BACKGROUND: Hypothyroidism may be involved in a significant portion of the causes of hypercholesterolemia in Korea. In this study, we determined the frequency of suspected hypothyroidism in hypercholesterolemic patients and compared the frequency of elevated thyrotropin levels among the groups with various total cholesterol levels. METHODS: The study subjects were healthy, asymptomatic people who visited Health Promotion Center of Seoul National University Hospital. We excluded subjects with history of hypertension, DM and hypothyroidism. The study subjects underwent physical examination and filled out a questionnaire on health risk factors. Also blood chemistry and thyroid function test were done. RESULTS: Among 6479 subjects, 194(2.99%) had elevated(>4.1 microIU/ml) thyrotropin levels. Among the hypercholesterolemic(> or=240mg/dl) patients(n=868), 40(4.60%) had elevated thyrotropin levels. And there was statistically significant difference between normal cholesterolemic and hypercholesterolemic subjects(P<0.05). Among the patients with total cholesterol above 280mg/dl (n=180), 15(8.33%) had elevated thyrotropin levels. As amount of the total cholesterol increased, the frequency of elevated thyrotropin levels Increased(P=0.001). And this result was consistent following adjustment for age, sex, BMI, smoking and drinking status(P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Practicing physicians should be aware of the possibility of secondary hypercholesterolemia due to hypothyroidism and keep in mind the importance of evaluating TSH level.
Chemistry ; Cholesterol* ; Drinking ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Hypertension ; Hypothyroidism ; Korea ; Physical Examination ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Thyroid Function Tests ; Thyrotropin* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The relationship between the intestinal histopathology and number and position of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) was observed chronologically in the small intestine of rats experimentally infected with Metagonimus yokogawai. Fifteen Sprague-Dawley rats were orally infected each with 3,000 metacecariae, and 3 were kept uninfected for controls. Three rats each were sacrificed on the day 5, 10, 15, 24 and 70 post-infection (PI) and samples of the small intestine, 5 cm, 10 cm, 20 cm and 70 cm posterior to the pylorus were taken. The samples were processed routinely and stained with Giemsa. The intestinal histopathology was severe during the day 5-15 PI and characterized by villous atrophy, crypt hyperplasia, and decrease of villus/crypt height ratio. After the day 24 PI, the intestinal lesions showed some tendency of recovery. The number of IEL increased at the early stage of infection, but decreased thereafter to a lower level than that of controls, with progression of the pathological changes. Then, the IEL number began to increase again after the day 24 PI. In control rats, the great majority of the IEL were located at the basal region of the epithelium. During the early stage of infection, however, a considerable proportion of IEL was found to have moved to the intermediate or apical region of the epithelium. From the above results, it is suggested that the change of IEL number and position during the course of M. yokogawai infection should be closely related to the progression and recovery of the intestinal histopathology.
English-Abstract ; Epithelium-pathology ; Rats- ; Rats,-Sprague-Dawley ; Time-Factors ; *Heterophyidae- ; *Intestinal-Diseases,-Parasitic-pathology ; *Intestines-pathology ; *Lymphocytes-pathology ; *Trematode-Infections-pathology

