OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of the average volume of alcohol consumption and binge drinking with arterial stiffness. METHODS: The study population consisted of 5944 community-dwelling healthy adults aged 50 years and older. Average volume of alcohol consumption was calculated and frequency of binge drinking defined as the consumption of 7 or more drinks for men and 5 or more for women on a single occasion, was assessed using a structured interview. High brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), a marker of arterial stiffness, was defined as the highest gender-specific quartile of maximal baPWV distribution in the study population. RESULTS: Compared to never drinkers, the multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (OR) of men who consumed 0.1-10.0, 10.1-20.0, 20.1-40.0, and >40.0 g/day was 0.93, 1.18, 1.38, and 2.36, respectively. The OR was 0.90, 0.97, 1.45, and 1.82 in women consuming 0.1-5.0, 5.1-10.0, 10.1-20.0, and >20.0 g/day, respectively. Binge drinking of <1 day/week (OR=1.66, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.13-2.42) and > or =1 day/week (OR=1.61, 95% CI=1.04-2.50) were associated with increased risk for high baPWV in men, and binge drinking of > or =1 day/week (OR=3.12, 95% CI=1.16-8.34) was associated with increased risk for high baPWV in women. CONCLUSIONS: A J-shaped relationship between the average volume of alcohol consumption and high baPWV was observed, suggesting the detrimental effects of heavy alcohol drinking on arterial stiffness. Binge drinking was also significant risk factors for increased arterial stiffness, independently of the average volume of alcohol consumption.
Adult ; Aged ; Alcohol Drinking ; Atherosclerosis ; Binge Drinking ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Odds Ratio ; Peripheral Arterial Disease ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Vascular Stiffness

PURPOSE: The objective of this prospective study is to assess changes in body mass index(BMI, weight in kilograms/height in meters2) according to age and dosage on epileptic children treated with topiramate. METHODS: From January 2006 to December 2008, prospective studies have been performed on 63 children with epilepsy aged below 15 old who had been treated with topiramate. Patients were classified into 3 groups according to age: 2-5 years as a group 1; 6-10 years as a group 2; 11-15 years as a group 3;, and classified into 2 groups according to dosage: from 2 to 5 mg/kg/day as group A, more than 5 mg/kg/day to 8 mg/kg/day as group B. We have checked BMI of patients four times and evaluated the changes in BMI of each group. RESULTS: BMI at initial presentation and follow-up periods of 6, 12, and 24 months is as follows: 16.3+/-1.25, 14.3+/-1.8, 14.2+/-2.4, and 15.7+/-2.1 in the group 1, 18.5+/-1.23, 15.2+/-1.24, 14.8+/-2.27, and 16.8+/-2.5 in the group 2, 21.6+/-2.31, 16.5+/-2.17, 15.4+/-2.56, and 15.1+/-1.3 in the group 3. Comparing with group A and B is as follows: 19.3+/-2.35 and 18.1+/-1.89 at initial presentation, 15.5+/-2.45 and 15.1+/-1.15 at 6 months, 14.9+/-2.15 and 14.7+/-1.91 at 12 months, 15.9+/-1.28 and 16.0+/-1.12 at 24 months. CONCLUSION: The effect of topiramate on changes of BMI shows difference according to age. In groups of 2-10 years old, BMI was rebounded from lowest value after 12 months, however, in the group of 11-15 years old, BMI kept decreasing at 24 months. And dosage of topiramate does not affect to BMI significantly.
Aged ; Body Mass Index ; Child ; Epilepsy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fructose ; Humans ; Prospective Studies

