Improvement Characteristics of Bio-active Materials Coated Fabric on Rat Muscular Mitochondria

This study surveys the improvement characteristics in old-aged muscular mitochondria by bio-active materials coated fabric (BMCF). To observe the effects, the fabric (10 and 30%) was worn to old-aged rat then the oxygen consumption efficiency and copy numbers of mitochondria, and mRNA expression of apoptosis- and mitophagy-related genes were verified. By wearing the BMCF, the oxidative respiration significantly increased when using the 30% materials coated fabric. The mitochondrial DNA copy number significantly decreased and subsequently recovered in a dose-dependent manner. The respiratory control ratio to mitochondrial DNA copy number showed a dose-dependent increment. As times passed, Bax, caspase 9, PGC-1alpha and beta-actin increased, and Bcl-2 decreased in a dose-dependent manner. However, the BMCF can be seen to have had no effect on Fas receptor. PINK1 expression did not change considerably and was inclined to decrease in control group, but the expression was down-regulated then subsequently increased with the use of the BMCF in a dose-dependent manner. Caspase 3 increased and subsequently decreased in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that the BMCF invigorates mitophagy and improves mitochondrial oxidative respiration in skeletal muscle, and in early stage of apoptosis induced by the BMCF is not related to extrinsic death-receptor mediated but mitochondria-mediated signaling pathway.

Effect of Combination Pretreatment of Polyethylene Glycol Solution and Magnesium Hydroxide for Colonoscopy / 대한소화기학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study was designed to compare the efficacy and patient tolerance between standard bowel preparation using 4 liters of polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution and 4 liters of PEG preceded by the osmotic laxative, magnesium hydroxide in constipation and non-constipation group. METHODS: 173 outpatient colonoscopy, except for three patients who were not taking magnesium, were divided into constipation and non-constipation group. Then, the patients were randomly assigned to receive 4-liter of PEG solution or 4-liter of PEG plus magnesium hydroxide. The quality of bowel preparation was assessed using Ottawa scale, and satisfaction score was assessed using questionnaires. Solid stool, cecal intubation time, compliance, and side effects were assessed. RESULTS: Non-constipation group showed no significant differences between two groups. In constipation group, 4-liter PEG solution plus magnesium hydroxide induced the more effective colonic preparation (Ottawa scale 2.47+/-0.99 vs. 5.92+/-2.39, p<0.05), and less solid stool (0.67+/-0.72 vs. 1.38+/-0.65, p<0.05) compared with 4-liter PEG solution. CONCLUSIONS: Bowel preparation with magnesium hydroxide and 4 liters of PEG solution might reduce solid stool in constipation group, but could not improve preparation quality.

Clinical Features and Treatment Pattern of Migrainous Vertigo in Korea: A Nationwide Prospective Multicenter Study / 대한평형의학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES It is being increasing recognized that the morbidities of migraine and balance disorders are interrelated. In fact, migrainous vertigo (MV) is one of frequent causes of recurrent vertigo in patients presenting to specialized dizziness clinics. Nevertheless, not many studies have reported clinical manifestations and treatment. Therefore, the aim of study was designed to assess clinical features and treatment patterns by a nationwide multicenter study. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients between 9 and 74 years of age who visited 17 Korean tertiary referral centers and 1 clinic from February to March 2009 were investigated using two forms of questionnaires. RESULTS Overall, 318 patients with MV were enrolled. MV was responsible for ~8.45% of visits to the specialized dizziness clinics. One hundred seventy-five of these patients had definite MV and were included in assessing the clinical features. Vertigo characteristics of patients with definite MV were various. Vertigo was regularly as sociated with headache in 87% of the patients. The duration of vertigo ranged from seconds to days. For the treatment patterns, an acute and prophylactic therapies were carried in most clinics. There were no differences in either acute or prophylactic therapies between department of neurology and otorhinolaryngology. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that MV the clinical features of MV also varies in Korea. In addition, most clinics provide similar patterns of practice in treatment for MV. The syndrome of MV deserves further research activity as it is relatively common and clinically relevant.

A Gigantic Gastric Mucosal Rupture When Performing Endoscopy under Conscious Sedation in a Patient with Hiatal Hernia / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Mallory-Weiss syndrome is a tear in the gastro-esophageal junction or its adjacent mucosa, and this occurs due to nausea or vomiting that is caused by various etiologic factors. It may occur in patients with excessive retching and struggling when undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, and its underlying factors are esophageal hiatal hernia, atrophic gastritis and old age. There are currently only rare reports about gigantic gastric mucosal rupture during performance of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in patients with esophageal hiatal hernia. We recently experienced a 76-year-old woman who developed a gigantic gastric mucosal rupture that ranged from the gastro-esophageal junction to the gastric angle. This occurred during performance of standard upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with the patient under sedation and the patient had a concurrent esophageal hiatal hernia. The patient was treated conservatively for the rupture. Herein we report on our case along with a review of the relevant literature.

