The funding acknowledgment in this article was omitted as published.

Atherosclerotic renovascular hypertension is a form of secondary hypertension due to renal artery stenosis. After the introduction of medical therapy such as with statins and angiotensin blocking agents, it has been considered a very slowly progressive disease. In the 1990s, surgical methods were compared to radiological intervention and showed no additional benefits. Recent clinical data also demonstrate that in cases of relatively stable atherosclerotic renovascular disease, medical therapy is as effective as other interventions with regard to patient outcomes. In this paper the recent clinical outcomes are reviewed.
Angiotensins ; Atherosclerosis ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertension, Renovascular ; Renal Artery Obstruction

No abstract available.
Humans ; Renal Dialysis

Mineral metabolism abnormalities, such as low 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) and elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH), are common at even higher glomerular filtration rate than previously described. Levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) show an inverse correlation with those of intact PTH and phosphorus. Studies of the general population found much higher all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality for patients with lower levels of vitamin D; this finding suggests that low 25(OH)D level is a risk factor and predictive of CV events in patients without chronic kidney disease (CKD). 25(OH)D/1,25(OH)2D becomes deficient with progression of CKD. Additionally, studies of dialysis patients have found an association of vitamin D deficiency with increased mortality. Restoration of the physiology of vitamin D receptor activation should be essential therapy for CKD patients.
Dialysis ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Humans ; Kidney ; Kidney Diseases ; Parathyroid Hormone ; Phosphorus ; Receptors, Calcitriol ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; Risk Factors ; Vitamin D ; Vitamin D Deficiency ; Vitamins

This study was performed to investigate the relationship between milk and milk product consumption and dietary nutrient intake among Korean adolescents. Questionnaire survey and 3-day diet survey using the food record method were completed by a total of 664 subjects. Subjects were divided into three groups, Q1 (low group), Q2 (middle group), and Q3 (high group), according to dairy equivalent of calcium. Dairy equivalent of calcium was determined by the amount of calcium eaten from milk and milk products by individual subjects. As a result, the ratio of school milk service was higher in Q3 (P<0.001). The most frequent answer about the reason for consuming milk and milk products was 'to be taller' followed by 'good taste' and 'health promotion'. Preference for all types of milk such as white-, enriched-, and flavored- milk was higher in Q3 followed by Q2>Q1 (P<0.05). Ratio of mean daily dietary nutrient intakes of dietary fiber, vitamin C, folate, and calcium to RNI was lower than 2/3 for all of the groups. These mean daily dietary nutrient intakes were significantly higher in Q3 (P<0.05), and in particular, mean daily dietary calcium intake, which was the lowest nutrient consumed by Korean adolescents, was also the highest in Q3 followed by Q2>Q1 (P<0.05). The above results suggest that the school milk program is very helpful in encouraging adolescents to consume milk and milk products and consequently ensure their optimal nutrition. Therefore, we should try to encourage adolescents to participate in the school milk program more actively through nutritional education and government policy.
Adolescent ; Ascorbic Acid ; Calcium ; Calcium, Dietary ; Diet Surveys ; Dietary Fiber ; Dietary Sucrose ; Folic Acid ; Humans ; Milk ; Nutritional Requirements ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Few studies have shown the correlation between metabolic syndrome and bone mineral density (BMD). The main pathogenic mechanisms of metabolic syndrome rely on chronic low-level inflammatory status and oxidative stress. There are few studies that examine the gender-specific effects of inflammation and antioxidants on BMD. In this study, we evaluated the relative contribution of these factors in patients with metabolic syndrome. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 67 men and 46 postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome; metabolic syndrome was defined as having three or more metabolic syndrome risk factors. BMD, body fat mass, and lean body mass were evaluated. We also examined the levels of high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), adiponectin, vitamin E, and C in serum. Log-transformed hs-CRP levels were significantly higher in lumbar spine osteoporotic subjects than in normal subjects for women but not for men. There was no significant difference between the normal group and the osteoporotic group in other inflammatory markers. Stepwise regression analyses for BMD of the lumbar spine showed that lean body mass and vitamin E were significant determinants in men. Lean body mass and log-transformed hs-CRP were significant determinants in women Analysis for BMD of the femoral neck showed that lean body mass was a significant determinant for both men and women. There was no significant factor among the inflammatory markers or antioxidant vitamins affecting the femoral neck BMD for either gender. In conclusion, while hs-CRP is an independent predictor of the BMD of the lumbar spine in women, vitamin E showed profound effects on BMD in men but not women with metabolic syndrome.
Adiponectin ; Adipose Tissue ; Antioxidants ; Biomarkers ; Bone Density ; C-Reactive Protein ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Femur Neck ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-6 ; Male ; Oxidative Stress ; Risk Factors ; Spine ; Vitamin E ; Vitamins

