In order to maintain the donation of the human bodies required for medical education and research, we investigated social characteristics of those who have signed up to the donation program. The data registered in Chungbuk National University were analyzed and then compared to those registered in 9 of other universities in Korea. In addition, a telephone survey was performed for 128 registrants of Chungbuk National University. The number of registrants was rapidly increased after 1999 and the donation of body was sufficient for medical education and research after 2005. The number of registrants of Chungbuk after 2005 shows gradual increase whereas 10 other schools shows slight decrease. The age of registrants at signing up to the program showed the largest proportion in seventies (33.9%), followed by sixties (28.9%) and fifties (22%). Multiple registration which means two or more registrants from one family represented 40.9%. After the use of cadaver and cremation, most of the bereaved family preferred to keep and visit the cremains in the charnel house of medical school more than to carry out the school. By the telephone survey, 71% of the registrants answered they are in middle or upper middle class of living, and 77% responded that the motivation was voluntary for the society without any reward. Based on the present results we could expect the body donations will reasonably maintaine. Most of dornors have pure motivation without any reward from the school. Keeping their cremains at charnel house of the medical school were strongly favored so it is important to make enough facilities and management system as well.
Cadaver ; Cremation ; Education, Medical ; Human Body ; Humans ; Korea ; Motivation ; Reward ; Schools, Medical ; Sociology ; Telephone

Buffalo hump is a manifestation of Cushing's syndrome. Herb medicine is popular in Korea, and it might cause Cushing's syndrome. Using power-assisted liposuction device, we treated a woman with buffalo hump deformity due to herb medication for 2 years. The histologic study of hump was normal fat cell. So, the hump can be removed easily using liposuction, and it may be an effective method to treat the facial and cervical deformity in Cushing's syndrome.
Adipocytes ; Buffaloes* ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Cushing Syndrome ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Lipectomy*

Although Q fever is an important zoonotic infection with a worldwide distribution, no human isolates of Coxiella burnetii have been identified in Korea. For the first time, we identified the nucleotide sequence of C. burnetii from a 32-year-old man with an acute febrile illness in Korea. Diagnosis of acute Q fever was confirmed by seroconversion using indirect immunofluorescence antibody assays. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated high sequence similarity (99.6%–100%) with C. burnetii 16S rRNA sequences identified from the reservoir. These results are the first genetic analysis of C. burnetii in a human case of Q fever in Korea.
Adult ; Base Sequence ; Coxiella burnetii* ; Coxiella* ; Diagnosis ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect ; Humans ; Korea* ; Q Fever ; Seroconversion ; Zoonoses

