OBJECTIVES: To determine whether kinds of implants would influence on the radiologic outcomes in the treatment of unstable osteoporotic intertrochanteric fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, radiologic outcomes of 151 patients with unstable osteoporotic intertrochanteric fractures undergoing surgical treatments were compared based on the types of fixation implants as follows : PFNA (53 cases, group I), gamma nail 3(31 cases, group II), CHS with TSP (43 cases, group III), and helical blade type LCP-DHS with TSP (24 cases, group IV). On the follow-up radiographs after operations, we assessed differences of bone union durations, neck-shaft ankle changes, lag screw or helical blade slippages, and varus alpha angle changes among the study groups. RESULTS: All the radiologic outcomes evaluated in this study were not significantly different among the study groups. The average bone union durations of the group I, II, III and IV were 17.7, 18.0, 18.2, and 17.8 weeks, respectively (P=0.429). The average variation of neck-shaft angle of the group I, II, III and IV were 3.6degrees, 3.1degrees, 3.7degrees and 2.9degrees, respectively (P=0.273). The average lag screw or blade slippage of the group I, II, III and IV were 5.1 mm, 3.3 mm, 3.6 mm and 2.7 mm, respectively (P=0.154). The average variation of varus alpha of the group I, II, III and IV were 5.3degrees, 4.7degrees, 4.1degrees and 4.6masculine, respectively (P=0.894). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that four typical types of fixation implants for treating unstable osteoporotic intertrochanteric fractures would not lead to differences in postoperative radiological outcomes.
Animals ; Ankle ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hip Fractures ; Humans ; Nails ; Retrospective Studies

A total of 131 Pasteurella (P.) multocida strains were isolated from the lungs of 1,064 pigs with respiratory clinical signs nationwide during 2009-2010 and 2013-2014. The strains of P. multocida comprised 77.1% serotype A and 22.9% serotype D. Analysis of a recent P. multocida outbreak in Korean pigs showed that the isolation rate of serotype D decreased annually. The incidence of antimicrobial resistance, as measured using minimal inhibitory concentration values, has decreased recently. Overall, further studies to characterize P. multocida isolated from pigs in Korea are needed to prevent P. multocida infection in the Korean swine industry.
Incidence ; Korea* ; Lung ; Pasteurella multocida* ; Pasteurella* ; Swine*

Metastasizing mixed tumors (MMT) of salivary glands are inexplicably metastasize maintaining benign histology. There is no pathologic and flow cytometric analysis criteria to predict the metastasis. MMT is known to metastasize by local implantation, vascular and lymphatic embolization after multiple surgery to local recurrences of primary tumor. However, multiple metastasis including cranium and spine occurred even without surgery to the primary tumor in this case. No pathological evidence of malignancy could be found in both primary and metastatic tumor. MMT is considered as an low grade malignancy based on clinical behavior rather than histologic evidence, such as low mortality rate, long delay of metastasis after primary lesion. Cranial metastasis is also extremely rare and only two cases have been reported. We report this unusual case with a literature review.
Mortality ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Recurrence ; Salivary Glands* ; Skull ; Spine

Acute gluteal compartment syndrome (AGCS) is a rare condition associated with trauma, drug abuse, alcohol intoxication, prolonged immobilization, hip arthroplasty and epidural anesthesia. We report the case of a 42-year-old woman presenting severe buttock pain following decreased lower extremity motor function after an incident whereby she rolled down a flight of stairs. We performed fasciotomy of the gluteal fascia in order to provide relief from acute gluteal compartment syndrome. At the 2 month follow up visit her sensory and motor function had improved. Acute gluteal compartment syndrome is a rare condition which can result in misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. Careful consideration is needed for patients suffering severe buttock pain.
Adult ; Anesthesia, Epidural ; Arthroplasty ; Buttocks ; Compartment Syndromes ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Errors ; Fascia ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hip ; Humans ; Immobilization ; Lower Extremity ; Sciatic Nerve ; Stress, Psychological ; Substance-Related Disorders

