BACKGROUND: The high concentration of plasma total homocysteine is recently considered an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to provide reference ranges for plasma homocysteine levels and to investigate the relationship between plasma homocysteine and cardiovascular risk factors in healthy Korean men. METHODS: Anthropometric parameters, alcohol intake, cigarette use and nutrient intake were determined in 166 healthy men within a wide age range(30-69 yr). Serum levels of lipids, glucose and insulin levels during oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT), plasma amino acid concentrations and levels of antioxidant nutrients and enzymes were also measured. Hyperhomocysteinemia was defined as plasma homocysteine levels above the 90th percentile(> or =15micromol/L) of respective plasma homocysteine distribution in study subjects. Characteristics of hyperhomocysteinemic men(n=16) were compared to normohomocys- teinemic men(n=16) matched for age and body mass index. RESULTS: Plasma total homocysteine values ranged from 2.4 to 38.1micromol/L, a skewed, right-tailed distribution. The homocysteine levels of 25th, 50th and 75th percentile were 7.02, 9.61 and 12.4micromol/L, respectively. The mean concentration of plasma total homocysteine was 10.7micromol/L. Plasma total homocysteine level was positively correlated to body mass index, serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels and alcohol intake, but negatively correlated to serum bata-carotene concentration. In multivariate analysis, serum triglyceride level was the strongest determinant of plasma total homocysteine concentration. There were no significant differences between two groups in waist to hip ratio, alcohol intake, cigarette use, blood pressure and serum levels of glucose and insulin during OGTT. Hyperhomocysteinemic men had significantly higher mean values of serum triglyceride(258mg/dl), total cholesterol(226mg/dl), and LDL-cholesterol(140mg/dl) than normohomocysteinemic men. Hyperhomocysteinemic men showed a decrease in lipid corrected values of serum bata-carotene and alpha-tocopherol and plasma concentrations of serine and taurine, when compared to normohomocysteinemic men. The mean intakes of vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12 and bata-carotene tended to decline by 25-30% in hyper- homocysteinemic group, when compared to normohomocysteinemic group. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that healthy Korean men with hyperhomocys- teinemia show signs of hyperlipidemia and decreased antioxidants nutrients and these factors increase risk for coronary artery disease. In addition, hyperhomocysteinemia may affect amino acid metabolism related to homocysteine.
alpha-Tocopherol ; Antioxidants ; Atherosclerosis ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Cholesterol ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Folic Acid ; Glucose ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Homocysteine* ; Humans ; Hyperhomocysteinemia ; Hyperlipidemias ; Insulin ; Male ; Metabolism ; Multivariate Analysis ; Plasma* ; Reference Values ; Risk Factors* ; Serine ; Taurine ; Tobacco Products ; Triglycerides ; Vitamin B 12 ; Vitamin B 6 ; Waist-Hip Ratio

No abstract available.
Appendicitis* ; Barium* ; Enema*

PURPOSE: We compared the clinical manifestations of patients with tsutsugamushi disease between children and adults. METHODS: From January 2003 to December 2012, 768 patients diagnosed with tsutsugamushi disease were retrospectively reviewed, and the clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, and complications were compared between children and adults. RESULTS: No patterns of annual increases in the number of patients were noted in both children and adults. The higher incidences occurred in October and November respectively. By gender, male outnumbered female in children, but the opposite trend was seen in adults. By residential area, the urban distribution of children was higher than that of adults. Rashes (P=0.001) and eschar (P=0.004) were more common in children, while myalgia was more common in adults. Children had a high prevalence of anemia (P=0.041), and low incidence rates of thrombocytopenia, abnormal liver and renal function. Children yielded better results in the duration of their hospital stay and the incidence of complications (P<0.001). A comparison of the therapeutic effects of doxycycline and macrolide antibiotics, which was performed only on the children, did not reveal any significant differences. CONCLUSION: Compared to adults, children had higher incidence rates of male patients and more often suffered from rashes and eschar. Children yielded better results in the laboratory findings and duration of the hospital stay and complications. Therefore, when children are suspected to have tsutsugamushi disease, especially during its peak occurrence period, detailed physical examination and serological test should be performed to ensure a prompt diagnosis, and the use of macrolide antibiotics, which have fewer side effects, is expected to yield the same therapeutic effects.
Adult* ; Anemia ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Child* ; Diagnosis ; Doxycycline ; Exanthema ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Length of Stay ; Liver ; Male ; Myalgia ; Physical Examination ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Scrub Typhus* ; Serologic Tests ; Thrombocytopenia

