No abstract available.
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip* ; Humans ; Passive Cutaneous Anaphylaxis*

No abstract available.
Jaw, Edentulous*

PURPOSE: To compare standard laparoscopy-assisted Billroth I gastrectomies including standard lymph node dissection (LABIG) with hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery with the HandPort system (HALS) for the removal of early gastric cancers (EGC). METHODS: A prospective study was performed on 26 patients of EGC at Ewha Womans University Mok-Dong Hospital from July 1999 to August 2001. Seventeen patients (Group L) received LABIG using conventional laparoscopy-assisted methods and 9 patients received LABIG using HALS (Group H). We used staplers for the anastomosis, and a standard D2 lymph node dissection was done with ultrasonic shears or electrocautery. RESULTS: In group L, pathologic reports revealed 14 EGC (stage IA 14 cases), and 3 pm cancers (stage IB 1 case, II 2 cases). In group H, there were 9 early gastric cancers (stage IA 8 cases, IB 1 case). Significant differences (P<0.05) were present between group L and H in regards to the number of harvested lymph nodes (30.8 vs 18.9), estimated blood loss (462.1 vs 286.7 ml) and postoperative transfusion amounts (0.59 vs 0 unit). There were no differences in the mean operating time, distance from the lesion to the resection margin, postoperative leukocyte count, frequencies for pain control, wound size, time to diet, weight loss, serum protein, and postoperative hospital stay. Complications were present in 1 case in group L (enterocutaneous fistula) and 1 case in group H (gastric atony). There was one conversion to open surgery in group H. CONCLUSION: LABIG including standard lymph node dissections with both standard laparoscopic surgery and HALS were performed with equal outcome. The choice of surgical method depends on the characteristics of the lesion and the patient's physical factors.
Conversion to Open Surgery ; Diet, Reducing ; Electrocoagulation ; Female ; Gastrectomy* ; Gastroenterostomy* ; Hand-Assisted Laparoscopy* ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Leukocyte Count ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Prospective Studies* ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Ultrasonics ; Wounds and Injuries

No abstract available.
Cerebral Infarction* ; Korea* ; Lipoprotein(a)* ; Risk Factors*

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to investigate the effect of exercise training on defense mechanism of chronic degenerative disease, aging, and memory impairments of senescence-accelerated mouse (SAM)P8 under the hypothesis that "Senile dementia may be prevented by regular exercises". METHODS: To evaluate the effects of exercise training on the defense mechanism of aging and memory impairment, SAMP8 were divided into two groups, the control group and exercise training groups. the exercise training group were performed with low (O2max 25~33%), middle (O2max 50%) and high (O2max 66~75%) intensity exercise. All SAMP8 mice were fed experimental diet ad libitum until 4, 8 months, and dead period. RESULTS: Median lifespan in middle exercise group resulted in a significantly increased (23.5% and 18.7%, respectively), whereas these lifespan in high exercise group resulted in an unexpectedly decreased (13.5% and 12.1%, respectively) compared with control group. Body fat levels in 4 and 8 months of age were significantly decreased 43% to 51% in middle exercise group, whereas were remarkably deceased to 57% in high exercise group compared with control group. It is believed that extended median and maximum lifespan may be effected by calory restriction through the exercise training. Acetylcholine (ACh) levels were significantly increased 6.7% and 8.5% in middle and high exercise groups, and also choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activities were significantly increased 10.3% and 11.9% in middle and high exercise groups. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that proper and regular exercises such as middle group (O2max 50%) may play an effective role in attenuating an oxygen radicals and may play an important role in improving a learning and memory impairments of senile dementia.
Acetylcholine ; Adipose Tissue ; Aging* ; Alzheimer Disease ; Animals ; Choline O-Acetyltransferase ; Dementia ; Diet ; Exercise ; Learning ; Memory* ; Mice ; Reactive Oxygen Species

PURPOSE: This study was done to identify the effects of Qi hand reflexology on autonomic nerve activity in patients admitted to hospital. METHOD: A non-equivalent control group and quasi-experimental research with pre/post test design were used and 59 patients on a medical ward were assigned to either the experimental group (32) or the control group (27). The study variables included vital signs, autonomic nerve activities (ALF (absolute low frequency), AHF (absolute high frequency), nLF (normalized low frequency), nHF (normalized high frequency), SDNN (standard deviation of all normal-normal intervals)) and were evaluated using the QECG-3 system. The experimental group was treated with Qi hand reflexology for 10 minutes per day, for 3days. RESULTS: Skin temperature and systolic blood pressure in the experimental decreased with treatment. ALF, AHF and SDNN for the experimental group increased with regulating proportion (nLF: nHF=6:4) and a significant difference between the groups was observed. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that application of Qi hand reflexology for patients in the hospital is effective in regulating the autonomic nervous system activation. Implication of finding should be useful for future research.
Autonomic Nervous System ; Autonomic Pathways ; Blood Pressure ; Hand ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Massage ; Qi ; Skin Temperature ; Vital Signs

No abstract available.
Apolipoproteins* ; Genotype* ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction*