Acute gluteal compartment syndrome (AGCS) is a rare condition associated with trauma, drug abuse, alcohol intoxication, prolonged immobilization, hip arthroplasty and epidural anesthesia. We report the case of a 42-year-old woman presenting severe buttock pain following decreased lower extremity motor function after an incident whereby she rolled down a flight of stairs. We performed fasciotomy of the gluteal fascia in order to provide relief from acute gluteal compartment syndrome. At the 2 month follow up visit her sensory and motor function had improved. Acute gluteal compartment syndrome is a rare condition which can result in misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. Careful consideration is needed for patients suffering severe buttock pain.
Adult ; Anesthesia, Epidural ; Arthroplasty ; Buttocks ; Compartment Syndromes ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Errors ; Fascia ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hip ; Humans ; Immobilization ; Lower Extremity ; Sciatic Nerve ; Stress, Psychological ; Substance-Related Disorders

PURPOSE: To better understand the performance of four commercially available neurovascular stents in intracranial aneurysm embolization, the stents were compared in terms of their basic morphological and mechanical properties. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four different types of stents that are currently being used for cerebral aneurysm embolization were prepared (two stents per type). Two were laser-cut stents (Neuroform and Enterprise) and two were braided from a single nitinol wire (LEO and LVIS stents). All were subjected to quantitative measurements of stent size, pore density, metal coverage, the force needed to load, push, and deploy the stent, radial force on deployment, surface roughness, and corrosion resistance. RESULTS: Compared to their nominal diameters, all stents had greater diameters after deployment. The length generally decreased after deployment. This was particularly marked in the braided stents. The braided stents also had higher pore densities than the laser-cut stents. Metal coverage was highest in the LEO stent (14%) and lowest in the Enterprise stent (5%). The LIVS stent had the highest microcatheter loading force (81.5 gf). The LEO stent had the highest passage force (55.0 gf) and deployment force (78.9 gf). The LVIS and LEO stents had the highest perpendicular (37.1 gf) and circumferential (178.4 gf) radial forces, respectively. The Enterprise stent had the roughest stent wire, followed by the LVIS, LEO, and Neuroform stents. CONCLUSION: The four neurovascular stent types differed in terms of morphological and physical characteristics. An understanding of this diversity may help to decide which stent is most suitable for specific clinical situations.
Corrosion ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Stents*

Quercetin 3-O-beta-(2''-galloyl)-rhamnopyranoside (QGR) is a naturally occurring quercitrin gallate, which is a polyphenolic compound that was originally isolated from Persicaria lapathifolia (Polygonaceae). QGR has been shown to have an inhibitory effect on nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the inhibitory effect of QGR on nitric oxide production and inducible nitric oxide synthases (iNOS) expression in LPS-stimulated Balb/c mice. To accomplish this, 10 mg/kg of QGR was administered via gavage once a day for 3 days. iNOS was then induced by intraperitoneal injection of LPS. Six hours after the LPS treatment the animals were sacrificed under ether anethesia. The serum levels of NO were then measured to determine if QGR exerted an inhibitory effect on NO production in vivo. LPS induced an approximately 6 fold increase in the expression of NO. However, oral administration of QGR reduced the LPS induced increase in NO by half. Furthermore, RT-PCR and western blot analysis revealed that the increased levels of iNOS expression that occurred in response to treatment with LPS were significantly attenuated in response to QGR pretreatment. Histologically, LPS induced the infiltration of polymorphonuclear neutrophils in portal veins and sinusoids and caused the formation of a large number of necrotic cells; however, pretreatment with QGR attenuated these LPS induced effects. Taken together, these results indicate that QGR inhibits iNOS expression in vivo as well as in vitro and has antiinflammatory potentials.
Animals ; DNA Primers ; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic/drug effects ; Lipopolysaccharides/*pharmacology ; Liver/drug effects/enzymology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Nitric Oxide/blood ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/drug effects/*genetics ; Quercetin/*analogs & derivatives/pharmacology ; RNA, Messenger/genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the characteristic differences in alexithymic construct in various psychiatric disorders because of a paucity of direct comparisons between psychiatric disorders. Therefore, this study explored disorder-related differences in alexithymic characteristics among Korean patients diagnosed with four major psychiatric disorders (n=388). METHODS: Alexithymic tendencies, as measured by the Korean version of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20K), of patients classified into four groups according to major psychiatric diagnosis were compared. The groups consisted of patients with depressive disorders (DP; n=125), somatoform disorders (SM; n=78), anxiety disorders (AX; n=117), and psychotic disorders (PS; n=68). RESULTS: We found that substantial portions of patients in all groups were classified as having alexithymia and no statistical intergroup differences emerged (42.4%, 35.9%, 35.3%, and 33.3% for DP, SM, PS, and AX). However, patients with DP obtained higher scores in factor 2 (difficulties describing feelings) than those with SM or AX, after adjusting for demographic variables. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that alexithymia might be associated with a higher vulnerability to depressive disorders and factor 2 of TAS-20K could be a discriminating feature of depressive disorders.
Affective Symptoms ; Anxiety ; Anxiety Disorders ; Depressive Disorder ; Humans ; Mental Disorders ; Psychotic Disorders ; Somatoform Disorders

