Transmitral left ventricular diastolic inflow velocities determined by pulsed Doppler in 47 normotensives, 80 hypertensives and 44 age-matched hypertensives were measured to evaluate the effects of age and left ventricular hypertrophy on left ventricular diastolic fuction in normotensives and hypertensives. The results were as follows: 1) The peak E velocity in normotensives(77.82+/-13.53cm/sec) was significantly different from those of hyeprtensives(58.13+/-11.80cm, p<0.01) and age-matched hypertensives(59.31+/-10.94cm/sec, p<0.01). The peak E/A in normotensives(1.31+/-0.45) was significantly different from those of hypertensives(0.83+/-0.21,p<0.01) and age-matched hypertensives(0.83+/-0.20, p<0.01). 2)In normotensives, simple linear regression analysis revealed strong inverse correlations of peak E with age(r=-0.758, p<0.01), peak E/A with age(r=-0.748, p<0.01), but no significant correlation of peak E and peak E/A with LVMI(p>0.05). Stepwise regression analysis revealed that age was the most important correlate of peak E and peak E/A in normotensives(peak E: R
Heart Diseases ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular* ; Linear Models

No abstract available.
Hypertrophy*

Flowcytometry is a very important technique for the analysis of cell properties, with the advantages of simultaneous multiparameter analysis of large cell population in a short time. Recent advances in computer science and techniques in cell preparation and staining make it more valuable for the study of cell biology and its clinical application. This study was performed to establish the techniques of flowcytometry analysis of osteosarcoma cells, to evaluate the results of the characteristics of the DNA and specific cell cycle phase of osteosarcoma cells obtained by preparation of paraffin-embedded tissue blocks, and to analyze any possible difference between cell populations lacated apart from each other in the tumor mass for making a base for further clinical application. Paraffin-embedded tissue blocks were obtained from 10 cases of primary osteosarcoma, which had undergone amputation without chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Tissue blocks obtained from the most superficial and the deepest portions of the tumor mass from the skin surface were selected respectively in each cases. To evaluate the technique and results obtained, analysis of the whole sample were performed twice in a separate setting. Satisfactory DNA histogram was obtained from 14 of 20 tissue blocks, with the values of distribution in the specific cell cycle phases. DNA aneuploidy was found in 2 cases with a DNA index of 1.6 and 1.3, and no difference in DNA ploidy by the location in tumor mass. The S-phase and G2+M phase fraction were 13.2±8.5 and 6.2±3.1 respectively, reflecting the increased cell proliferation compared with normal cell population. There was no statistically significant difference of these values between superficial and deep portions, but the difference was 9.0±9.7 with a maximum of 26.6, much greater than the difference 3.3±3.6, between the first and second set of analysis. Flowcytometry is a very useful technique in the analysis of the DNA and cell cycle phase properties, and the characteristics of DNA and cell proliferation status of osteosarcoma cells were successfully evaluated by this technique. Unsatisfactory DNA histograms were thought to be the result of inappropriate samples. To adequately evaluate the changes in the tumor mass, standardization in obtaining tumor tissue about the location in the tumor mass is suggested for future studies with flowcytometry about the properties of tumor cells.
Amputation ; Aneuploidy ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Proliferation ; DNA ; Drug Therapy ; Osteosarcoma ; Ploidies ; Radiotherapy ; Skin

