PURPOSE: This study was done to identify attitude and factors influencing attitudes to organ transplants. METHOD: Study participants were 165 people over the age of 18 and living in Seoul. The instrument used for this study was the descriptive questionnaire developed by Ju (1995). Analysis of the data was done with SPSS Win 10.0 with descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: 1. The scores on attitude toward organ transplants ranged from 14 to 70, and had a mean score of 49.26. There were statistically significant differences in scores on attitude to organ transplants according to age (p=.03), marital status (p=.00), monthly income (p=.02) and experience of having education about organ transplants (p=.00). 2. The factors influencing attitudes to organ transplants were having the experience of education on transplants and marital status. These two variables explained 20.1% of the variance. 3. Reasons given for no written pledge to donate one's organs were 'fear on organ donation', 'not knowing the way or how to do', 'plan to give my organs to a family member when needed', 'physical condition' and 'religious belief'. CONCLUSION: Experience with education for organ transplant and marital status were identified as important variables in attitudes to organ transplants.
Education ; Humans ; Marital Status ; Organ Transplantation ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Seoul ; Transplants*

It has been suggested that epileptic seizures can be interrupted by deep brain stimulation (DBS) of various deep brain structures which may exert a therapeutic control on seizure generators or correspond to ictal onset zone themselves. Several groups have used DBS in drug-resistant epilepsy cases for which resective surgery cannot be applied. The promising subcortical brain structures are anterior and centromedian nucleus of the thalamus, subthalamic nucleus, and other nuclei to treat epilepsy in light of previous clinical and experimental data. Recently two randomized trials of neurostimulation for controlling refractory epilepsy employed the strategies to stimulate electrodes placed on both anterior thalamic nuclei or near seizure foci in response to electroencephalographically detected epileptiform activity. However, the more large-scale, long-term clinical trials which elucidates optimal stimulation parameters, ideal selection criteria for epilepsy DBS should be performed before long.
Anterior Thalamic Nuclei ; Brain ; Deep Brain Stimulation ; Electrodes ; Epilepsy ; Intralaminar Thalamic Nuclei ; Light ; Patient Selection ; Seizures ; Subthalamic Nucleus ; Thalamus

No abstract available in English.
Acetabulum ; Clinical Study

We report a family with autosomal dominant hereditary neuropathy having a liability to pressure palsy, which was confirmed by DNA analysis. A 5-year-old boy had been suffering from a left upper extremity weakness after falling sleeping with his head on his arm. Upon examination 2 months after the episode, the boy reported that he had a mild weakness on the left distal portion of his arm. Deep tendon reflexes on both the upper extremities were absent. He did not have any sensory disturbances. No definite family history of recurrent pressure palsy was taken. A nerve conduc-tion study and EMG demonstrated a widespread demyelinating sensorimotor polyneuropathy in all extremities. We analyzed DNA deletion, which revealed an abnormal deletion of the peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP-22) gene in the chromosome 17p11.2. Of the patient and his mother.
Arm ; Child, Preschool ; DNA ; Extremities ; Head ; Humans ; Male ; Mothers ; Myelin Sheath ; Paralysis* ; Polyneuropathies ; Reflex, Stretch ; Upper Extremity

We report a family with autosomal dominant hereditary neuropathy having a liability to pressure palsy, which was confirmed by DNA analysis. A 5-year-old boy had been suffering from a left upper extremity weakness after falling sleeping with his head on his arm. Upon examination 2 months after the episode, the boy reported that he had a mild weakness on the left distal portion of his arm. Deep tendon reflexes on both the upper extremities were absent. He did not have any sensory disturbances. No definite family history of recurrent pressure palsy was taken. A nerve conduc-tion study and EMG demonstrated a widespread demyelinating sensorimotor polyneuropathy in all extremities. We analyzed DNA deletion, which revealed an abnormal deletion of the peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP-22) gene in the chromosome 17p11.2. Of the patient and his mother.
Arm ; Child, Preschool ; DNA ; Extremities ; Head ; Humans ; Male ; Mothers ; Myelin Sheath ; Paralysis* ; Polyneuropathies ; Reflex, Stretch ; Upper Extremity

BACKGROUND: For Neer type IIB fracture of distal clavicle with coracoclavicular ligament injury, various surgical treatments have been used in literatures. However, there was no consensus on the optimal treatment. The aim of this study is to report the clinical and radiological results of open reduction and internal fixation of unstable distal clavicle fracture and suture augmentation of disrupted coracoclavicular ligament. METHODS: A prospective study was performed in 23 patients with Neer type IIB distal clavicle fracture in Seoul Medical Center, Eulji Hospital, and National Medical Center. Firstly, suture anchors are inserted in the base of coracoid process and preliminary reduction was achieved by tie-off of three suture limbs around the clavicle. Then, the final fixation was completed with anatomical locking plate. Bony union and the distance between coracoclavicular ligaments were evaluated. Clinical results and complications including stiffness and secondary procedures were evaluated. RESULTS: Bony union was achieved in all cases except one (22 of 23). At mean 14.9 months, no significant difference in the mean coracoclavicular distance was observed compared to uninjured shoulder (8.2 +/- 7.9 mm versus 7.3 +/- 3.4 mm, p=0.14). Pain visual analogue scale, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, Constant score, and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand score were 0.5, 83.4, 78.5, and 6.2, respectively. Revision surgery was performed in one case of nonunion. Four patients who complained of skin irritation underwent implant removal. CONCLUSIONS: In cases of an unstable distal clavicle fracture with coracoclavicular ligament disruption, satisfactory clinical results were obtained by locking plate fixation and coracoclavicular ligament suture augmentation concurrently.
Arm ; Clavicle* ; Consensus ; Elbow ; Extremities ; Hand ; Humans ; Ligaments* ; Prospective Studies ; Seoul ; Shoulder ; Shoulder Fractures ; Skin ; Suture Anchors ; Sutures*