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To determine the extent of speech articulation disorder in ankyloglossia patients and to determine whether picture consonant articulation test has potential as a screening test to predict the outcome of surgery. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: A total of 35 patients (25 boys and 10 girls with mean age of 3.69+/-1.18 years) with ankyloglossia who underwent frenotomy and recovered completely without complications were enrolled in this study. We examined the correlation between the subjective satisfaction of parents and the results of picture consonant articulation test. RESULTS: In the picture consonant articulation test, 20 patients (20/35, 57.14%) needed postoperative speech therapy. When the resutls of preoperative picture consonant articulation test and postoperative parents' subjective satisfaction were compared, "normal" had a satisfaction score of 4.53+/-0.74 points, "consider" had 3.89+/-1.05 points, and "demand" had 3.27+/-1.45 points. When a postoperative speech therapy was required, parents' satisfaction decreased (correlation coefficient r=-0.456). CONCLUSION: The preoperative picture consonant test in our study showed potential as a screening test for predicting the outcome of surgery for ankyloglossia patients.
Articulation Disorders ; Female ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Parents ; Speech Articulation Tests ; Speech Therapy

Fibrofolliculoma is a benign, perifollicular, connective tissue tumor that usually arises in the form of multiple lesions; it is rarely seen as a solitary lesion. The lesions are clinically asymptomatic, 2 to 4 mm skin-colored, soft dome-shaped papules. Here, we report a patient who visited our hospital with a palpable lesion on the nasal septum. The lesion did not cause pain upon palpation, and nasal endoscopy confirmed an irregular wart-like lesion measuring 6 × 6 mm in the left anterior nasal septum near the columella. Other otolaryngology findings were normal, and there were no similar lesions in other parts of the body. None of the patient’s family members were known to have had such lesions. An excisional biopsy was performed on the mass for removal of the lesion, and histological examination confirmed the lesion as fibrofolliculoma. We report the first case of solitary fibrofolliculoma in the nasal septum in a healthy 62-year-old woman along with a review of the relevant literature.

Abstract Phospholipase D (PLD) plays an important role as an effector in a variety of physiological processes that reveal it to be a member of the signal transducing phospholipases. Recently, PLD2 was reported as a necessary intermediate in preventing apoptosis induced by hydrogen peroxide or hypoxia in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. The data presented here show that both PLD isozymes, PLD1 and PLD2 are also required in attenuating glutamate-induced cell death in PC12 cells. Treatment of PC12 cells with glutamate resulted in induction of apoptosis in these cells, which is accompanied by decreased PLD activity and increased ceramide concentration. Incubation of PC12 cells with exogenous C6-ceramide showed a time-dependent decrease of PLD activity. When cDNAs of PLD1 and PLD2 were transfected into PC12 cells respectively, overexpression of PLD1 or PLD2 resulted in inhibition of glutamate-induced apoptotic cell death. These data indicate that both PLD1 and PLD2 play a protective role against glutamate-induced cell death in PC12 cells.
Animals ; Apoptosis/drug effects/*physiology ; Cell Survival/drug effects ; Ceramides/pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Enzyme Activation ; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic/drug effects ; Glutamic Acid/*toxicity ; Isoenzymes/drug effects/genetics/*metabolism ; Kinetics ; PC12 Cells ; Phospholipase D/chemistry/drug effects/genetics/*metabolism ; Rats ; Sphingolipids/metabolism

Cholesterol granulomas are inflammatory deposits commonly found in the mastoid antrum and air cells of temporal bone. They rarely occur in the nose. Here, we report an extremely rare case of cholesterol granuloma in the nasal septum, and include a short literature review. The clinical characteristics, pathology, and surgical treatment are also discussed.
Cholesterol* ; Granuloma* ; Mastoid ; Nasal Septum* ; Nose ; Pathology ; Temporal Bone