A Case of Synchronous Triple Early Gastric Cancer / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Multiple gastric cancers have several clinicopathologic characteristics that are different from those of solitary cancer and the incidence of multiple gastric cancers has recently been on the increase due to the development of diagnostic endoscopy, chromoscopy, and radiological examination. It is important to determine the proper surgical area after evaluating the synchronous multiple gastric cancer by performing closed endoscopy and radiological evaluation prior to surgery. Generally, elderly men have a relatively high incidence of multiple gastric cancers and the well differentiated type is most common. There have been reports on the diagnoses of multiple gastric cancers of elderly men and the well differentiated type, but there are no prior reports concerned with multiple gastric cancers of younger patients and the different pathologic differentiation. We experienced a case of synchronous multiple early gastric cancer of a younger man and this showed different pathologic differentiation.

Changes in the Gastrointestinal Motility following Unilateral Labyrinthectomy / 대한평형의학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The temporal changes and the role of glutamate receptors in the recovery of vestibulogastrointestinal symptoms following unilateral labyrinthectomy (UL) were investigated in this study. Vestibulogastrointestinal symptoms were evaluated in terms of gastric emptying and intestinal transit. MATERIALS AND METHODS Expression of the c-Fos protein was observed in the solitary tract nucleus (STN) and rostral ventrolateral medullary nucleus (RVLM). These were measured at 0.5, 2, 6 and 24 h following UL in rats. RESULTS Gastric emptying and intestinal transit were significantly decreased for 6 h post UL and recovered to control levels within 24 h. Pretreatment of UL animals with MK-801 significantly increased the gastric emptying and intestinal transit. Bilateral labyrinthectomy significantly decreased the gastric emptying and intestinal transit compared to the intact labyrinthine animals but significantly increased when compared to UL animals. The expression of c-Fos protein was significantly increased in STN and RVLM compared to the control animals for 6 h post UL and recovered to control levels within 24 h. The expression was significantly decreased in animals that were pretreated with MK-801. CONCLUSION These results suggest that UL decreases the gastrointestinal motility, which recovers to control levels within 24 h post UL. Glutamate plays an important role in the recovery of vestibulogastrointestinal symptoms following UL.

A case of acute suppurative thyroiditis with thyrotoxicosis / 대한내과학회지

Acute suppurative thryroiditis is a rare disease because the thyroid gland is resistant to infection. Thyroid function tests are usually normal in acute suppurative thryroiditis. We care for a patient with acute suppurative thryroiditis and associated thyrotoxicosis. A 73-year-old diabetic woman presented with pain over the thyroid gland and an elevated serum thyroid hormone level and decreased radioiodine uptake, as occurs in subacute thyroiditis. A neck computed tomography showed an abscess in the right lobe of the thyroid gland. A neutrophilic infiltration was shown in a fine needle aspiration biopsy, and Gram negative Burkholderia gladioli grew from the aspirate culture. Antibiotic treatment ameliorated the symptoms of infection, followed by normalization of thyroid function.

Sex-related Clinicopathologic Differences in Patients with Adenocarcinoma of the Lung / 결핵및호흡기질환

BACKGROUND: The incidence of adenocarcinoma of the lung has been increasing worldwide, and it has been generally been accepted to be relatively unrelated to smoking with a female preponderance. The aim of this study was to examine the gender-related pathological and survival differences in patients with an adenocarcinoma of the lung. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A retrospective review of the clinical information of patients diagnosed with an adenocarcinoma of the lung at Kosin Medical Center from January 1999 to September 2005 was performed. The patient's demographics (age, gender), smoking history, stage, serum tumor marker, pathology classification, EGFR mutation, K-ras mutation, treatment methods, and survival time were analyzed. RESULT: Of the 438 patients, 179 (40.9%) were female. The median age at the diagnosis was 58 years for females and 59 years for males. However, 25.8% of women and only 17.7% of men were under 50 years of age (p=0.02). The distribution of the disease stage was similar in both men and women. The bronchioloalveolar carcinoma component was diagnosed more often in women (11.2%) than in men (5.0%). The overall survival rate was higher in women than in men (p=0.01), and women had a superior therapeutic response to a combined treatment of surgery and chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: This study showed significant genders differences in terms of the smoking history, bronchioloalveolar carcinoma component, overall survival, and survival after combined treatment of surgery and chemotherapy. Therefore, gender differences should be considered when diagnosing and treating adenocarcinomas of the lung.

A Case of Esophago-mediatinal Fistula Due to Esophageal Tuberculosis / 결핵및호흡기질환

The esophagus is a rate site for rarely involved site of tuberculosis. The most common cause of esophageal tuberculosis is secondary involvement from adjacent tuberculous lymphadenitis. Esophago-nodal or esophagobronchial fistulas may be formed when tuberculous lymph nodes erode the adjacent esophageal or bronchial wall. We report a patient diagnosed with esophageal tuberculosis, which was complicated by an esophago-mediastinal fistula, by endoscopy, sputum acid fast bacilli (AFB) stain, chest computed tomography (CT), and an esophagogram. The patient was treated with antituberculous agents and chest CT and endoscopy showed that the fistula had closed completely.

A Case of Urinary Calculus in Transplanted Kidney Treated with Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy / 대한이식학회지

Urinary calculi are a rare clinical problem in kidney transplantation; the reported incidence is about 0.2% to 1.7%. The incidence is decreasing due to the use of absorbable suture stitches and the early treatment of hyperparathyroidism. Symptoms of renal transplant lithiasis are absent typical abdominal pain due to the denervated renal transplant. We experienced a case of obstructive uropathy due to urinary calculus in transplanted kidney. The stone was 9.8 mm sized and removed by ESWL. No further calculi have developed during observational period and renal function improved.

Bronchoscopic Electrocautery with Electroprobe and Diathermic Snare in Patients with Malignant Airway Obstruction / 결핵및호흡기질환

BACKGROUND: Endobronchial tumors cause?life-threatening dyspnea and can lower the quality of life due to central airway obstruction.?In those cases with an intraluminal tumor, various bronchoscopic techniques are available for tumor debulking. The therapeutic effect of bronchoscopic electrocautery for palliation in patients with a symptomatic tumor obstruction was studied. METHOD: Nineteen patients with bronchogenic carcinomas (n=15) and metastatic tumors affecting the bronchi (n=4), between March 2002 and March 2005, were enrolled in this study. Electrocautery was performed under local anesthesia using an electroprobe and diathermic snare. Using flexible bronchoscopy, a follow-up bronchoscopic examination was performed 3-4 days later. Symptom improvement was evaluated by FEV1, FVC and dyspnea score (Modified Borg Category Scale (0~10)), both before and after the electrocautery. RESULTS: The success rate of electrocautery on the follow up examination was 84%. Patients with endoluminal airway lesions had a mean overall decrease in the size of the obstruction to 47.8+/-15.7%. The mean Improvement in the dyspnea score immediately after the endobronchial tumor debulking was 2.78+/-1.42.The average improvements in the FEV1 and FVC after electrocautery were 0.32+/-0.19L and 0.5+/-0.22L, respectively. There were 2 cases of complications related with electrocautery (one each of pneumothorax and pneumonia). CONCLUSION: Electrocautery using an electroprobe and diathermic snare was an effective and safe palliative treatment for a symptomatic endoluminal airway obstruction in lung cancer.

Spatio-temporal Changes on c-Fos Protein Expression in the Brain Stem Nuclei following Arsanilate-induced Unilateral Labyrinthectomy in Rats

Spatio-temporal changes on c-Fos protein expression were investigated in vestibular compensation following unilateral labyrinthectomy (UL) induced by injection of arsanilate into the middle ear cavity, chemical labyrinthectomy, or surgical labyrinthectomy in medial vestibular nuclei (MVN), prepositus hypoglossal nuclei (PrH), and inferior olivary nuclei (ION) of Sprague-Dawley rats. Number of spontaneous nystagmus in surgical labyrinthectomy group was 28.2+/-.2 beats/10 sec at post-op 2 hs and the nystagmus disappeared 76 hs after UL. In chemical labyrinthectomy group, spontaneous nystagmus occurred 6 hs after UL and increased up to maximum at 12 hs and disappeared 96 hs. Head deviation in surgical labyrinthectomy group reached a peak at post-op 2 hs and recovered to control level at 144 hs, but chemical labyrinthectomy produced head deviation 24 hs after UL and increased degree of the deviation over time till 144 hs. Expression of c-Fos protein in surgical labyrinthectomy group at post-op 2 hs was 81+/-9.4 cells in ipsilateral MVN to the lesion side and 212+/-0 cells in contralateral MVN, which showed severe asymmetry between bilateral MVN, and decrease of c-Fos protein expression was more in contralateral MVN than in ipsilateral MVN at 6 hs. Chemical labyrinthectomy expressed more c-Fos protein in contralateral MVN 6 hs after UL and in ipsilateral MVN 12 hs after UL, which showed asymmetry of c-Fos protein expression between bilateral MVN. And the expression in ipsilateral MVN of chemical labyrinthectomy group was increased gradually 48 hs after UL and reached a peak at 72 hs. In chemical labyrinthectomy group, expression of c-Fos protein in PrH was increased more in ipsilateral than in contralateral 6 hs after UL and more in contralateral 12 hs after UL, and ION showed more expression of c-Fos protein in contralateral than in ipsilateral 6 hs after UL through 72 hs. These results suggest that the course of vestibular compensation and the temporal expression of c-Fos protein in the brain stem nuclei following UL differed between surgical and chemical labyrinthectomy.

Effect of Ginkgo biloba on Expression of c-Fos Protein in the Vestibular Nuclear Complex following Unilateral Labyrinthectomy in Rats

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The neuroprotective effect of Ginkgo biloba has been demonstrated in several in vivo and in vitro models. The effect of Ginkgo biloba on vestibular compensation following unilateral labyrinthectomy (UL) was investigated. Material and Methods: Spontaneous nystagmus and c-Fos protein expression were measured following UL in Sprague-Dawley rats with pretreatment of Ginkgo biloba (50 mg/kg, i.p.). RESULTS: After pretreatment with Ginkgo biloba (50 mg/kg, i.p.) expression of c-Fos protein in the vestibular nuclear complex and frequency of spontaneous nystagmus were measured till 24 hours after UL. UL produced spontaneous nystagmus with frequency of 124+/-.2 beats/min at post-op 2 hrs and 70+/-.1 beats/min at post-op 24 hrs. Pretreatment with Ginkgo biloba significantly decreased the frequency of spontaneous nystagmus till post-op 24 hrs compared to control group (p<0.05). UL produced marked expression of c-Fos protein in bilateral medial vestibular nucleus, inferior vestibular nucleus, and superior vestibular nucleus, and the number of expression was significantly higher in contralateral vestibular nuclei to the lesion than ipsilateral vestibular nuclei at post-op 2 hrs (p<0.01). The number of c-Fos protein expression was decreased with time and significantly higher in ipsilateral vestibular nuclei than contralateral ones at post-op 24 hrs (p<0.01). Pretreatment with Ginkgo biloba significantly decreased the number of c-Fos protein expression following UL (p<0.01) and abolished the asymmetry of c-Fos protein expression in bilateral vestibular nuclei at post-op 24 hrs. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that Ginkgo biloba may facilitate vestibular compensation following UL through modulation of neurotransmitters and neuroprotective effects.

Histopathologic Study of Allergic Rhinitis Treated with Contact ND: YAG Laser Surgery / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND: Many kinds of method have been tried for the management of allergic rhinitis. However, there is no completely satisfactory modality of treatment. Recent studys are reporting that laser vaporization on the inferior turbinate for the treatment of allergic rhinitis may be a valuable surgical method with safety, less morbidity and good efficasy. But, long term effects are unkown as yet. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to observe histopathologic changes of nasal mucosal membrane about 2 years after laser surgery and to investigate relationships between improvement in subjective symptoms, frequency of surgery, and histopathologic findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The inferior turbinates of 24 patients with perennial allergic rhinitis were vaporized by Contact ND: YAG laser. About 2 years after surgery, specimens obtained from the inferior turbinate were examined under the light microscopy. RESULTS: 1. Common findings of histopathologic change in all cases: 1) Fibrous proliferation and scar formation in the superficial layer of the submucosa. 2) Decreased number and atrophy of goblet cells, glands and vessels. 3) Complete regeneration of ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium. 2. Generally, grade of fibrosis in the submucosal superficial layer tend to increase as the frequency of surgery increase. but there is no relation, statistically. The higher grade of fibrosis do not induce the better subjective improvement. 3. Significant subjective improvement(Good and excellent results) was 75%. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that allergic symptoms may be inhibited by fibrous scar formation of the submucosal superficial layer and by decreased number and atrophy of overproliferation of cells leading to allergic reaction. In addition laser surgery may be a safe and effective method with good regeneration of ciliated epithelium and high rate of improvement for treatment of allergic rhinitis. However, further study is necessary to proper explanation for result that grade of fibrosis have not a relation with subjective improvement and for long term effect of the laser surgery.

A Case of Intraepithelial Epithelioma(Bowen's Disease) of the Cornea and Conjunctiva

The authors have recently treated a case of intraepithelial epithelioma(Bowen's disease) of the cornea and conjunctiva. This 66 year old male had a gray whitish elevated smooth mass on the lateral area of the corneal limbus and bulbar conjunctiva. Simple surgical excision was indicated since the lesion is benign but it recurred in 10 months. The recurrent lesion was excised again surgically. The histopathological features of previous specimen showed simple proliferation of one of the normal conjunctival and corneal epithelial cells in the epithelial layer, rather then an alteration in the chracter of the cells as the case in other malignant neoplasm. The second excised specimen showed marked proliferated epitheloid cells, keratosis, and chronic inflammatory cell infiltration but the lesion was limited to the epithelial layer without any evidence of invasion into the stroma.