BACKGROUND: In order to improve the quality of life of dying patients so that they may die with dignity, they need to receive not only the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual care, but also systematic and continuous care. However, their is no adequate medical service at present. We studied terminal cancer patients'behavior patterns of health care utilization, the problems of caring for the patient, and medical services that bereaved families suggested for terminal cancer patients and their families. METHODS: From 271 patients'families who participated in our hospice program from March 1991 to February 1996, 108 bereaved families whom we able to had been contact were interviewed by three student nurses with a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: The terminal cancer patients received their medical care through admission to hospital(45.4%), outpatient clinic(22.2%), emergency room(16.7%), and oriental medicine(12.0%). But during their terminal phase of the illness, 32.4% of patients never received medical care including oriental medicine, and 28.7% received alternative medicine care such as intake of mushroom and elm tree. 26 bereaved families(24.1%) pointed out the indifference of the medical team as a problem receiving proper hospital care, and 22 bereaved families(20.4%) emphasized emotional strain of their helplessness with the patient's suffering as a problem of caring for the patient at home. Over 90% of bereaved families from their experience suggested needs of continuous care, hospice care, home care, and 24hr telephone service. CONCLUSIONS: There were inappropriate behavior patterns of health care utilization which resulted in large proportion of terminal cancer patients received alternative medicine never receiving proper medical care. Therefore, there is a need to develop the continuous and comprehensive care for terminal cancer patients and their family, such as hospice.)
Agaricales ; Complementary Therapies ; Delivery of Health Care* ; Emergencies ; Home Care Services ; Hospice Care ; Hospices ; Humans ; Medicine, East Asian Traditional ; Outpatients ; Quality of Life ; Telephone ; Ulmus ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: Surface finishing of a cemented femoral stem is a subject of controversy even though the contemporary cementing techniques have improved results. Using the Versys Heritage femoral stem, we evaluated the outcome of using a polished surface. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The subjects of this study were 95 hip arthroplasties in 82 patients and we used a cemented polished femoral stem with the 3rd generation cement technique and all the surgeries were done between October 2000 and August 2003. There were 58 male patients (64 hips) and 24 female patients (31 hips). The mean age at the time of the index arthroplasty was 52.3 years (26~74 years), and the average body mass index was 24.2+/-2.75 (19.1~29.8). The average follow up period was 80.7 months (64~109 months). All the hips were evaluated clinically by the Harris hip score and the thigh pain, and they were radiologically assessed by the cement grade and the presence of osteolysis around the femoral stem, as well as the presence of stress shielding of the proximal femur. RESULTS: At the final follow up, the Harris hip score for all the patients had improved from preoperative 58.9 (17-83) to post operative 91.7 (72~100). The cement grade was measured using Barrack's method. Of the 95 hips, 45 (47.3%) cases were grade A, 48 (50.5%) cases were grade B and 2 (2.1%) cases were grade C1 at the final follow up. There was 1 case of definite loosening. Stress shielding was noted in 65 (68.4%) cases of the zero grade and 19 (20.0%) cases of the 1st grade. CONCLUSION: In this study, the cemented polished femoral stem showed excellent results at the mid term with a minimum follow up of 5 years. But a longer-term follow-up study will be needed for further understanding the implications of cemented polished femoral stem.
Arthroplasty ; Body Mass Index ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hip ; Humans ; Male ; Osteolysis ; Thigh

Pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas(PAVFs) is a rare disorder that occurs in two to three children per 100,000 population. It is presented as absence of intervening capillary beds between the pulmonary artery and vein with resultant persistent right to left shunt. Other causes include trauma, liver cirrhosis, malignancy and schistosomiasis. It is mostly asymptomatic, but it may present with respiratory difficulty, cyanosis, clubbed fingers induced by right to left shunt or hemoptysis, polycythemia and epistaxis. Major complications, such as brain abscess, brain embolism, paradoxical embolism and subacute infective endocarditis can be devastating, so therapeutic intervention is recommended in all patients. However, removal of low-resistance fistulas can aggrevate pulmonary hypertension, so detection of increased pulmonary pressure is important. We report two patients:One a 42 year-old male with PAVFs treated with coil embolization, and a 42 year-old female who was treated with anticoagulants due to pulmonary hypertension.
Adult ; Anticoagulants ; Arteriovenous Fistula* ; Brain Abscess ; Capillaries ; Child ; Cyanosis ; Embolism, Paradoxical ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Endocarditis ; Epistaxis ; Female ; Fistula ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertension, Pulmonary* ; Intracranial Embolism ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Male ; Osteoarthropathy, Secondary Hypertrophic ; Polycythemia ; Pulmonary Artery ; Schistosomiasis ; Veins