Total 8,341 pregnant women who visited Obstetric Clinic Cheil General Hospital from Jaunary 1991 to July 1992 were screened for HBsAg. Sixty five women with positive HBsAg who delivered healthy babies during that period and their infants are included in the study. HBsAg, Anti-HBs, Anti-HBc, HBeAg and Anti-HBe were tested by radioimmunoassay and hepatitis B virus DNA were studied by polymerase chain reaction technique in both mothers' and babies serum. The results were as follow: 1) Among 8,341 pregnant women who were screened for HBsAg 374 were asymptomatic carriers(4.5%). 2) The newborn babies born to 65 mothers who were positive HBsAg showed HBsAg in 4.6%, HBeAg 75.0%, anti-HBc 98.4% and hepatitis B virus DNA in 26.2%. 3) It showed discordance of HBeAg/anti-HBe, with hepatitis B virus DNA in newborn infants. 4) Follow up study at 8~20 months showed HBeAg and hepatitis B virus DNA in 2 infants out of 20.
DNA ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus* ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Mothers* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Pregnant Women ; Radioimmunoassay

The authors present a case of malignant cystic meningioma in the left frontal convexity. The patient was 80-year-old male and presented with personality change and walking difficulty. Computerized tomography and magnetic resonance image demonstrated a round mass attached to the left frontal convexity dura. Intratumoral and peritumoral cystic lesions were also seen. Total removal of tumor was performed and the histological dia-gnosis was anaplastic meningioma.
Aged, 80 and over ; Humans ; Male ; Meningioma* ; Walking

BACKGROUND: An increase in ventilation is known to accelerate the rate of the rise of alveolar concentration of inhalation anesthetics and increase the rate of anesthetic induction. However, it is still debatable whether or not a rise of alveolar isoflurane concentrations by increased minute ventilation (MV) actually increases the depth of anesthesia. METHODS: After anesthetic induction by intravenous thiopental and succinylcholine, and after the bispectral index (BIS) had recovered to 75 after intubation, isoflurane anesthesia was begun (inspired concentration:2 vol.%, respiratory rate:12/min, tidal volume: group I; 8 ml/kg, group II; 12 ml/kg). BIS, spectral edge frequency (SEF), blood pressure, pulse rate were recorded 1 minute before induction, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10 minutes after isoflurane anesthesia. End-tidal concentrations of isoflurane and CO2 (ET-iso and -CO2) were recorded at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10 minutes after isoflurane anesthesia. RESULTS: The increase of ET-iso and the decrease of ET-CO2 were significantly fast in group II. There was no difference in BIS and SEF between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing MV induced a rapid rise of alveolar isoflurane concentrations, but changes of BIS and SEF were not affected by increased MV.
Anesthesia ; Anesthetics, Inhalation ; Blood Pressure ; Heart Rate ; Intubation ; Isoflurane* ; Succinylcholine ; Thiopental ; Tidal Volume ; Ventilation*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Septoplasty with turbinoplasty has the potential to affect voice because it alters the vocal tract. We conducted a study to evaluate the postoperative voice changes and aid using subjective and objective data regarding the effect of surgery. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: To rule out gender bias, only 23 male patients were enrolled. Voice change was analyzed by a subjective test through a questionnaire and an objective test through acoustic analysis. During each recording session, the subject uttered the words [^m ma: the Korean word for "mother"] and [Nu Na: the Korean word for "sister"]. We then analyzed the nasal consonant ([m] in [^m ma]), the nasalized vowel ([a] in [^m ma] and [a] in [Nu Na]), and the intensity of nasal sound. RESULTS: In the subjective study, 73.9% of patients reported an improvement in the quality of voice after surgery. Most of the patients reported a reduction in twang. In the objective study, there was a tendency for increased formant frequencies in the nasal consonant, and F1 of [m] in [^m ma] was increased significantly (p=0.003). There was also a tendency for decreased formant frequencies in the nasalized vowel, F2 of [a] in [^m ma] and F1 of [a] in [Nu Na] were decreased significantly (p<0.001), and there was an increase in the intensity of nasal sound, [^m ma] (p=0.009) and [Nu Na] (p=0.013). CONCLUSION: Nasal sound became clearer with reduced twang after surgery. It is important to keep the phonetic aspect in mind when patients are undergoing septoplasty with turbinoplasty.
Acoustics ; Humans ; Male ; Methods ; Nasal Cavity ; Nasal Obstruction ; Sexism ; Voice*