OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical and polysomnographic characteristics of Korean patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), especially in relation to differences due to age and gender. METHODS: All subjects were consecutive patients who were proven to have OSAS with nocturnal polysomnography. They were interviewed with a structured interview format including sociodemographic information, past medical history, medication, and sleep-related history. Simultaneously, they were also given Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) to answer in order to check subjective sleep quality and subjective sleepiness. RESULTS: Mean age of the 308 subjects was 49.5+/-13.3 years, with 77.6% of the subjects being males and 22.4% of the subjects being females. The aging effects on the sleep architecture in Korean OSAS corresponded with normal aging, but with the effect of OSAS itself superimposed, the extent of aging effects was more marked than that of normal aging. The severity of Korean patients of OSAS was not correlated with age. When divided into age subgroups, significant correlation was found between RDI and BMI in patients of each subgroup of those in the 4th to 7th decades. The oldest subgroup (>70 years) described their subjective sleep quality as poorer than any other age subgroups, despite of less subjective drowsiness. The severity of OSAS and the change of sleep architecture of male subjects turned out to be severer than those of female ones. The female/male ratio of the subjects tended to increase with aging. CONCLUSIONS: The aging effect on the sleep architecture in Korean OSAS seems to be a mixture of the changes by normal aging and sleep disorder per se. The severity of OSAS was not correlated with age, but highly correlated with BMI. The severity of OSAS and the change of sleep architecture of male patients were severer than those of female ones.
Aging ; Body Mass Index ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Polysomnography ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; Sleep Stages

Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons and a biochemical reduction of striatal dopamine levels. Despite the lack of fully understanding of the etiology of Parkinson's disease, accumulating evidences suggest that Parkinson's disease may be caused by the insufficient support of neurotrophic factors, and by microglial activation, resident immune cells in the brain. Naringin, a major flavonone glycoside in grapefruits and citrus fruits, is considered as a protective agent against neurodegenerative diseases because it can induce not only anti-oxidant effects but also neuroprotective effects by the activation of anti-apoptotic pathways and the induction of neurotrophic factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor and vascular endothelial growth factor. We have recently reported that naringin has neuroprotective effects in a neurotoxin model of Parkinson's disease. Our observations show that intraperitoneal injection of naringin induces increases in glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor expression and mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 activity in dopaminergic neurons of rat brains with anti-inflammatory effects. Moreover, the production of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor by naringin treatment contributes to the protection of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic projection in a neurotoxin model of Parkinson's disease. Although the effects of naringin on the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system in human brains are largely unknown, these results suggest that naringin may be a beneficial natural product for the prevention of dopaminergic degeneration in the adult brain.
Adult ; Animals ; Antioxidants ; Brain ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; Citrus ; Citrus paradisi ; Dopamine ; Dopaminergic Neurons ; Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; Humans ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Nerve Growth Factors ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Parkinson Disease ; Rats ; Sirolimus ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Nobiletin (NOB), a citrus flavonoid, is reported to have beneficial effects on cardiovascular and metabolic health. However, there is limited research investigating the effect of long-term supplementation with low-dose NOB on highcholesterol diet (HCD)-induced hypercholesterolemia and non-obese nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Therefore, we investigated the influence of NOB on hypercholesterolemia and NAFLD in HCD-fed mice. SUBJECTS/METHODS: C57BL/6J mice were fed a normal diet (ND) or HCD (35 kcal% fat, 1.25% cholesterol, 0.5% cholic acid) with or without NOB (0.02%) for 20 weeks. RESULTS: HCD feeding markedly reduced the final body weight compared to ND feeding, with no apparent energy intake differences. NOB supplementation suppressed HCD-induced weight loss without altering energy intake. Moreover, NOB significantly decreased the total cholesterol (TC) levels and the low-density lipoprotein (LDL)/very-LDL-cholesterol to TC ratio, and increased the high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol/TC ratio in plasma, compared to those for HCD feeding alone. The plasma levels of inflammatory and atherosclerosis markers (C-reactive protein, oxidized LDL, interleukin [IL]-1β, IL-6, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1) were significantly lower, whereas those of anti-atherogenic adiponectin and paraoxonase were higher in the NOB-supplemented group than in the HCD control group. Furthermore, NOB significantly decreased liver weight, hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride contents, and lipid droplet accumulation by inhibiting messenger RNA expression of hepatic genes and activity levels of cholesterol synthesis-, esterification-, and fatty acid synthesis-associated enzymes, concomitantly enhancing fatty acid oxidationrelated gene expression and enzyme activities. Dietary NOB supplementation may protect against hypercholesterolemia and NAFLD via regulation of hepatic lipid metabolism in HCDfed mice; these effects are associated with the amelioration of inflammation and reductions in the levels of atherosclerosis-associated cardiovascular markers. CONCLUSIONS The present study suggests that NOB may serve as a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of HCD-induced hypercholesterolemia and NAFLD.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Nobiletin (NOB), a citrus flavonoid, is reported to have beneficial effects on cardiovascular and metabolic health. However, there is limited research investigating the effect of long-term supplementation with low-dose NOB on highcholesterol diet (HCD)-induced hypercholesterolemia and non-obese nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Therefore, we investigated the influence of NOB on hypercholesterolemia and NAFLD in HCD-fed mice. SUBJECTS/METHODS: C57BL/6J mice were fed a normal diet (ND) or HCD (35 kcal% fat, 1.25% cholesterol, 0.5% cholic acid) with or without NOB (0.02%) for 20 weeks. RESULTS: HCD feeding markedly reduced the final body weight compared to ND feeding, with no apparent energy intake differences. NOB supplementation suppressed HCD-induced weight loss without altering energy intake. Moreover, NOB significantly decreased the total cholesterol (TC) levels and the low-density lipoprotein (LDL)/very-LDL-cholesterol to TC ratio, and increased the high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol/TC ratio in plasma, compared to those for HCD feeding alone. The plasma levels of inflammatory and atherosclerosis markers (C-reactive protein, oxidized LDL, interleukin [IL]-1β, IL-6, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1) were significantly lower, whereas those of anti-atherogenic adiponectin and paraoxonase were higher in the NOB-supplemented group than in the HCD control group. Furthermore, NOB significantly decreased liver weight, hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride contents, and lipid droplet accumulation by inhibiting messenger RNA expression of hepatic genes and activity levels of cholesterol synthesis-, esterification-, and fatty acid synthesis-associated enzymes, concomitantly enhancing fatty acid oxidationrelated gene expression and enzyme activities. Dietary NOB supplementation may protect against hypercholesterolemia and NAFLD via regulation of hepatic lipid metabolism in HCDfed mice; these effects are associated with the amelioration of inflammation and reductions in the levels of atherosclerosis-associated cardiovascular markers. CONCLUSIONS The present study suggests that NOB may serve as a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of HCD-induced hypercholesterolemia and NAFLD.