A new alternative rabies bait vaccine strain named ERAG3G, which is applicable to wild animals, was developed to eliminate rabies in South Korea. In this study, the safety and immunogenicity of the strain was evaluated in Korean raccoon dogs. The ERAG3G was propagated in BHK/T7-9 cells. Korean raccoon dogs were administered ERAG3G (1 ml, 10(8.0) FAID50/ml) orally or intramuscularly to evaluate its safety and immunogenicity. The raccoon dogs were observed for 70 days after administration, and immunogenicity was measured using a fluorescent antibody virus neutralization test. The ERAG3G strain was not pathogenic to Korean raccoon dogs immunized via the intramuscular or oral route. Raccoon dogs administered the candidate vaccine via the oral route developed high virus neutralizing antibody (VNA) titers ranging from 13.7 to 41.6 IU/ml 70 days post administration. Raccoon dogs inoculated intramuscularly with the ERAG3G strain developed moderate VNA titers ranging from 0.5 to 13.7 IU/ml. These findings suggest that the ERAG3G strain is safe and induces a protective immune response in raccoon dogs.
Animals ; Animals, Wild ; Antibodies, Neutralizing ; Korea ; Neutralization Tests ; Rabies virus* ; Rabies* ; Raccoon Dogs* ; Raccoons*

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics of pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC) in comparison with non-pregnancy associated breast cancer (non-PABC). METHODS: A total of 344 eligible patients with PABC were identified in the Korean Breast Cancer Society Registry database. PABC was defined as ductal carcinoma in situ, invasive ductal carcinoma, or invasive lobular carcinoma diagnosed during pregnancy or within 1 year after the birth of a child. Patients with non-PABC were selected from the same database using a 1:2 matching method. The matching variables were operation, age, and initial stage. RESULTS: Patients with PABC had significantly lower survival rates than patient with non-PABC (10-year survival rate: PABC, 76.4%; non-PABC, 85.1%; p=0.011). PABC patients had higher histologic grade and were more frequently hormone receptor negative than non-PABC patients. Being overweight (body mass index [BMI], ≥23 kg/m²), early menarche (≤13 years), late age at first childbirth (≥30 years), and a family history of breast cancer were more common in the PABC group than in the non-PABC group. Multivariate analysis showed the following factors to be significantly associated with PABC (vs. non-PABC): early menarche (odds ratio [OR], 2.165; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.566–2.994; p<0.001), late age at first childbirth (OR, 2.446; 95% CI, 1.722–3.473; p<0.001), and being overweight (OR, 1.389; 95% CI, 1.007–1.917; p=0.045). CONCLUSION: Early menarche, late age at first childbirth, and BMI ≥23 kg/m² were more associated with PABC than non-PABC.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Ductal ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; Carcinoma, Lobular ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Menarche ; Methods ; Multivariate Analysis ; Overweight ; Parturition ; Pregnancy ; Survival Rate