BACKGROUND: Previously, a large epidemiological study has found that an increase in the serum triglyceride level is an independent risk factor of coronary artery disease and by treating it, the mortality due to coronary artery disease could be decreased. Our study is designed to analyze the serum triglyceride level in healthy adultg and to study various factors influencing the serum triglyceride level. METHODS: Study involved all patients who visited Seoul National University Hospital Health Promotion Center from May 1995 to Feb 1997. After a complete history and a physical examination, each participant answered a questionnaire involving sociodemographics, tobacco, alcohol, exercise, menstrual cycle and daily dietary contents. A blood chemistry was also drawn after 12 hours of fasting. We used analysis of covariance and multiple regression analysis to correlate triglyceride level with forementioned variables. RESULTS: Healthy 3,332 men and 2,986 women were statistically analyzed. The average triglyceride levels were 110.7mg/dl(geometric mean). Men at ,50's had the highest level of triglyceride. As women aged, their triglyceride increased. The proportion of participants in their 40's in men and 70's and over in women with triglyceride >200mg/d1, a value of clinical importance, was 19.0% and 18.4% respectively. The triglyceride level changed significantly according to BMI, exercise, physical fitness, alcohol, tobacco, blood pressure, uric acid and glucose. However, no statistically significant difference was found among diet thyroid function, income and region. For men, a multiple regression analysis revealed that the factors influencing triglyceride level, in decreasing order, were BMI, uric acid, tobacco, diastolic blood pressure, ALT and maximal oxygen uptake. However, for women, a similar analysis showed that BMI, systolic blood pressure, exericise, tobacco and age played a significant role(p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Serum triglyceride level was associated with correctable behavioral factors such as obesity, smoking, alcohol, exercise, and physical fitness. Among these factors obesity was the most related factor with triglyceride level.
Adult* ; Blood Pressure ; Chemistry ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Diet ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Exercise ; Fasting ; Female ; Glucose ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Male ; Menstrual Cycle ; Mortality ; Obesity ; Oxygen ; Physical Examination ; Physical Fitness ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Thyroid Gland ; Tobacco ; Triglycerides* ; Uric Acid ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Cysts of the spleen are uncommon disease entities and can be classified as either primary (true) or secondary (pseudo-) depending on the presence of a true epithelial lining. True nonparasitic cysts of spleen are very rare, and the majority of the cases are classified as epidermoid cysts. True splenic cysts were found in three children during the last eleven years (1989~1999) in Yeungnam University Hospital. Two of the children were girls and one was boy. The age at diagnosis ranged from 7 to 15 years. Abdominal ultrasonography was utilized to the initial diagnosis, and computerized tomography was done for the detailed studies. Radionuclide scanning was performed in a patient. Surgical resection (one partial splenectomy and two total splenectomies) was performed. The cysts were from 4cm to 9cm in maximum diameter. Pathologic finding was epidermoid cyst of the spleen.
Child ; Diagnosis ; Epidermal Cyst ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Spleen ; Splenectomy ; Ultrasonography

No abstract available.
Apraxias* ; Ataxia*

Unfortunately, the original version of this article contained an error in the nomenclature of a variant which was shown in an electropherogram in the Figure 1.

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter coil embolization has been described as a method of nonsurgical closure of variable pathologic vascular structures. This study was aimed to evaluate the outcome of transcatheter coil embolization in variable clinical conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS: We collected data from patients' medical record and their cardiac angiography films. From January 1995 to June 1997, coil embolization was attempted in 51 patients who were 38 patients with systemic-pulmonary collaterals (5 patients have venous collaterals, too), six patients with venous collaterals, nine patients with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), one patient with Blalok-Taussig shunt (BT shunt), one patient with coronary-right atrial fistula and one patient with coronary-right ventricular fistula. In 38 patients with systemic-pulmonary collaterals, 123 coils were inserted to 70 collaterals, therefore mean 1.79+/-0.77 coils were inserted to one collateral. The results were complete occlusions (74%), incomplete occlusions (21%), and partial occlusions (4%). In six patients with venous collaterals, the outcomes were complete occlusions (50%) and incomplete occlusions (50%). In a patient with BT shunt, hemolytic anemia occurred in 1st attempt and in 2nd attempt, shunt was incompletely occluded and one coil was carried away and embolized the peripheral pulmonary artery. In nine patients with PDA, ten cases of transcatheter coil embolization was executed. Mean minimum ductal diameter was 2.1+/-0.85 mm. The results were initial occlusion (30%), occlusion within one month (66%), and occlusion within one year (75%). Left pulmonary artery stenosis owing to coil insertion was not found. In one case of coil malposition, retrieval and reinsertion of coil was successful. In two patients who have coronary artery fistula, coil embolization was successfully executed without any complications. CONCLUSIONS: Transcatheter coil embolization executed in variable clinical conditions without significant complications. It was effective and safe nonsurgical method.
Anemia, Hemolytic ; Angiography ; Child* ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Vessels ; Ductus Arteriosus, Patent ; Embolization, Therapeutic* ; Fistula ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Pulmonary Artery