BACKGROUND: HBsAg carriers are 6-12% of population in Korea. The patients knowledge on hepatitis B and regular follow-up tests are important, because HBsAg carriers have infectivity and the disease may progress without symptoms. We surveyed their knowledge on the hepatitis B and the frequency of follow-up blood test and sonogram. METHODS: From March 1993 through September 1994, 630 patients who were diagnosed as HBsAg positive and Anti-HBs negative in a health promotion center of college hospital were surveyed by mailing questionnaire. The questionnaire included the result of HBV viral marker test, transmission routes, complications, and prevention methods of Hepatitis B, frequency of follow-up test, and doctors recommendation. RESULTS: Of the 490 questionnaires excluded the 140 questionaires returned due to wrong address, 100 were answered, making the reply rate 20.4%. As for the result of HBV marker test, 64% answered their HBV marker as HBsAg positve, 10% answered HBsAg negative, and 26% answered I dont know. 65% answered that they are HBV carrier. As for the mode of transmission, 59% answered that HBV is transmitted by blood, 57% from carrier mother at birth, 29 % by sexual intercourse. 76% of responders know that vaccination is needed for preventing vertical transmission. When making score on their knowledge, significant differences were showed according to education, income and doctors recommendation about regular follow-up test. The number of persons who took regular blood test every 6 to 12 months were 56(56%), and the number of persons who took regular abdominal ultrasonogram were 39(39%). The number of patients who were recommended regular follow-up by doctor was 76%. In this group, 51 persons(67.0%) took regular blood test and 35 persons(35%) took regular sonogram so this frequency is significantly higher than the other group(each 20.8%, 16.7%). CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge on hepatitis B in HBsAg positive patients is relatively low and the frequency of regular follow-up test is significantly higher in the group who took doctors recommendation. So it is very important that HBsAg carriers must be educated about the infectivity, preventive methods, and regular follow-up for early detection of complication like hepatocellular cancer.
Biomarkers ; Coitus ; Education ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Health Promotion ; Hematologic Tests ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver Neoplasms ; Mothers ; Parturition ; Postal Service ; Ultrasonography ; Vaccination ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: Recently authentic human growth hormone(hGH) has produced in the E coli K-12, W3110 by recombinant DNA tecbnology in Korea In this paper, the clinical efficacy and immunogenicity of this GH was shdied in 38 children with growth hormone deficiency during therapy of 1 year. METHODS: The subjects of this study were aged 4.9-13.9 years, diagnosed by failure of plasma GH to respond to insulin-induced hypoglycemia, arginine and/or L-dopa loading and height below -2 standard deviation of mean for their chronological age. Each patient received GH 0.5-0.7IU/kg/week subcutaneously in 6-7 divided doses. During treatment, vital signs, height, body weight and bone age were checked every 3 months. Complete blood count, urinalysis, blood chemistry and thyroid hormone were checked before and every 6 months. The measurement of serum IGF-1 level and antibody against hGH were performed before and every 6 months during therapy of I year. RESULT: The height velocities significantly increased from 3.3 +/- 1.5cm/year to 10.1 +/- 2.5 and 9.0 +/- 1.8cm/year at 6 and 12 months of therapy, respectively. The height standard deviation score for chronological age were significantly improved from -2.141.50 to -1.74 +/- 1.43 and -1.54 +/- 1.38 at 6 and 12 months of therapy with increasing ratio of bone age to chronological age from 0.72 +/- 0.15 at pretreatment to 0.76 +/- 0.15 at 6 month, 0.79 +/- 0.16 at 12 month of therapy. The plasma IGF-1 level significantly increased during treatment. One of 36 patients(2.8%) showed positive antibody against hGH after 1 year of treatment. During therapy of 1 year, unwanted and remarkable clinical side effect were not observed in all subjects. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that this E. coli derived authentic recombinant growth hormone is very effective in stimulating linear growth in children with growth hormone deficiency.
Arginine ; Blood Cell Count ; Body Height ; Chemistry ; Child* ; DNA, Recombinant ; Escherichia coli ; Growth Hormone* ; Human Growth Hormone ; Humans* ; Hypoglycemia ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; Korea ; Levodopa ; Plasma ; Thyroid Gland ; Urinalysis ; Vital Signs

The treatment of scar contracture has a relatively long history in the department of plastic surgery. Flap surgery, including Z-plasty and skin graft has been a common surgical modality for the treatment of scar contracture. However, the 'deficiency' of the tissue is basically responsible for the limitations of this treatment. The concept of tissue expansion has contributed to the solution of tissue deficiency and thus tissue expansion is currently widely used for various purposes in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Nevertheless, tissue expansion has not yet clearly solved the problems in cases of seven deficiency of surrounding normal tissues, or in cases of multiple and diffuse scar contracture. We have tried to 'expand the scar tissue' to overcome these limitations. The authors 'several decades of experience in tissue expansion has taught us to find the usefulness of incidentally expanded scar tissues. Thirty-one patients with scar contracture urderwent expansion of surrounding normal and/or scar tissues, including 5 cases of pure scar tissue expansion. The postoperative results were satisfactory with a minimal complication rate. In conclusion, scar tissue expansion was usefully applicable for the scar contracture with no surrounding normal tissues. Scar tissue could be expanded safely and sufficiently, designed to various flaps, and the flap survival was reasonable. The functional and aesthetic quality of the scar tissue seems to improve following tissue expansion. In addition, meticulous planning is essential from the initial operation, including the area of expander insertion, flap design considering the aesthetic unit and functional aspect.
Cicatrix* ; Contracture* ; Humans ; Skin ; Surgery, Plastic ; Tissue Expansion* ; Transplants