No abstract available.
Bacteria, Anaerobic*

Dyke-Davidoff-Masson syndrome is a rare clinical syndrome consisting of hemiatrophy of cerebral hemisphere, enlargement of ventricles and prominent pneumatization of petrous pyramid of the temporal bone. Its clinical manifestations are hemiparesis, several types of seizure, mental retardation and other neurologic deficits. We experienced a case of Dyke-Davidoff-Masson syndrome in a four months old boy who visited to our department due to right side upper extremity weakness and infantile spasm. The brain magnetic resonance imaging showed marked hemiatrophy of left cerebral hemisphere and enlargement of left lateral ventricle. So with the review of literatures, we report a case of Dyke-Davidoff-Masson syndrome with infantile spasm.
Brain ; Cerebrum ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Intellectual Disability ; Lateral Ventricles ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Paresis ; Petrous Bone ; Seizures ; Spasms, Infantile* ; Temporal Bone ; Upper Extremity

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a gram-negative halophilic organism commonly associated with outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis which also sometimes causes serious wound infection. It is an uncommon cause of bacteremia. We have experienced a case of bacteremia due to Vibrio parahaemolyticus in a 59-year old man who initially presented with edema and dyspnea. He was diagnosed as liver cirrhosis, gastric cancer, and hepatoma. On hospital day 13, Vibrio parahaemolyticus was isolated from blood culture. The isolate showed typical cultural and biochemical characteristics such as salt tolerance and did not ferment lactose. The isolate was intermediate to ampicillin but susceptible to other agents.
Ampicillin ; Bacteremia* ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Disease Outbreaks ; Dyspnea ; Edema ; Gastroenteritis ; Humans ; Lactose ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Middle Aged ; Salt-Tolerance ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Vibrio parahaemolyticus* ; Vibrio* ; Wound Infection

BACKGROUND: Recent data suggest that the colonization rate of group B streptococci(GBS) in pregnant women and the incidence of neonatal infections by GBS is increasing trend in Korea, but the antimicrobial susceptibilities and serotypes in pregnant women have not been reported in Korea. So, we studied to define the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and frequency of serotypes of GBS in pregnant women. METHODS: The susceptibility and serotyping of 60 GBS isolates from 27 pregnant women and four isolates from their two neonates were tested by an agar dilution method and agglutination test, respectively. The typing sera used in this study were Ia, Ib, II, III, IV, and V. RESULTS: Minimal inhibitory concentration range of 60 GBS from pregnant women were penicillin G 0.015-0.12 microgram/ml, vancomycin 0.5-2 microgram/ml, clindamycin 0.015-4.0 microgram/ml, chloramphenicol 2-4 microgram/ml, erythromycin 0.015-2 microgram/ml, tetracycline 0.5-256 microgram/ml, cephalothin 0.12-0.25 microgram/ml, ceftriaxone 0.03-0.12 microgram/ml, respectively. The resistance rate of GBS were 6.7% to clindamycin, 0% to erythromycin, and 98.3% to tetracycline. Most of GBS serotypes from pregnant women in decreasing order were Ib(48.3%), Ia(24.1%), III(20.7%). CONCLUSION: All GBS strains isolated from pregnant women are highly susceptible to commonly used antimicrobial agents with the exception of tetracycline. The low prevalence of severe neonatal GBS infections in Korea is not due to the absence of serotype III, but probably due to a low genital carriage rate of GBS by pregnant women.
Agar ; Agglutination Tests ; Anti-Infective Agents ; Ceftriaxone ; Cephalothin ; Chloramphenicol ; Clindamycin ; Colon ; Erythromycin ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Penicillin G ; Pregnant Women* ; Prevalence ; Serotyping ; Tetracycline ; Vancomycin

