (MBT) can affect personality and behavior system as well as emotional well-being, but different effects of MBT on them has not been reported according to BDNF genetic polymorphism. METHODS: Healthy subjects consisted of 64 subjects and the MBT group who practiced meditation regularly consisted of 72 practitioners. Participants completed neuroticism-extraversion-openness (NEO) Five-Factor Inventory and Behavioral Activation System/Behavioral Inhibition System (BAS/BIS) scales. All subjects were genotyped for the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism. RESULTS: In the same genotypes of the BDNF Val/Val+Val/Met group, MBT group showed the increased Extraversion (p=0.033) and the increased Openness to Experience (p=0.004) compared to the control group. Also, in the same Met/Met carriers, MBT group exhibited the increase of Extraversion (p=0.008), the reduction of Neuroticism (p=0.002), and the increase of Openness to Experience (p=0.008) compared to the control group. In the same genotypes of the BDNF Val/Val+Val/Met group, MBT group showed the decreased BAS-Reward Responsiveness (p=0.016) and the decrease of BIS (p=0.004) compared to the control group. In the BDNF Met/Met group, MBT group increased BAS-Fun Seeking (p=0.045) and decreased BIS (p=0.013) compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: MBT would differently contribute to NEO personality and BAS/BIS according to BDNF genetic polymorphism, compensating for different vulnerable traits based on each genotype.
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor* ; Extraversion (Psychology) ; Genotype ; Meditation ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVE: Meditation can elicit trait-like changes in psychological and social styles, as well as enhancement of emotional regulatory capacity. We investigated the relation between personality traits and emotional intelligence in meditation practitioners. METHODS: Seventy-two long-term practitioners of mind-body training (MBT) and 62 healthy comparative individuals participated in the study. The participants completed emotional intelligence questionnaires and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). RESULTS: The MBT group revealed higher scores on all five emotional intelligence factors than did those in the control group, such as emotional awareness and expression, empathy, emotional thinking, emotional application, and emotional regulation (all p≤0.001). MBT practitioners also had higher scores on the intuition of perceiving function (t=−2.635, p=0.010) and on the feeling of the judging function (t=−3.340, p=0.001) of the MBTI compared with those in the control group. Only the MBT group showed a robust relationship with every factor of emotional intelligence and MBTI-defined intuitive styles, indicating that higher scores of emotional intelligence were related to higher scores for intuition. CONCLUSION: Emotional intelligence of meditation practitioners showed notable relationships with some features of personality trait. In-depth associations between emotional intelligence and personality traits would help to foster psychological functions in meditation practitioners.
Emotional Intelligence* ; Empathy ; Intuition ; Meditation* ; Personality Inventory ; Thinking

Postoperative infections following spine surgery are usually attributable to bacterial organisms. Staphylococcus aureus is known to be the most common single pathogen leading to this infection, and the number of infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is increasing. However, there is a paucity of literature addressing postoperative infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We encountered a case of tuberculous spondylitis after spine surgery. A man had fever with low back pain three weeks after posterior interbody fusion with instrumentation for a herniated intervertebral disc at the L4-L5 level. He had been treated with antibiotics for an extended period of time under the impression that he had a bacterial infection, but his symptoms and laboratory data had not improved. Polymerase chain reaction for Mycobacterium tuberculosis turned out to be positive. The patient's symptoms finally improved when he was treated with antituberculosis medication.
Adult ; Humans ; Low Back Pain/etiology ; Lumbar Vertebrae/surgery ; Male ; Postoperative Complications/*microbiology ; Spondylitis/etiology/*microbiology ; Thoracic Vertebrae/*microbiology/pathology ; Tuberculosis/drug therapy/*microbiology ; Tuberculosis, Spinal/complications/drug therapy/*microbiology

BACKGROUND: Porous beta-calcium pyrophosphate (beta-CPP) was developed to improve the fusion success of posterolateral lumbar fusion (PLF). The possibility of accomplishing PLF using a mixture of porous beta-CPP and iliac bone was studied. This paper reports the radiologic results of PLF using the beta-CPP plus autograft for lumbar degenerative disease as a bone graft extender. METHODS: A prospective, case-matched, radiographic study evaluating the results of short segment lumbar fusion using a beta-CPP plus autograft was performed to compare the efficacy of beta-CPP plus autograft with that of an autograft alone for short segment lumbar fusion. Thirty one consecutive patients (46 levels) underwent posterolateral fusion with pedicle screw fixation and additional posterior lumbar interbody fusion. In all patients, 3 mL of beta-CPP plus 3 mL of autogenous bone graft was placed randomly in one side of a posterolateral gutter, and 6 mL of autogenous iliac bone graft was placed on the other. The fusion rates, volumes of fusion masses, and bone absorption percentage were evaluated postoperatively using simple radiographs and 3 dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) scans. RESULTS: The control sides treated with an autograft showed significantly better Lenke scores than the study sides treated with beta-CPP at 3 and 6 months postoperatively, but there was no difference between the two sides at 12 months. The fusion rates (confirmed by 3D-CT) were 87.0% in the beta-CPP group and 89.1% in the autograft group, which were not significantly different. The fusion mass volumes and bone absorption percentage at 12 months postoperatively were 2.49 mL (58.4%) and 1.89 mL (69.5%) for the beta-CPP and autograft groups, respectively, and mean fusion mass volume was significantly higher in the beta-CPP group. CONCLUSIONS: beta-CPP combined with an autograft is as effective as autologous bone for grafting during instrumented posterolateral spinal fusion. These findings suggest that beta-CPP bone chips can be used as a novel bone graft extender for short-segment posterolateral spinal fusion.
Adult ; Aged ; *Bone Substitutes ; *Bone Transplantation ; Calcium Pyrophosphate/*administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Ilium ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Lumbar Vertebrae/radiography/*surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Fusion/*methods ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVE: We developed easily accessible imagery-based treatment program for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to workplace accidents and investigated the effects of the program on various PTSD related symptoms. METHODS: The program was based on an online platform and consisted of eight 15-min sessions that included script-guided imagery and supportive music. Thirty-five patients with workplace-related PTSD participated in this program 4 days per week for 4 weeks. Its effects were examined using self-report questionnaires before and after the take-home online treatment sessions. RESULTS: After completing the 4-week treatment program, patients showed significant improvements in depressed mood (t=3.642, p=0.001) based on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), anxiety (t=3.198, p=0.003) based on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder seven-item (GAD-7) scale, and PTSD symptoms (t=5.363, p < 0.001) based on the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Check List (PCL). In particular, patients with adverse childhood experiences exhibited a greater degree of relief related to anxiety and PTSD symptoms than those without adverse childhood experiences. CONCLUSION: The present results demonstrated that the relatively short online imagery-based treatment program developed for this study had beneficial effects for patients with workplace-related PTSD.
Anxiety ; Anxiety Disorders ; Humans ; Music ; Pilot Projects* ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic*