Background: and PurposeThe prevalence of dementia is increasing in South Korea. Multidomain interventions may be useful for preventing dementia. Such programs need to be disseminated to elderly Koreans throughout the country. We have developed programs of the SoUth Korean study to PrEvent cognitive impaiRment and protect BRAIN health through lifestyle intervention in at-risk elderly people (SUPERBRAIN), which consists of a facility-based multidomain intervention (FMI) program and a home-based multidomain intervention (HMI) program suitable for elderly Koreans. We aim to determine the feasibility of the SUPERBRAIN programs before a large-scale randomized controlled trial. Methods: We will recruit 150 participants among those without dementia aged 60–79 years with at least 1 modifiable dementia risk factor. They will be randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to the FMI, HMI, and the waiting-list control arm. The 6-month multidomain intervention consists of management of metabolic and vascular risk factors, cognitive training and social activity, physical exercise, nutritional guidance, and motivational enhancement programs. The primary outcomes are adherence and retention rates and changes in the total scale index score of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status from baseline to the study end. The main secondary outcomes are disability, depressive symptoms, quality of life, vascular risk factors, physical performance, nutritional assessment, and motivation questionnaire. There will be an exploratory evaluation of neurotrophic, neurodegeneration, and neuroinflammation factors, microbiome, telomere length, electroencephalography, and neuroimaging measures. Conclusions The results obtained will provide information on the applicability of these multidomain intervention programs to at-risk elderly people.

Methods: In this study, 30 patients with DS with checked standing dynamic radiographs of the lumbar spine in Gwangmyeong Sungae Orthopedic Clinic were recruited. Standing lateral radiographs were evaluated in extension, 45° of flexion (mid-range) and 90° of flexion (terminal-range) of the lumbar spine. Instability was defined as sagittal translation greater than 3 mm from the extension position. Patients were divided into three groups: a control group, an MI group, and a terminal-range instability (TI) group. Radiographic outcome (stenosis grade) and clinical outcome were compared between the three groups. Results: The average sagittal translation of the lumbar spine was 5.2 mm in extension, 6.6 mm in mid-range, and 7.2 mm in endrange. MI was observed in eight patients (26.2%) and TI was seen in 12 patients (40%). Of eight patients with MI, three patients did not have instability at terminal-range (occult patients) and five patients had instability at terminal-range (typical patients). Body weight and body mass index (BMI) was significantly higher in the MI group as compared to the control group. BMI was positively correlated with slippage to mid-range. There was no significant difference in stenosis grade, Visual Analog Scale, and Oswestry Disability Index. In the TI group, there was no significant difference in radiographic clinical parameters as compared to the control group. Conclusions MI was demonstrated in 25% of DS patients. Mid-range motion was increased with BMI. Mid-range lateral radiography can reveal occult instability in patients with DS, particularly in obese patients.

Gradual mortality of look down fish (Selene vomer) was observed in a private aquarium in Seoul, showing abnormal swimming behavior and lethargy. A bacterial pathogen from kidney was cultured, identified, and confirmed as Vibrio harveyi using Vitek System 2 and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A predominant bacterial strain, SNUVh-LW2 was proved to be most closely related to isolates from China by phylogenetic analysis with minimum evolution method. Also, tetracycline was considered as the most sensitive antibiotic agent via antibiotic usceptibility test. The group of fish was treated according to the diagnostic result and no more mortality was observed.
China ; Genes, rRNA ; Kidney ; Lethargy ; Methods ; Mortality ; Seoul ; Swimming ; Tetracycline ; Vibrio*

PURPOSE: Patients with work related burns suffer from anxiety, depression, insomnia and suicide ideation etc. Psychiatric symptoms could be reduced by treatment. Almost all patients are referred to psychiatric intervention in our hospital. However, a number of patients show non-adherence. The aim of this study is to figure out the reason of non-adherence and psychiatric symptoms of work related burns patients. METHODS: 123 patients participated in this study. Startle, Physiological arousal, Anger, and Numbness (SPAN), Feeling Suicide, Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) were administered as screening tool. Questions about psychiatric intervention and reasons to refuse psychiatric intervention were asked. RESULTS: 32% patients were depressed, 34% patients had suicide ideation and 59% had PTSD after work related burns. However, 46% of burn patients had not been treated. Stigma of psychiatric intervention and concerns about dependency were major reasons for non-adherence. CONCLUSION: There are gap between necessity and reality of psychiatric intervention on work related burn patients.
Anger ; Anxiety ; Arousal ; Burns ; Dependency (Psychology) ; Depression ; Humans ; Hypesthesia ; Mass Screening ; Occupational Injuries ; Referral and Consultation ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic ; Suicide

Adult ; Animals ; Bone Regeneration ; Calcium Phosphates ; Female ; Fibrin ; Fibroins ; Foreign-Body Reaction ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Membranes ; Rats ; Silk ; Skull ; Tissue Engineering ; Transplants

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to develop a model of risk factors for depression in hospitalized burned patients. METHODS: Seventy-seven patients over 20 tears of age who were admitted to the Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital for burn injury, completed Structured Interview Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain and itching after 1 month from burn. A path analytic strategy was used to develop a model of risk factors for depression in burned patients. RESULTS: Two pathways to depression were developed. 1) From sleep disturbance and then to depression 2) from burn pain to PTSD and then to depression. It was revealed that sleep disturbance and PTSD had a direct effect on depression, pain had both direct and indirect effect on depression. CONCLUSION: Sleep disturbance and PTSD are associated with depression in burned patients. The identification of two developmental pathways suggests the importance of establishing preventive interventions for depression.
Burns ; Depression ; Heart ; Humans ; Pruritus ; Risk Factors ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

PURPOSE: Burn is an unusual medical situation with limited information open to common people. This study was designed to evaluate the communication gap and different understandings between doctor and patient about burn treatment and to improve quality of the treatment. METHODS: Cross-sectional studies were done with interview and questionnaire. 25 doctors and nurses of burn ward and 50 burn patients in Han-gang Sacred Heart Hospital Burn Center were participated. To understand the communication gap and different perception between doctors' and patients' on 1) burn sequela and recovery, 2) disease course and prognosis, 3) healing environment, cost, hospitalization, 4) nurse-physician collaboration, 5) psychiatric consultation, 6) extra incentive were analyzed. RESULTS: Patients tend to expectation positive answer about their prognosis from their physician but they have recognized chronic and negative prognosis of burn treatment. Patients want to know clear and detailed explanation about their test result or treatment methods. Physicians thought that it is important to consider patients' economic status and provide different treatment principle. Short duration of hospitalization is not related to the anxiety of rehabilitation. Patients thought that nurses could manage superficial or repeated treatment. It is more likely that physicians warn the disadvantages of psychiatric consultation than patients. Both groups thought that extra incentive or gratitude money is not helpful for the doctor patient relationship. CONCLUSION: Given the discrepant views of physicians and patients on the burn treatment, physician should be aware of the discrepancies and attempts to resolve any differences.
Anxiety ; Burn Units ; Burns ; Cooperative Behavior ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Heart ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Motivation ; Prognosis ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: Critically ill patients frequently require rapid measurements of serum potassium. Analyses of serum samples take some time, but the results of blood gas analyses are often available more promptly. This study aims to determine the correlation between potassium concentrations measured by blood gas analyzer and automated chemical analyzer with a view to identifying whether the plasma potassium level can be used as an alternative to the serum values in the clinical management of selected patients in the Emergency Department (ED). METHODS: This prospective study of patients who were deemed by their treating doctor to require a blood gas analysis and chemistry analysis compared the potassium concentrations obtained from plasma and serum taken simultaneously. Data were analyzed using a Pearson correlation and a linear regression. RESULTS: Four hundred ninety-six patients were entered into the study. The potassium concentrations measured using two blood gas analyzers and two automated chemical analyzers were relatively highly correlated (coefficient=0.871), with an average difference between two methods of 0.449 mmol/L. There was also a high level of agreement between the methods with the 95% limits of agreement being -0.2 to 1.2 mmol/L. CONCLUSION: Compared with data from other previous test, our data were unsatisfactory. However our trial makes it possible in our ED to obtain serum potassium level from the plasma level. In addition, hypokalemia obtained by blood gas analyzer should be made an exception in treating it.
Blood Gas Analysis ; Chemistry ; Critical Illness ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Hypokalemia ; Linear Models ; Plasma ; Potassium* ; Prospective Studies

The remarkable potential of embryonic stem (ES) cells is their ability to develop into many different cell types. ES cells make it possible to treat patients by transplanting specialized healthy cells derived from them to repair damaged and diseased cells or tissues, known as "stem cell therapy". However, the issue of immunocompatibility is one of considerable significance in ES cell transplantation. One approach to overcome transplant rejection of human ES (hES) cells is to derive hES cells from nuclear transfer of the patient's own cells. This concept is known as "therapeutic cloning". In this review, we describe the derivations of ES cells and cloned ES cells by somatic cell nuclear transfer, and their potential applications in transplantation medicine.
Animals ; Cell Culture Techniques/*methods ; Cloning, Organism/*methods ; Embryo/cytology ; Embryo Culture Techniques ; Humans ; Pluripotent Stem Cells/*cytology/immunology ; Stem Cell Transplantation/*methods

PURPOSE: Paraquat is widely used non-selective contact herbicide. In spite of efforts to improve the outcome in paraquat poisoning, the mortality rate still remains high. The purpose of this study is to assess the predictive factors of prognosis by investigating initial laboratory data on paraquat poisoning. METHODS: The author retrospectively analyzed the clinical features, laboratory data, and outcomes for 130 paraquatpoisoning patients treated from June 1997 to September 2003 at the emergency medical center of Chonnam National University Hospital. RESULTS: The results were as follows: 1) The mortalities were significantly older than the survivors (49.3 years vs 37.6 years, p<0.05). Among the total 130 cases, the survivors numbered 50, and the deceased numbered 80. The mean age of all 130 cases was 44.8+/-16.9 years. 2) The white blood cell count and the levels of serum AST and ALT in the deceased were significantly higher than they were in the survivors. The levels of arterial pH, PaCO 2, base excess, HCO3 -, and serum potassium in the survivors were significantly higher than they were in the deceased. 3) A multivariate Cox-Regression analysis revealed that sex, serum potassium, and arterial HCO3 - were associated with the mortality rate. CONCILUSION: The above data reveal that the ingested amount, the result of the urine sodium dithionite test, and the initial state of laboratory parameters, including the white blood cell count, ABGA (pH, PaCO2, HCO3 -, base excess), serum potassium, AST, and ALT, can be used to predict the outcome of paraquat poisoning.
Dithionite ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Jeollanam-do ; Leukocyte Count ; Mortality ; Paraquat* ; Poisoning* ; Potassium ; Prognosis* ; Retrospective Studies ; Survivors