PURPOSE: To examine the putative seizure-protective properties of ketamine in lithium-pilocarpine induced status epilepticus (LPSE). METHODS: Lithium chloride followed 24 h later by pilocarpine was administered for seizure induction. Ketamine (40 mg/kg) or phenytoin (50 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally 10 min or 60 min after the onset of continuous ictal discharge. Then the seizure behavior and EEG were observed and histological changes were compared through Nissl stain at 72 hours. RESULTS: The antiepileptic effect of ketamine, injected during the early stages of LPSE (10 min after the onset of continuous ictal discharge), was comparable to that of phenytoin. Ketamine was more effective than phenytoin in decreasing spike frequency, when administered on the plateau of LPSE (injection 60 min after onset of continuous ictal discharge electrographically). Anticonvulsant action of ketamine was confirmed by a less neuronal injury in hippocampus compared with control rats injected with phenytoin. CONCLUSIONS: In prolonged status epilepticus rat model, ketamine was effective as an antiepileptic, but phenytoin was not. Ketamine was also neuroprotective on the neuronal injury in the hippocampus. These results suggest that ketamine might be useful as an antiepileptic drug when standard antiepileptic drugs fail in the treatment of the refractory cases of status epilepticus.
Animals ; Anticonvulsants ; Electroencephalography ; Hippocampus ; Ketamine* ; Lithium Chloride ; Models, Animal* ; Neurons ; Neuroprotective Agents* ; Phenytoin ; Pilocarpine ; Rats* ; Seizures ; Status Epilepticus*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to understand and describe the illness experience of married Korean women with epilepsy. METHODS: Data were collected during 2015~2016 through individual in-depth interviews with 12 married women with epilepsy. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using Giorgi's phenomenological analysis to uncover the meaning of the illness experience of the participants. RESULTS: The study results showed that the illness experience of married Korean women with epilepsy was clustered into a specific description of situated structure and a general description of situated structure. Six themes from 20 meaning units were identified: 1) Undermined self-esteem with stigma of being epileptic; 2) Limited social interaction; 3) Suffering sorrow as a ‘disqualified being’; 4) Shuttling back and forth across the boundary between healthy and epileptic; 5) Desperate struggle to meet the expectation of given role; 6) Self-empowering through self-restriction and realization. CONCLUSION: The findings from this study show that both the enacted and felt stigma of epilepsy impact on the life of married Korean women with epilepsy. Although the participants face social and interpersonal restriction and prejudices, they try their best to fulfill their role rather than to be cared for as patients. As the stigma and hardships of the participants are related to lack of knowledge, health professionals should focus not just on clinical intervention but also on providing targeted educational programs and counseling for these women to dispel the stigma of the disease and to increase their quality of life.
Counseling ; Epilepsy* ; Female ; Health Occupations ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations ; Marriage ; Prejudice ; Qualitative Research ; Quality of Life

Crossed cerebellar diaschisis has been described mostly in hemispheric stroke and supratentorial tumors with positron-emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Rarely it has been described with brain diffusion-weighted MRI of status epilepticus. We report a patient with status epilepticus, who developed MRI abnormalities in the cerebral cortex and contralateral cerebellum. EEG abnormalities correlated anatomically with the cerebral cortex of image change. An aggressive medication resulted in seizure control, reversal of neurologic deficit, and improvement or resolution of the MRI and EEG abnormalities in 3 weeks. We concluded that both localization and resolution of lesions may be explained by reversible excitotoxic cell damage due to seizure-related excessive synaptic activity.
Brain ; Cerebellum ; Cerebral Cortex ; Electroencephalography ; Humans ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Seizures ; Status Epilepticus ; Stroke ; Supratentorial Neoplasms ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

BACKGROUND: Preserved responsiveness (PR) can be observed in complex partial seizures (CPS) of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). In order to investigate the seizure lateralization value of PR and the degree of PR to different types of commands, we analyzed the CPS of the patients with mesial TLE. METHODS: The interviews consisted of four categories including verbal (word memory, orientation, verbal command) and nonverbal (motor command) questions. We defined PR as showing more than one correct response during the ictal period. The language dominance was determined in all patients by the Wada test. RESULTS: Out of 132 patients, eight showed PR during seizures. Two patients had 6 seizures arising from the dominant hemisphere (DHS) and six patients had 15 seizures arising from the nondominant hemisphere (NDHS). The number of total questions in the DHS was 65 (word memory; 6, orientation; 18, motor command; 23, verbal command; 18) and in the NDHS was 104 (15, 27, 28, 34 each). The number of PR was 15 (23.1%) in the DHS whereas 70 (67.3%) in the NDHS, indicating that PR was more frequently seen in the NDHS (p<0.001). The DHS showed no PR to word memory, orientation and only one to verbal command during seizures, but the NDHS had 6 PR for word memory, 20 for orientation and another 20 for verbal command. The number of PR to motor command was 14 (60.9%) in the DHS and 24 (85.7%) in the NDHS (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The PR to word memory, orientation, and verbal command strongly suggests the NDHS. The PR to motor command was observed more frequently in the NDHS than in the DHS.
Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe* ; Humans ; Memory ; Seizures* ; Temporal Lobe*