OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to estimate the incidence of abnormal liver function and risk factors in male employees of an industry in Ulsan City. METHODS: Five hundreds and seventy nine male employees were selected as the study cohort and 533(92.1%) of them were followed after one year. The blood sample was collected to test for AST, ALT, gamma-GTP, total-cholesterol, fasting blood sugar and a self-administered questionnaire on life style was done. General characteristics(age, marital status, educational level), job department, exposure status for organic solvents, life style(alcohol, smoking, exercise, diet), past history of liver disease, family history of liver disease, drug intake, HBsAg, blood glucose, total-cholesterol were considered as risk factors. The result of liver function test after 1 year follow-up was treated as dependent variable. The operational definition of abnormal liver function was as follows; those who had abnormal liver functions in the two repeated tests with one month interval. RESULTS: The annual incidence of abnormal liver function was 9.6 per 100 and age-standardized incidence was 9.5. BMI, alcohol, past history of liver disease, and meat intake were significantly related to the incidence(p<0.05). In multiple logistic regression analysis, BMI(RR=2.70, 95% CI=1.41-5.16) and alcohol(RR=1.98, 95% CI=1.08-3.60) were proved as the significant variables. By stratified analysis considering changing pattern of alcohol and BMI, the relative risk of the BMI normal-normal and alcohol intake high-high group was 2.24(95% CI=1.09-4.62) and that of the BMI obese-obese and alcohol intake high-high group was 5.66(95% CI=2.69-11.88) compared with that of BMI normal-normal and alcohol intake low-low group. CONCLUSIONS: The age-standardized annual incidence of abnormal liver function was 9.5 per 100 in male employees. Thus, an active effort for reducing alcohol intake and controlling BMI should be done to reduce the incidence.
Blood Glucose ; Cohort Studies ; Fasting ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Life Style ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Function Tests ; Liver* ; Logistic Models ; Male* ; Marital Status ; Meat ; Questionnaires ; Risk Factors* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Solvents ; Ulsan

Omphalith generally consists of keratinous materials and sebum. It gradually forms a stone-like hard, dark brown to a black mass in elderly persons with deep umbilical depression and not clean umbilicus. A 75 years old male noticed a brownish black nodule on the umbilical depression 2 weeks ago. He did not try to remove it. This nodule gradually became to project from umbilical depression accompanied with intermittent pain. Removed specimen was brownish black stonelike on projecting polypoid lesion, but in umbilical depression, yellowish brown and not so hard. Histopathological examination showed a small quantity of melanin granules, but no nuclear components of cells.
Aged ; Depression ; Humans ; Male ; Melanins ; Sebum ; Umbilicus

Taenia aolium is responsible for producing human intestinal infection with the tapeworm (taeniasis) and the lodging of the larval stage (Cysticercua cellulosae) in numerous organs. especially subcutaneous tissue with the prodution
Cestoda ; Cysticercosis* ; Epidemiologic Studies* ; Humans ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; Taenia

Proliferating trichilemmal tumor is a relatively uncommon tumor which develops preferentially as a solitary tumor on the scalp of elderly women. Histologically, the tumor i epresents a proliferation of the outer root sheath epithelium in a characteristic pattern, but the presense of cellular atypia, dyskera.totic cells and mitotic figures may lead to a false impression of squamous cell carcinoma. We report a case of proliferating trichliemmal tumor in a 70-yeiir-old male who presented with a slowly growing tumor on his right inguinal area for 2 years. This case is unusual in that the tumor occurred on the inguinal are anoher than the scalp in a male.
Aged ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Epithelium ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Scalp

Restoration of the M-P joint of a damaged or lost joint by trauma, tumor and others is necessary for adequate function of the hand. Several procedure have been described for restoration of the M-P joint. We experienced a case of vascularized joint transter for a lost joint by trauma. After 1 year and 2 months follow-up, there have been no degenerative change and no pain.
Follow-Up Studies ; Hand ; Joints

To estimate the impact the discontinuance of regular exercise on serum lipids, we selected 90 healthy young adults who were recruited and completed their training course as scheduled(5-week basic physical training and 4-week indoor education) during the period February 1995 to April 1995. Serum lipids, height, and weight were measured three times(Time I: before training, Time II: after 5-week training, Time III: after 4-week detraining). Ninety study subjects were classified as underweight, normal and overweight based on the criteria of Katsura equation. Of 17 underweight subjects, two were weight maintainers and 15 were weight gainers. There was no significant change in serum lipids after detraining among 15 weight gainers. Of 64 normal weight subjects, three were weight losers, 12 weight maintainers and 49 were weight gainers. There was significant increase in total cholesterol after detraining among 12 weight maintainers(P<0.01). In addition to this, there was also significant increase in total cholesterol(P<0. 01), LDL- cholesterol(P<0. 01) and HDL-cholesterol(P<0.05) after detraining among 49 weight gainers. This might be due to the harmful effect of detraining except HDL-cholesterol change. Of nine overweight subjects, only one was weight loser and eight were weight maintainers. There was significant increase in HDL-cholesterol after detraining among 7 weight maintainers (P<0.05). However, there were no significant changes in total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol and MI index. The harmful effect of detraining was not observed in overweight subjects. In conclusion, the harmful effect of detraining was observed in weight maintainers and weight gainers among normal weight subjects after regular exercise.
Cholesterol ; Humans ; Overweight ; Thinness ; Triglycerides ; Weight Gain ; Young Adult