The idiopathic calcinosis of the scrotum (Shapiro, 1970) is usually multiple, asymtomatic nodules of the scrotal skin which begins m childhood or early adult life, increase in the size and numbers, and sometimes breakdown to discharge chalky contents. Clinically they are most often misdiagnosed as cysts. The forty eight years old male patient visited our hospital on Oct. 14, 1980, because of multiple asymtomatic scrotal masses which are pin head to walnut sized. There is no family history of calcification, scrotal or otherwise. Histology shows naked amorphous masses in the dermis without any evidence of residual cysts, and is acicular clefts in the masses. Most of the tumors were surgically removed in 5 sessions.
Adult ; Calcinosis* ; Dermis ; Head ; Humans ; Juglans ; Male ; Scrotum* ; Skin

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to investigate the variables besides symptom that influence the family burden in the primary caregivers of remitted schizophrenic outpatients, and to evaluate the impact of changeable or unchangeable variables by clinical practice on the family burden. METHODS: A total 105 remitted schizophrenic outpatients and 105 their primary caregivers were participated in the psychiatric outpatient clinic of the university hospital. Socio-demographic characteristics (age, sex, education, income, marital status, religion), clinical variables (duration of illness, age of onset), patients' symptom (korean version of the positive and negative syndrome scale), patients' social function (korean version of the social functioning scale), patients' insight (self-appraisal of illness questionnaire), patients' attitude toward medication (drug attitude inventory), family perceived social support (multidimensional scale of perceived social support), family attitude toward patient (family attitude scale) were gathered from subjects. RESULTS: Total score of family burden scale (0–144) of the primary caregivers of remitted schizophrenic outpatients was 71.3 (SD 20.7) and mean score per item was 1.9. Unchangeable six variables by clinical practice (relation with patient, patients' education, age of onset, duration of illness, parent age, parent income) explain 17%, and changeable four variables (family attitude toward patient, family perceived social support, patients' social function, patients' insight) explain 72% of family burden. Four areas such as interpersonal communication, independence-performance, independence-competence, occupation/ employment explain family burden significantly in the seven areas of the social functioning scale. CONCLUSION: Primary caregivers of remitted schizophrenic outpatients feel burden considerably even though their ill relatives show few psychiatric symptoms. Changeable variables by clinical practice were more explanation than unchangeable variables on the family burden.
Age of Onset ; Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Caregivers* ; Education ; Employment ; Humans ; Marital Status ; Outpatients* ; Parents ; Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to investigate the variables besides symptom that influence the family burden in the primary caregivers of remitted schizophrenic outpatients, and to evaluate the impact of changeable or unchangeable variables by clinical practice on the family burden. METHODS: A total 105 remitted schizophrenic outpatients and 105 their primary caregivers were participated in the psychiatric outpatient clinic of the university hospital. Socio-demographic characteristics (age, sex, education, income, marital status, religion), clinical variables (duration of illness, age of onset), patients' symptom (korean version of the positive and negative syndrome scale), patients' social function (korean version of the social functioning scale), patients' insight (self-appraisal of illness questionnaire), patients' attitude toward medication (drug attitude inventory), family perceived social support (multidimensional scale of perceived social support), family attitude toward patient (family attitude scale) were gathered from subjects. RESULTS: Total score of family burden scale (0–144) of the primary caregivers of remitted schizophrenic outpatients was 71.3 (SD 20.7) and mean score per item was 1.9. Unchangeable six variables by clinical practice (relation with patient, patients' education, age of onset, duration of illness, parent age, parent income) explain 17%, and changeable four variables (family attitude toward patient, family perceived social support, patients' social function, patients' insight) explain 72% of family burden. Four areas such as interpersonal communication, independence-performance, independence-competence, occupation/ employment explain family burden significantly in the seven areas of the social functioning scale. CONCLUSION: Primary caregivers of remitted schizophrenic outpatients feel burden considerably even though their ill relatives show few psychiatric symptoms. Changeable variables by clinical practice were more explanation than unchangeable variables on the family burden.
Age of Onset ; Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Caregivers* ; Education ; Employment ; Humans ; Marital Status ; Outpatients* ; Parents ; Schizophrenia

Virus associated hemophagocytic syndrome, class ll histiocytoses, characterized by high fever, severe constitutional symptoms, abnormal liver function and coagulation, perigheral blood pancytopenia and histiocytic hyperplasis with prominent hemophagocytosis in bone marrow and lymph nodes has been reported and associated with active viral infection. It is non-malignant and reversible. It must be differentiated from histiocytic medullary reticulosis because of the inappopriateness of immunosuppressive of cytotozic therapy which is the therapeutic method for HMR, but is contraindicated in the treatment of VAHS. This paper describes two patients whose clinicopathology was compatible with the diagnosis of virus associated hemophagocytic syndrome.
Bone Marrow ; Diagnosis ; Fever ; Histiocytosis ; Humans ; Liver ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphohistiocytosis, Hemophagocytic* ; Pancytopenia