Resistance to antibiotics is becoming a very serious problem, with so-called superbugs exhibiting resistance to nearly all conventional antibiotic drugs. Consequently, these organisms often cause severe illness and even death. Alternatives to conventional antibiotics are antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). These widely expressed short peptides, which have been isolated from insects, plants, marine organisms and mammals, including humans, show strong antimicrobial activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Most AMPs act by disrupting the bacterial membrane through "Barrel-stave", "Toroidal pore", "carpet" mechanism. In addition, AMPs may prevent septic shock through strongly binding lipopolysaccharides and lipoteichoic acid located on the bacterial membrane. The action mechanisms of AMP to minimize the likelihood developing resistance to the peptides would be particular advantage. For these reasons, we anticipate that AMPs will replace conventional antibiotic drugs in a variety of contexts.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Aquatic Organisms ; Gram-Positive Bacteria ; Humans ; Insects ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Mammals ; Membranes* ; Peptides* ; Shock, Septic

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to explore the differences of general characteristics and nutritional factors such as anthropometry and dietary intake between alcohol-related cirrhosis and virus-related liver cirrhosis and to assess the nutritional status of both of these groups. METHODS: In this study, the nutritional status of 67 patients with liver cirrhosis (25 with alcohol-related and 42 with virus-related) was evaluated by using clinical assessment, anthropometric measurements, dietary intakes, and biochemical indices. RESULTS: Although anthropometric measurements were not significantly different between alcoholic cirrhosis and viral cirrhosis, anthropometry of patients with viral cirrhosis had a higher tendency than that of alcoholic cirrhotic patients. Alcohol intake factors such as amount, duration, and frequency in alcoholic cirrhotic patients were higher than those in patients with viral cirrhosis. Energy excluding alcohol and vitamin C were significantly different between patients with alcoholic and viral cirrhosis. All subjects had lower intake of energy excluding alcohol, protein, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, and iron as than recommended by the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for Koreans. Of special note was the fact that the intakes of energy excluding alcohol, vitamin A, riboflavin, and calcium were less than 75% of RDA for Koreans. Although the glucose and triglyceride levels were significantly different between alcoholic and viral cirrhotic patients, there were within normal range in both groups. There was an interaction effect in triceps skinfold thickness of the subjects according to both etiology and severity of liver disease. CONCLUSION: These data suggests that nutritional disorders are common in patients with both alcohol-and virus-related cirrhosis. It is necessary to educate patients with cirrhosis about the importance of a balanced dietary intake as well as its pattern, and quality of diet.
Alcoholics ; Anthropometry ; Ascorbic Acid ; Calcium ; Child ; Diet ; Fibrosis ; Glucose ; Humans ; Iron ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic ; Liver Diseases ; Liver* ; Niacin ; Nutrition Disorders ; Nutritional Status* ; Recommended Dietary Allowances ; Reference Values ; Riboflavin ; Skinfold Thickness ; Triglycerides ; Vitamin A

Purpose: We examined corneal thickness, particularly morphological changes in the limbus, as the intraocular pressure increased in patients with congenital glaucoma. Methods: We retrospectively studied 31 children (47 eyes) with congenital glaucoma and 12 controls (12 eyes). We used anterior segment tomography to measure corneal thicknesses at the center, the midpoint of the 2-5 mm pericentral zone, the corneo-limbal junction, and the scleral spurs on the nasal and temporal sides. The peripheral central corneal thickness ratios were calculated and analyzed using a generalized estimation equation. Results: The cornea was significantly thinner in the glaucoma than in the control group. The difference was more prominent in the periphery than the center. Associated with such peripheral thinning, the corneal thickness ratios at the corneal-limbal junction and the center differed significantly between the two groups. Conclusions In congenital glaucoma patients, the cornea is generally thinner than that of the controls, particularly at the corneo-limbal junction, suggesting that the limbus is biomechanically susceptible to deformation by intraocular pressure.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of intrusion in primary dentition and to evaluate factors influencing complications of primary and permanent dentition during long-term follow-up period.61 patients (84 teeth) were selected in this study. Medical records of 61 patients were reviewed and age, gender, cause of injury, site of injury, severity of traumatic injury, other injuries associated with trauma, treatment method, and complications of primary and permanent dentition were examined. Collected data were statistically evaluated using Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test.Intrusion in primary anterior teeth was predominant in boys over girls and fall was the most common cause of trauma. It was most common at home and occurred most in the primary maxillary central incisors. Severity had an effect on the incidence of sequelae in permanent successors (p = 0.014). The incidence of complications was significantly lower in patients with soft tissue injuries than in patients with other periodontal injuries (p = 0.000).
Dentition, Permanent ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Incisor ; Medical Records ; Methods ; Prognosis ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; Tooth Abnormalities ; Tooth Injuries ; Tooth ; Tooth, Deciduous

