PURPOSE: Abnormalities in calcium(Ca), vitamin D and bone mineral density (BMD) associated with antiepileptic drug(AED) are reported, but the results are inconsistent. In case of intractable epilepsy, poor growth and altered bone mineral metabolism may be prominent, possibly related to previous long-term use of multiple AED and poor activity. The aim of this study was to assess growth status, concentrations of calcium regulating hormones and BMD in children with intractable epilepsy. METHODS: Sixty-six intractable epilepsy patients aged 0.8 to 14.7 years(mean+/-D:4.6+/-.6 years) were included in the study. Height and weight were measured and then height SDS and weight SDS were calculated. Serum Ca, i-Ca, P, Mg, Zinc, osteocalcin, intact-PTH, 25-OHD, 1,25(OH)2D were measured. BMD of the lumbar spine was measured by dual energy X-ray absorption. RESULTS: Most of the patients showed normal height SDS and weight SDS. Percentage of severe short stature(height SDS <-2) was 1.5% and tall stature(height SDS >2) was 4.5%. Percentage of severe thin(weight SDS <-2) was 1.5% and obesity(weight SDS >2) was 6%. Duration of AED was not related to height SDS or weight SDS. Etiology of epilepsy and physical activity were not related to height SDS and weight SDS. Most of them had normal Ca, iCa, P, Mg, Zinc, intact-PTH, osteocalcin, 25-OHD and 1,25(OH)2D concentrations. BMD was not related to the levels of Ca, i-Ca, P, Mg, intact-PTH, osteocalcin, 25-OHD, 1,25(OH)2D. BMD was not related to the duration of AED. BMD positively correlated with age(r=0.75, P>0.01) and body weight(r=0.72, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Most of the children with intractable epilepsy, who regularly visits epilepsy clinic, showed normal growth and normal bone mineral metabolism, but careful monitoring about growth and bone mineral metabolism is needed.
Absorption ; Bone Density* ; Calcium* ; Child* ; Epilepsy* ; Humans ; Metabolism ; Motor Activity ; Osteocalcin ; Spine ; Vitamin D ; Zinc

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess alcohol and caffeine intake and identify the impact of alcohol and caffeine intake on body mass index, alcohol use disorder, and quality of sleep among university students. METHODS: This study design was accomplished with a cross sectional survey and conducted from May to June 2014. One hundred and twenty-four freshmen of E university in S city, Korea were selected and evaluated by self-administered questionnaires. Alcohol and caffeine intake were measured by self-reported recall. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, and multiple linear regression. RESULTS: The average amount of alcohol intake was 175.02 +/- 219.97 g and the proportion of freshmen who took in more than 40g per day of alcohol was 75%. The average amount of caffeine intake was 116.79 +/- 111.14 mg. Factors influencing alcohol use disorder were dwelling type (t=2.25, p=.027) and alcohol intake (t=8.11, p<.001). And, the factor influencing quality of sleep was caffeine intake (t=3.88, p<.001). CONCLUSION: In order to reduce the harmful drinking of university students, preventive activities for freshmen are required and efforts on the part of the school needed.
Alcohol Drinking ; Body Mass Index* ; Caffeine* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Drinking ; Humans ; Korea ; Linear Models

No abstract available.
Brain* ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

Succinylcholine(SCC) is well known to elevate the serum potassium level and to threaten life in some cases. In order to minimize the elevation of serum potassium following SCC, several attempts have been made such as SCC tamming and pretreatment with pancuronium or lidocaine or diazepam. Our study was undertaken to evaluate the change of serum potassium following induction in 60 patients divided into 7 different groups; group l. SCC 1mg/kg; group ll. SCC 2 mg/kg, grouplll, SCC 1mg/kg after SCC 10mg; group IV, SCC 1mg/kg after pancuronium 0.015mg/kg, group V. Pnacuronium 0.1mg/kg; group VI, SCC 1mg/kg after Lidocaine 1mg/kg; grou VII, SCC 1mg/kg after Diazepam 0.2mg/kg. The results were as follows: 1) Serum potassium were increased 0.14mEq/L in group l and 0.17 mEq/L in group ll. 2) Serum potassium were decreased in group lll, VI and VII than their control values but they were not statistically significant. 3) The decrease in serum potassium was most significant in group IV and V.
Calcium ; Diazepam ; Humans ; Lidocaine ; Pancuronium ; Potassium ; Succinylcholine