Epidermal growth factor(KGF) and transforming growth factor arpha(TGF-a) are polypeptides of 53 amd 50 amino acid residuies. Both bind to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGR-R) leading to phosphorylation of the receptor, enhancement of its tyrosine-specific kinase activity and ultimately to stimulation of cell growth. To study he role of EGF, TGF-a, and EGF-R in differentiation and hyperproliferation of cell, we se lected psoriasis vulgaris, because the affected keratinocyte may house both an abnormally increased proliferative capacity and an abnormally differentiated state. The biopsy specimens were taken from involved and uninvolved skin of 20 patients with psoriasis and immunoperoxidase studies with formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues were performed with EGF, TGF-a and EGF-R useing the Vectastain ABC irnmunoperoxidase stain system. The antibodies were used at a concentration of 6 ug/ml In involved psoriatic skin, distributions of TGF-a and EGF-R were increased in all layers of epidermis as compared to normal, uninvolved psoriatic skin, in which chev were showed to the basal and parabasal layers. However, distribution of EGF was weekly positive in the basal layers of epidermis in both involved and uninvolved skin with no difference between toem. These results suggest that increased distribution of TGF-a and EGF-R may be involved in hypoproliferative state of epidermal keratinocytes in psoriatic lesion.
Antibodies ; Biopsy ; Epidermal Growth Factor ; Epidermis* ; Humans ; Keratinocytes ; Peptides ; Phosphorylation ; Phosphotransferases ; Psoriasis ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; Skin ; Transforming Growth Factors

Aeromonas hydrophila is a motile gram negative rod which exists in soil and water. It can cause septicemia in persons with severe immune deficiency. Occasionally it is one of the etiologic agents of the gangrenous skin disease similar to the gangrene caused by Vibrio vulnificus septicemia. A 42-year-old farmer had been suffering from liver cirrhosis for about 3 years. He had episodes of melena and hematernesis for 2 days prior to coming to the emergency room but had no skin lesions. On the 2nd hospital day, painful, erythematous and edematous skin lesions developed on his left arm and on the 3rd hospital day, several purpuras and hemorrhagic bullae developed on his left arm and leg. In the tissue, blood and blister fluid, numerous gram negative rods were identified by direct smear and culture. The bacterial identification studies from blood and blister fluid revealed A. hydrephda.
Adult ; Aeromonas hydrophila* ; Aeromonas* ; Arm ; Blister ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Farmers ; Gangrene* ; Humans ; Leg ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Melena ; Purpura ; Sepsis ; Skin Diseases ; Skin* ; Soil ; Vibrio vulnificus ; Water

Benign neonatal eruptive hemangiomatosis is extremely rare congenital multiple hemangiomatic disease without systemic visceral involvement. The akin lesions are usually detected at birth and virtually disappear by the age of 12 months. A female infant of 27 days had three or four flat reddish purple maculopapules on the face from the time of birth. They spreaded into the entire body surface and increased in size forming plaque upto little finger tip size for 3 days. There was no evidence of asociated symptomatic visceral involvement. Histologically they were compatible with capillary angiomatous nevi. They began to resolve into residual hyperpigmented macules necrotizing centrally at 2 months of age and almo. completely resolved at 6 months of age without any treatment.
Capillaries ; Female ; Fingers ; Humans ; Infant ; Nevus ; Parturition

The Taylor's approach is a special paramedian approach to enter the L5-S1 interspace. The L5-S1 interspace is the largest in vertebral column. This approach is particularly useful when the interspace has been narrowed by pathologic bone destruction such as rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. Surgery in geriatric patients is associated with a markedly higher incidence of perioperative complication or mortality rate. Optimal anesthetic management of geriatric patients depends on understanding of the normal anatomy and physiologic changes in response to drug in aging. We studied of 3-geriatric patients with Taylor's approach. These patients had problems with respiratory dysfunction and anatomic constraints, which make other approaches unfeasible.
Aging ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mortality ; Osteoarthritis ; Spine