No abstract available.
Churg-Strauss Syndrome* ; Humans ; Infarction*

No abstract available.
Glycogen Storage Disease Type V* ; Glycogen Storage Disease* ; Glycogen* ; Humans ; Rhabdomyolysis* ; Seizures*

OBJECTIVES: Although there have been several reports that described characteristics for young age stroke, information regarding very young age (18–30 years old) has been limited. We aimed to analyze demographic factors, stroke subtype, and 3-month outcome in acute ischemic stroke patient who have relatively very young age in multicenter stroke registry. METHODS: We evaluated all 122 (7.1%) consecutive acute ischemic stroke (within 7 days after symptom onset) patients aged 18 to 30 from 17,144 patients who registered in multicenter prospective stroke registry, 1997 to 2012. Etiology was classified by Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment criteria. Stroke severity was defined as National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and stroke outcome was defined by modified Rankin scale (mRS) at 3 months after index stroke. RESULTS: The mean age of all included patients was 25.1±3.7 years and 76 patients (62.2%) were male. The median NIHSS at admission was 4. Considering stroke subtype, 37 patients (30.3%) had stroke of other determined etiology (SOD), 37 (30.3%) had undetermined negative evaluation (UN) and 31 (25.4%) had cardioembolism (CE) were frequently noted. After adjusting age, sex and variables which had P<0.1 in univariable analysis (NIHSS and stroke subtype), CE stroke subtype (odds ratio, 4.68; 95% confidence interval, 1.42–15.48; P=0.011) were significantly associated with poor functional outcome (mRS≥3). CONCLUSION: In very young age ischemic stroke patients, SOD and UN stroke subtype were most common and CE stroke subtype was independently associated with poor discharge outcome.
Carotid Artery, Internal, Dissection ; Cerebral Infarction ; Demography ; Humans ; Male ; National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies ; Stroke* ; United Nations ; Vertebral Artery Dissection

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Elevated postprandial blood glucose is a critical risk factor for stroke. The dietary glycemic load (GL) and glycemic index (GI) are frequently used as markers of the postprandial blood glucose response to estimate the overall glycemic effect of diets. We hypothesized that high dietary GL, GI, or total carbohydrate intake is associated with a poor functional outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: We prospectively included 263 first-ever ischemic stroke patients who completed a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. The dietary GL, GI, and total carbohydrate intake were investigated by examining the average frequency of intake during the previous year based on reference amounts for various food items. Poor functional outcome was defined as a score on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) of ≥3 at 3 months after stroke. RESULTS: The patients were aged 65.4±11.7 years (mean±standard deviation), and 58.2% of them were male. A multivariate analysis adjusted for age, sex, marital status, prestroke mRS score, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, body mass index, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, hemoglobin A1c, stroke classification, and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, early neurological deterioration, and high-grade white-matter hyperintensities revealed that the dietary GL and total carbohydrate intake were associated with a poor functional outcome, with odds ratios for the top quartile relative to the bottom quartile of 28.93 (95% confidence interval=2.82–296.04) and 36.84 (95% confidence interval=2.99–453.42), respectively (p for trend=0.002 and 0.002, respectively). In contrast, high dietary GI was not associated with a poor functional outcome (p for trend=0.481). CONCLUSIONS: Increased dietary GL and carbohydrate intake were associated with a poor short-term functional outcome after an acute ischemic stroke.
Blood Glucose ; Body Mass Index ; Cerebral Infarction* ; Classification ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diet ; Glycemic Index ; Glycemic Load* ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Lipoproteins ; Male ; Marital Status ; Multivariate Analysis ; National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ; Odds Ratio ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Stroke ; Triglycerides

In brain death state, bilateral pupil light reflexes are disappeared, and pupils are fixed with dilated. However, spontaneous movements such as ocular microtremor or bilateral cyclical constriction-dilatation of pupils have been rarely reported in brain death patients. We present a brain death patient whose right pupil displayed spontaneously repetitive constriction and dilatation regardless of external stimuli such as light and pain. Early recognition of this phenomenon may prohibit the delay in the diagnosis of brain death and organ transplantation.
Brain Death ; Brain ; Coma ; Constriction ; Diagnosis ; Dilatation ; Humans ; Organ Transplantation ; Pupil ; Reflex ; Transplants

No abstract available.
Aorta, Thoracic ; Cerebral Infarction ; Humans ; Infarction