No abstract available.
Antibodies* ; Borrelia burgdorferi* ; Borrelia* ; Immunoblotting* ; Lyme Disease*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze factors affecting meaning of life in adolescents. METHODS: Data were collected from April 5 to June 20, 2010. The participants for this study were 343 Korean middle and high school students, recruited from four middle and high schools located in Seoul. Data collection was conducted through the use of 7 questionnaires. The data were analyzed with the SPSS WIN 12.0 program using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: 1) The mean total item score for the meaning of life scales was 2.99, which was slightly high. 2) There was a significant relationship between meaning of life and self-esteem, self control, parenting attitude, family satisfaction, school adjustment, and career maturity. 3) Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that self-esteem, family satisfaction, school adjustment, parenting attitude and career maturity were predictors of meaning of life and accounted for 57.1% of the variance in meaning of life. CONCLUSION: Self-esteem, family satisfaction, school adjustment, parenting attitude and career maturity were variables influencing meaning of life in adolescents. These results indicate a need to develop nursing interventions to increase self-esteem, family satisfaction, school adjustment, parenting attitude and career maturity in order to improve meaning of life for adolescents.
Adolescent ; Data Collection ; Humans ; Parenting ; Parents ; Weights and Measures ; Child Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to analyze the functional status of low income elderly living at home according to their socio-economic factors, sensory function, health status, medical service utilization, commodity and types of chronic disease. METHOD: Functional status was defined by the level of mobility, ADL and IADL categorized as independently functional, mildly impaired, moderately disabled, and severely disabled. The data was collected by home-visit interviews with 567 community dwelling adults who were 65 years of age or more with low a income status subsidized by government in ChonAn. RESULTS: 9.9% of community dwelling older adults were severely disabled, and 44.4% were moderately disabled in their functional status. There were significant differences in the functional status by age, education, religion, and types of family structure. The older adults with hearing impairment or dental problems had a significantly higher rate of severe disability. Self-rated health status and medical service utilization were also significant factors to the differences in functional status. The functional status of older adults was also significantly related to the presence of chronic health problems such as chronic back pain, stroke, and Alzheimer-dementia. CONCLUSION: The results confirmed that community dwelling older adults with low income status were more functionally disabled in comparison to general older adults at national level, while the relating factors to their functional status seemed similar to other studies on older adults. Further studies were suggested to look into functional status longitudinally and focus on the changes of functional status by managing modifiable influencing factors.
Activities of Daily Living ; Adult* ; Aged ; Back Pain ; Chronic Disease ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Education ; Frail Elderly ; Hearing Loss ; Humans ; Sensation ; Stroke

We report a case of sarcoidosis which developed in the skin, lung and eyes in a 50-year-old woman. The skin lesions showed two types of cutaneous manifestations which were subcutaneous nodules on her back and erytrematous papules on the face for several months. Our patient's seurm angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) level was elevated at 33.5 IU/L(reference range, 8.3-21.4 IU/L) and the purified protein derivative(PPD) skin test had a negative result. On her roentgenographic examinations, we could find multiple nodular densities with hazziness on both her lungs and radionuclides(Gallium 67) uptakes in right lower lung field. The ratio of helper to suppressor T cells was 9 in bronchial lavage. Diagnosis of sarcoidosis was made on the basis of histologic findings of non-caseating granulomas from skin and lung tissue. Treatment was initiated with oral alternate-day prednisone 40mg. The cutaneous lesions and dyspnea improved in 2 and 4 weeks respectively, and serum ACE level returned to normal in 2 months.
Bronchoalveolar Lavage ; Diagnosis ; Dyspnea ; Female ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Lung ; Middle Aged ; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A ; Prednisone ; Sarcoidosis* ; Skin ; Skin Tests ; T-Lymphocytes

OBJECTIVE: This survey assessed the prevalence and type of sexual dysfunction in middle-aged women regarding sexually related personal distress and examined the prevalence of perceived sexual dysfunction and perceived partners' dysfunction by women. METHODS: One-hundred ten healthy community-based middle-aged women participated voluntarily, and validated question- naires of the Female Sexual Function Index(FSFI) and the Female Sexual Distress Score(FSDS) were used. RESULTS: The percentage of women having sexual dysfunction and sexual distress were 67% and 32% respectively according to the cut-off of FSFI and FSDS. The average score of FSFI was 23.5(s.d.=5.7), which was lower than the cut-off of FSFI, while the average score of FSDS was 13.2, which was in range of a normal score. When considering the two concepts simultaneously, the women were categorized into 4 groups: sexually stressed dysfunction group (24.8%), sexually depressed group(42.2%), sexually healthy group(25.7%), and sexually hyperactive group (7.3%). The percentage of women reporting sexual problems was 24.3%, while the percentage of women reporting sexual dysfunction in their partner was 29.9%. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate a high rate of sexual dysfunction and sexual distress in middle-aged women. However, considering the relationships between sexual dysfunction and sexual distress, almost two thirds were in the sexually depressed group among the women having sexual dysfunction.
Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the construct equivalence of the general five factors of health behavior and to compare the latent means between adolescents with a health problem and those without in Korea. METHODS: The 2009 KYRBS (Korean Youth Risk Behavior Survey) data were used for the analysis. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test whether the scale had configural, metric, and scalar invariances across the existence of health problems in adolescents. RESULTS: Configural, metric, and factor invariances were satisfied for the latent mean analysis (LMA) between adolescents with health problem and those without. Adolescents with health problem and those without were not different in the LMA of all factors. CONCLUSION: Health providers should give more interest to the group of adolescents with health problems and consider prudential school life to the same group.
Adolescent* ; Health Behavior* ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Risk-Taking