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is an uncommon disease of unknown etiology that is characterized by massive tissue infiltration of eosinophils in the tissue layers of various areas of the gastrointestinal tract. An accurate diagnosis is difficult as clinical presentations, symptoms, endoscopic and radiologic findings are nonspecific. A 51-year-old man visited our hospital presenting with abdominal pain. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed diffuse hyperemic mucosal lesions at the stomach, duodenum. Symptoms and endoscopic findings deteriorated rapidly after three days. Small amounts of eosinophilic infiltration without malignant cells was confirmed from biopsy. However, we could not exclude malignancy and performed a subtotal gastrectomy. Stomach specimen showed eosinophilic infiltrations, and the patient was finally diagnosed as eosinophilic gastroenteritis. We report a case of atypical eosinophilic gastritis with rapid deterioration mimicking Borrmann type 4 advanced gastric cancer.
Abdominal Pain ; Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Duodenum ; Endoscopy, Digestive System ; Eosinophils* ; Gastrectomy ; Gastritis ; Gastroenteritis* ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms*

Although listeria monocytogenes is widely distributed in nature, it rarely causes clinical infection in previously healthy people. However, this microorganism may cause severe infectious disease in pregnant women and newborns due to impaired cell-mediated immunity. Various clinical symptoms have been described such as sepsis, central nervous system infections, endocarditis, gastroenteritis and localized infections. A clinical presentation of listeriosis in an early third trimester pregnant woman and in a preterm infant is emphasized in addition to taking a careful patient history, early empirical administration of antibiotics, aggressive ventilation therapy and also pharmacological support.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Central Nervous System Infections ; Communicable Diseases ; Endocarditis ; Female ; Gastroenteritis ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Listeria monocytogenes ; Listeriosis* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third* ; Pregnant Women* ; Sepsis ; Ventilation

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of music therapy on pain, anxiety and length of stay of patients undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). METHODS: Sixty patients who received laparoscopic hysterectomy under general anesthesia from a PACU in a university hospital located in Cheonan city participated in this study. The experimental group (n=30) was offered the option to listen to their preferred music by using MP3 players and headphones for 30 minutes. The control group (n=30) received routine postoperative nursing care. Visual analogue scale was used to measure participants' pain and anxiety, length of stay in the PACU was examined by using their medical records. Data were collected from December 2013 to February 2014 and analyzed by descriptive statistics, chi2-test, Fisher's exact test, and independent t-test using SPSS version 21.0. RESULTS: The result showed that the level of post-operative pain (t=2.44, p=.018), anxiety (t=2.37, p=.021), and the length of stay in PACU (t=3.06, p=.004) significantly decreased in the experimental group as compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: This study indicated that music therapy with the patients' preferred music showed positive effects. Therefore, it can be used as a therapeutic intervention for postoperative pain management of patients with laparoscopic hysterectomy.
Anesthesia, General ; Anxiety* ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Humans ; Hysterectomy* ; Length of Stay* ; Medical Records ; MP3-Player ; Music Therapy* ; Music* ; Nursing Care ; Pain, Postoperative

No abstract available.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell/*complications/pathology/surgery ; Danazol/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Kidney Neoplasms/*complications/pathology/surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nephrectomy ; Platelet Count ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic/blood/drug therapy/*etiology

No abstract available.
Diagnosis*

One important purpose of premedical education is to help students attain core competencies during the two-year premedical program. Since premedical curriculum is the foundation of medical education, it is necessary to develop the premedical curriculum in accordance with the overarching curriculum of a medical school. Inje University's College of Medicine (IUCM) has attempted to integrate competency-based medical education into the premedical education curriculum. The revised premedical curriculum aims to develop students' intrinsic competencies during premedical years. In an effort to do so, IUCM defined competencies for premedical education, analyzed and designed premedical courses according to the defined competencies, and suggested learner-centered instructional methods. As a result of implementing the revised premedical curriculum, students have reported both positive experiences and difficulties. Based on the results, it will be necessary to continuously improve the premedical curriculum as well as develop appropriate methods for evaluating student achievement of the defined competencies.
Competency-Based Education ; Curriculum ; Education, Medical ; Education, Premedical ; Humans ; Schools, Medical