BACKGROUND: The authors experienced cholangiocarcinomas associated with intrahepatic duct stones, so we reviewed and summarized the clinical features of these patients to shed light on the pathogenetic implication of hepatolithiasis on the development of cancer and to emphasize the role of hepatic resection in the management of hepatolithiasis. METHODS: We performed 54 hepatic resections in 106 hepatolithiasis patients (51%) during 5 years from Sep. 1993 to Jun. 1998. The medical records of these patients were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical and demographic findings were analyzed and compared with those for all the hepatolithiasis cases. Statistical analysis was done with the chi-square test and Student t-test. RESULTS: Eight patients out of 106 intrahepatic duct stone patients were associated with a cholangiocarcinoma (7.5%). The mean age was 59.5 13.4 years, and the male to female ratio was 1:3. Chief complaints were right upper quadrant pain (87.5%), fever (50%), jaundice (25%), indigestion (25%), and weight loss (12.5%). Clinically, 4 cases were presented as acute cholangitis, and 1 case was pancreatitis. The locations of the tumors were the right lobe in 2 cases, the left lobe in 3 cases, and the hilar portion in 3 cases. Preoperative diagnosis was clinically possible only in one case. Intraoperative diagnoses were possible in 5 cases with clinical suspicion of cancer and were confirmed by using frozen biopsy. Three cases were incidentally diagnosed as cancer by postoperative pathological reports. We missed the presence of cancer in these cases due to associated hepatic abscesses. The operations performed were a right lobectomy in 1 case, an extended right lobectomy in 1 case, a left lobectomy in 2 cases, a left lateral segmentectomy in 2 cases, and an extrahepatic bile duct resection with hepaticojejunostomy in 1 case. A palliative hepaticojejunostomy was done in 1 case, and the patient died 3 months later. Another patients survived for over 2 years after operations. CONCLUSION: Aggressive hepatic resection for hepatolithiasis is recommended in view of highly coincident hidden cancer and the difficulty in diagnosis that cancer. Molecular and genetic investigations are needed to verify the etiological correlation between hepatolithiasis and cholangiocarcinomas.
Bile Ducts, Extrahepatic ; Biopsy ; Cholangiocarcinoma* ; Cholangitis ; Diagnosis ; Dyspepsia ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Jaundice ; Liver Abscess ; Male ; Mastectomy, Segmental ; Medical Records ; Pancreatitis ; Retrospective Studies ; Weight Loss

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical significance of the internal lens signal measured using dual Scheimpflug anterior segment analyzer (Galilei(TM), Ziemer, Switzerland) in patients receiving cataract surgery. METHODS: The present study included 151 eyes of 148 patients who received surgery for senile cataracts from February 2012 to January 2013. Preoperative internal lens signals were measured preoperatively. The depth of anterior chamber and anterior angles were measured using dual Scheimpflug anterior segment analyzer preoperatively and 1 month postoperatively. Preoperative and postoperative best-corrected visual acuities (BCVAs) were measured. The relationships between preoperative internal lens signal and the changes in BCVA or anterior angles were evaluated. RESULTS: Internal lens signal and preoperative BCVA (log MAR) or preoperative anterior chamber depth were highly correlated (r = 0.287, p = 0.001 and r = -0.271, p = 0.004, respectively). Anterior angles increased 1 month after surgery compared with the preoperative values (p < 0.001). The amount of change between preoperative and postoperative anterior angles correlated with preoperative anterior angles (p < 0.001). However, no statistically significant correlation was observed between internal lens signal and preoperative anterior angles or postoperative BCVA. Internal lens signal correlated with changes in postoperative anterior angles (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Internal lens signal correlated with preoperative visual acuity and may help evaluate the cataract severity quantitatively and objectively. Internal lens signal may aid in understanding the structure of anterior segments by predicting the lens volume. Knowing the effect of visual impairment due to cataracts and predicting visual improvement after cataract surgery is necessary.
Anterior Chamber ; Cataract ; Humans ; Vision Disorders ; Visual Acuity

As a material of metal-ceramic prosthesis, nickel as a form of Ni-Cr alloy has been used for many dental prostheses in many cases. However, several problems in use of the alloy have been revealed (ex ; tissue stimulation, skin allergy, hypersensitivity, cytotoxicity and carcinogenecity). Little is known about nickel with respect to the relationship between Ni-prosthesis and gaining of Ni-resistance in oral microorganisms. The present study was undertaken to check wheather use of Ni-prosthesis leads to occurrence of Ni-resistant microorganisms. So this study may suggest the possible relationships between the oral microorganisms and nickel-resistance in oral enviroment. Bacteria were isolated from the gingival crevicular fluid on the patients wearing Ni-Cr prosthesis. The isolated bacteria were tested for their Ni-resistance in nickel containing media at different concentration from 3mM to 110mM. E. coli HB101 was used as control. The Ni-resistant bacteria were isolated and biochemically identified. The Ni-resistant bacteria were tested several biochemical, molecular-biological tests. Performed tests were ; measuring the growth curve, antibiotic test, growth ability test in liquid media, isolation of the chromosome and plasmid, digestion of DNA by restriction enzyme, electrophoresis of chromosome and plasmid DNA, identification of Ni-resistant genes by the DNA hybridization. The results were as follows: 1) The bacteria isolated from gingival crevicular fluid on the patients wearing Ni-Cr alloy prosthesis showed nickel-resistance. 2) The isolated microorganisms grew at nickel containing media of high concentrations (60mM-110mM). 3) Based on the biochemical tests, the isolated microorganisms were identified as Enterococcus faecalis(13 cases), Klebsiella pneumoniae(1 case) and Enterobacter gergoviae(1 case). 4) Enterococcus faecalis expressed not only nickel resistance but also the multi-drug resistanceto several antibiotics ; chloramphenicol, kanamicin, streptomycin, lincomycin, clindamycin. However all strain showed the sensitivity against the tetracycline. 5) DNA hybridization result suggest that there is no homology between the previousely known gene of nickel resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae and chromosomal DNA Enterococcus faecalis.
Alloys* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteria* ; Chloramphenicol ; Clindamycin ; Dental Prosthesis ; Digestion ; DNA ; Electrophoresis ; Enterobacter ; Enterococcus ; Enterococcus faecalis ; Gingival Crevicular Fluid* ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Klebsiella ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; Lincomycin ; Nickel ; Plasmids ; Prostheses and Implants* ; Skin ; Streptomycin ; Tetracycline