To evaluate the prognostic significance of ERD5 in gastric cancer, the frequency of their expression was examined by the immunohistochemical method in 70 cases of gastric cancer with alcohol-fixed, paraffin embedded specimens which were obtained surgically at the department of Surgery, Gyeongsang National University Hospital from October, 1990 to May, 1993. Correlations between ERD5 positivity and clinicopathological parameters were analysed with Student's t-test and Chi-square test, and the survival rate according to whether the ERD5 was present or not was evaluated with Kaplan-Meier analysis model. Of the 70 patients, 40 cases showed a positive rate for estrogen receptor and 27 cases(67.5%) were male and 15 cases(50%) were female. There was no significant difference between the ERD5 positive rate and sex distribution. In age distribution, the ERD5 positive rate was most high(67%) in the 5th decade, but it was not significant statistically. There was no significant difference between the ERD5 positive rate and the WHO pathologic classification. In Lauren's classification, the intestinal type of gastric cancer had a higher positive rate(69%) than diffuse type(50%). In Ming's classification, the expanding type(82%) of gastric cancer had a higher positive rate than the infiltrative type(50%). A statistically significant difference was found between the expanding type and infiltrative type(P<0.05). There were no significant differences between the ERD5 positive rate and the TNM staging or the degree of differentiation of cancer cells. There was no significant difference between the ERD5 positive rate and the serum CEA level. Of the 70 patients, the overall 5-years survival rate was 37 % and 5-years survival rate of positive ERD5 cases had a higher rate (38.4%) than negative cases (35.1%) but there was no statistically significant difference. In conclusion, the ERD5 positive rate was significantly high in the patient with expanding type of gastric cancer in Ming's classification and intestinal type of gastric cancer in Lauren's classification. But, there was no significant difference in the survival rates between the ERD5 positive group and the ERD5 negative group.
Age Distribution ; Classification ; Estrogens* ; Female ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Male ; Neoplasm Staging ; Paraffin ; Sex Distribution ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to report real life experiences of sorafenib therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Korea, using a subset of data from GIDEON (Global Investigation of Therapeutic Decisions in HCC and of Its Treatment with Sorafenib; a large, prospective, observational study). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2009 and April 2012, a total of 497 patients were enrolled from 11 sites in Korea. Of these, 482 patients were evaluable for safety analyses. Case report forms of paper or electronic version were used to record safety and efficacy data from all patients. RESULTS: More patients of Child-Pugh A received sorafenib for > 8 weeks than did patients of Child-Pugh B (55.5% vs. 34.3%). Child-Pugh score did not appear to influence the starting dose of sorafenib, and approximately 70% of patients both in Child-Pugh A and B groups received the recommended initial daily dose of 800 mg (69.0% and 69.5%, respectively). The median overall survival (OS) and time to progression (TTP) were 8.5 months and 2.5 months. In Child-Pugh A patients, the median OS and TTP were 10.2 months and 2.5 months. The most frequent treatment-emergent drug-related adverse event was hand-foot skin reaction (31.7%), followed by diarrhea (18.0%). The incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events was similar in both Child-Pugh A (85.4%) and Child-Pugh B (84.8%) patients. CONCLUSION: Sorafenib was well tolerated by Korean HCC patients in clinical settings, and the safety profile did not appear to differ by Child-Pugh status. Survival benefit in Korean patients was in line with that of a previous pivotal phase III trial (SHARP).
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Diarrhea ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Life Change Events ; Prospective Studies ; Skin

PURPOSE: Buerger's disease (Thromboangiitis obliterans, TAO) is characterized by non- atheromatous inflammatory disease, and segmental inflammatory thrombotic occlusions of the small & middle-sized arteries and veins of the upper or lower extremities. Any epidemiological study of Buerger's disease in Korea has not been carried out until now. This study was undertaken to investigate the incidence of Buerger's disease in Korea among the patients suffering with arterial disease. METHODS: We collected and analyzed the data on 11,128 patients who were admitted to or visited the participating 22 hospitals for chronic arterial diseases throughout the major region of the South Korea from January 1986 to December 2003. The clinical diagnostic inclusion criteria for Buerger's disease were the followings: (1) a history of smoking or tobacco abuse; (2) an age of onset less than 50 years; (3) infrapopliteal, segmental arterial occlusions with sparing of the proximal vasculature; (4) frequent distal upper extremity arterial involvement (Raynaud's syndrome or digital ulceration) or-superficial phlebitis; and (5) the absence of arteriosclerotic risk factors other than smoking. RESULTS: The incidence rate of Buerger's disease among the arterial disease (11,128 patients) was 93 patients (0.83%) when the strict criteria of Shionoya was applied. 699 male-patients (6.55%) and 30 female patients (4.12%) who met the less strict criteria (the extended clinical diagnostic criteria group) were also reviewed. The 4th and 5th decades were the most common ages with-249 patients (34.2%) and 222 patients (30.5%) respectively, being found at these ages. The mean age was 40.4+/-1.6 years (age range: 16~83 years) and this was similar in both the strict criteria group and the less strict criteria group. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests there was a low incidence of Buerger's disease in Korea among the patients who visited the participating hospitals when the strict diagnostic criteria were used. The incidence was lower than expected even when the less strict criteria were used. The more accurate incidence of Buerger's disease among the general population can be obtained by performing careful prospective study that is participated in by not only vascular surgeons, but also the other medical specialists with utilizing the strict diagnostic criteria.
Age of Onset ; Arteries ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Lower Extremity ; Phlebitis ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Specialization ; Thromboangiitis Obliterans* ; Tobacco ; Upper Extremity ; Veins