We investigated the effects of the oral administration of Korean red ginseng (KRG) on morphologic change and function of liver in dogs. Fifteen adult mongrel dogs (n=15) were divided into three groups: a control group (40% hepatectomy, untreated), a 250 group (40% hepatectomy, 250 mg/kg of KRG, PO), and a 500 group (40% hepatectomy, 500 mg/kg of KRG, PO). The liver regeneration, histologic findings, CBC (WBC, RBC, PCV, and PLT), and liver function tests (AST, ALT, GGT, ALP, LDH, and T-bil) were examined during experiment. The liver regeneration rates were higher in treated groups than in the control group. But, there were no significant differences. All hematological values were within normal ranges except leukocyte counts for 3 days postoperatively. The levels of AST and ALT in the treated groups were significantly decreased compared to that in the control group (p<0.05). The numbers of degenerative cells and area of connective tissue were significantly decreased in the liver of the dog with KRG administration (p<0.01). On the basis of these results, we could conclude that KRG accelerate the liver regeneration and ameliorate the liver injury after hepatectomy in dogs.
Animals ; Blood/drug effects ; Dogs ; Female ; Hepatectomy/*veterinary ; Liver/*drug effects/*surgery ; Liver Regeneration/*drug effects ; Male ; *Panax ; Plant Extracts/*pharmacology ; Plant Roots/chemistry

PURPOSES: Staphylococcus epidermidis is a causative agent of bacterial keratitis and the authors performed an epidemiologic study to identify the risk factors, clinical features and treatment results. METHODS: Epidemiologic study on Staphylococcus epidermidis keratitis, which were confirmed by cultures in 6 university hospitals, was performed prospectively under the identical protocol. RESULTS: Seventeen cases of Staphylococcus epidermidis keratitis were diagnosed by culture with corneal scraping and comprised 4.1% of 401 cases of confirmed bacterial keratitis. Male patients were affected more than female patients and the highest prevalent age was in the seventies. Most of their occupation was farming. The most prevalent season was fall and it mostly occurred after corneal trauma. CONCLUSIONS: Staphylococcus epidermidis keratitis usually occurred in a relatively old age group followed by corneal trauma. Its prevention along with early and proper antimicrobial therapy based on sensitivity results is important.
Epidemiologic Studies ; Epidemiology* ; Female ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Keratitis* ; Male ; Occupations ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Seasons ; Staphylococcus epidermidis* ; Staphylococcus*

OBJECTIVE: Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein that synthesizes TTAGGG repeats onto chromosome ends. The expression of telomerase is thought to be required for cellular immortality and carcinogenesis. This study was conducted to examine the telomerase activation occurs in cervical carcinogenesis. METHODS: The standard telomeric repeat amplification protocol(TRAP) was used to examine telomerase activity in tissues of 10 normal cervix, 10 carcinoma in situ, and 21 invasive cervical carcinoma. RESULTS: Telomerase activity was detected in tissues of 16/21(76.2%) invasive carcinoma, in 5/10(50.0%) carcinoma in situ, and in 3/10(30.0%) normal cervix. But the degree of telomerase activity in normal cervix was weak. There was significant difference in 3 groups(p<0.05). The results of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in 10 invasive cervical carcinoma were as follows. In 8 cases of which tumor size decreased more than 50%, 5 were positive for telomerase. In 2 cases that didn't respond to chemotherapy by tumor size, 1 was positive for telomerase. There was no significant difference between 2 groups. All of the 5 cases that had pelvic lymph node metastasis revealed positive telomerase activity, and the 11 cases of 16 cases that didn't have pelvic lymph node metastasis were positive for telomerase, but there was no significant difference in 2 groups. The positivity of telomerase activity in clinical stage of invasive cervical carcinoma was 73.3% in stage I(11/15), 75.0% in stage II(3/4), 100% in stage III(1/1), and 100% in stage IV(1/1), but there was no significant difference in each stages. CONCLUSION: Telomerase seems to be uniquely associated with malignant transformation of cervix and can be used as a tumor marker. Additional studies are needed to better clarify the biological significance of telomerase expression in cervical tumorigenesis.
Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma in Situ ; Cervix Uteri ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Ribonucleoproteins ; Telomerase* ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*