As prevalence of metabolic syndrome has rapidly increased over the past decade, lifestyle changes including dietary habits are considered as a therapeutic cornerstone for metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular complications and type 2 diabetes. We evaluated the effectiveness of a telephone-delivered nutrition education to improve metabolic parameters compared with a single-visit with a dietitian in subjects with metabolic syndrome. A total of seventy-one adults who met diagnostic criteria for the metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned to either the single-visit group or the in-depth nutrition education group during a 3-month intervention study period. The in-depth telephone-delivered nutrition education group had an initial visit with a dietitian and additional two telephone counseling during the first 4 weeks of the study periods. Sixty-six subjects completed a 3-month intervention study. The trial examined participant's anthropometric changes and dietary intakes as well as changes in the metabolic syndrome factors. At the end of the trial, the in-depth nutrition education group showed significantly higher reduction in weight, body fat and abdominal circumference compared with the other group (p < 0.05). In the in-depth nutrition groups, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was decreased to 45.5%, while 69.7% of the subjects were metabolic syndrome patients in the single-visit group (p < 0.05). These results demonstrate that the telephone-intervention counseling is a feasible mean to deliver dietary intervention in patients with metabolic syndrome.
Adult ; Body Weight ; Counseling ; Education* ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Clinical Trial ; Life Style ; Nutrition Therapy ; Prevalence ; Telephone

Elevated serum concentration of inflammation markers is known as an independent risk factor of metabolic syndrome (MS) and dietary intake is an important factor to control MS. The purpose of this study was to investigated the hypothesis that inflammatory indices are associated with dietary intake and diet quality index-international (DQI-I) in subjects with MS. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 156 men and 73 postmenopausal women with MS, defined by three or more risk factors of the modified Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Serum levels of high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), adiponectin were examined and nutrients intake and DQI-I were assessed using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. The total DQI-I score was significantly higher in female subjects (65.87 +/- 9.86) than in male subjects (62.60 +/- 8.95). There was a positive association between hs-CRP and polyunsaturated fatty acid intake (p < 0.05) and a negative association between adiponectin and lipid (p < 0.05), total sugar (p < 0.01), and total fatty acids (p < 0.05). When the subjects were divided into 5 groups by quintile according to serum adiponectin and hs-CRP level, there was no association between DQI-I score and hs-CRP levels. Moderation score of DQI-I was significantly higher in highest quintile group than the lower quintile groups. Therefore, our results provide some evidence that dietary intake and diet quality are associated with inflammation markers and dietary modification might be a predictor to decrease risk for metabolic syndrome complications. However further research is needed to develop the dietary quality index reflecting the inflammatory change by considering the dietary habit and pattern of Koreans.
Adiponectin ; Adult ; C-Reactive Protein ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diet ; Fatty Acids ; Female ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Male ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer represents themost frequently diagnosed cancer in women. In order to reduce mortality, early detection of breast cancer is important, because diagnosis is more likely to be successful in the early stages of the disease. On the average, the reader's sensitivity can be increased by 10%with the assistance of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system. This paper presents a CAD system for the automatic detection of clustered micro-calcifications in digitized mammograms. METHODS: The proposed system consists of three main steps. First, breast region is segmented from original mammogram using contrast property of grey level co-occurrence matrix(GLCM). Second, potential micro-calcification pixels in the mammograms are detected by foveal method. Third, in order to reduce false-positive rate, individual micro-calcifications are detected by a set of 8 features extracted from the potential individual micro-calcification objects. RESULTS: In the result, Specificity and sensitivity are used to evaluate the detection performance of micro-calcifications.(sensitivity : 93.1%, specificity : 87.5%). CONCLUSION: This study could be a useful method for diagnosis of breast cancer as a CAD system.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Mortality ; Sensitivity and Specificity

T50 is a novel serum-based marker that assesses the propensity for calcification in serum. A shorter T50 indicates a greater propensity to calcify and has been associated with cardiovascular disease and mortality among patients with chronic kidney disease. The factors associated with T50 and the correlation between T50 and bone mineral density (BMD) are unknown in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 184 patients undergoing HD. Individuals were grouped into tertiles of T50 to compare the demographic and disease indicators of the tertiles. Linear regression was used to evaluate the association between T50 and hip and spinal BMD in a multivariate model. Results: Mineral and inflammatory parameters, including serum phosphate (r = –0.156, p = 0.04), albumin (r = 0.289, p < 0.001), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (r = –0.224, p = 0.003) levels, were associated with T50. We found a weak association between T50 and BMD in the total hip area in the unadjusted model (β = 0.030, p = 0.04) but did not find a statistically significant association with the total hip (β = 0.017, p = 0.12), femoral neck (β = –0.001, p = 0.96), or spinal BMD (β = 0.019, p = 0.33) in multivariable-adjusted models. Conclusion: T50 was moderately associated with mineral and inflammatory parameters but did not conclusively establish an association with BMD in HD patients. Broad-scale future studies should determine whether T50 can provide insights into BMD beyond traditional risk factors in this population.