Establishment of Effective Mouse Model of Premature Ovarian Failure Considering Treatment Duration of Anticancer Drugs and Natural Recovery Time

OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed to establish the most effective premature ovarian failure (POF) mouse model using Cyclophosphamide (CTX), busulfan (Bu), and cisplatin considering treatment duration of anticancer drugs and natural recovery time. METHODS: POF was induced by intraperitoneally injecting CTX (120 mg/kg)/Bu (12 mg/kg) for 1 to 4 weeks or cisplatin (2 mg/kg) for 3 to 14 days to C57BL/6 female mice aged 6 to 8 weeks. Controls were injected with equal volume of saline for the same periods. Body weight was measured every week, and ovarian and uterine weights were measured after the last injection of anticancer drug. To assess ovarian function, POF-induced mice were superovulated with pregnant mare serum gonadotropin and human chorionic gonadotropin, and then mated with male. After 18 hours, zygotes were retrieved and cultured for 4 days. Finally, the mice were left untreated for a period of times after the final injection of anticancer drug, and the time for natural recovery of ovarian function was evaluated. RESULTS: After 2 weeks of CTX/Bu injection, ovarian and uterine weights, and ovarian function were decreased sharply. Cisplatin treatment for 10 days resulted in a significant decrease in ovarian and uterine weight, and ovarian function. When POF was induced for at least 2 weeks for CTX/Bu and for at least 10 days for cisplatin, ovarian function did not recover naturally for 2 weeks and 1 week, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that CTX/Bu should be treated for at least 2 weeks and cisplatin for at least 10 days to establish the most effective primary ovarian insufficiency mouse model.

Association of Prescribed Drug intoxication and Neuropsychiatric history

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between patients with a neuropsychiatric history and features of their suicide attempt, in order to analyze the risk associated with psychiatrist prescribed drugs. METHODS: We retrospectively investigated cases of intentional overdose drug ingestion in patients greater than 14 years of age who visited OO emergency medical center between January 1, 2008 and July 31, 2010. We evaluated patient medical records to ascertain their age, sex, neuropsychiatric history, and components of ingested intoxicant. Information regarding any suicide reattempt was obtained after discharge through follow up telephone survey. SPSS version 13.0 was used for statistical analysis. Fisher's exact test was performed with p<0.05 considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Ninety-six of 209 patients (46%) had a past history of psychological problems. Among those 96 patients with a history of psychological problems, 46(48%) used an overdose of the medicine prescribed by their psychologist in order to attempt suicide. However, for patients without a history of psychological problems, intoxication by neuropsychiatric drugs was insignificant. Neuropsychiatric patients required greater follow up care after discharge and exhibited significantly more suicide reattempts. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that patients sometimes use the medicine prescribed by their psychologist to attempt suicide. Therefore, an exhaustive plan to control the medicines prescribed to psychiatric patients should be established.

Food Diversity and Nutrient Intake of Elementary School Students in Daegu-Kyungbook Area / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study was intended to investigate the relation between nutrient status and food diversity of elementary school students in Daegu-Kyungpook area. The subjects were 164 elementary school students (82 boys, 82 girls) who participated in "Dietary Intake Survey of Infants, Children and Adolescents" conducted by Korea Food & Drug Administration and Korea Health Industry Development Institute. We analyzed the nutritional status for two non-consecutive days by 24 hour recall method. Adequacy of dietary intake was evaluated by the proportion of subjects consuming nutrients less than Estimated Average Requirements (EAR). Food diversity was compared by using Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) and Dietary Variety Score (DVS). Nutrients intake was significantly higher in boys than girls. Subjects who consumed all food groups showed higher intake of energy and other nutrients. Boys maintained better diet quality than girls, measured by Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) as well as Dietary Variety Score (DVS). Based on these results, nutrition education for elementary school students should focus on the importance of consuming all food groups with more attention for girls.

Relationships between Nutrient Intake Status and Sugar-containing Food Intake of Elementary School Students in Daegu-Kyungbook Area / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study was conducted to investigate the association of nutrients intake with sugar-containing food consumption of elementary school students in Daegu-Kyungpook area. We analyzed the dietary information from 164 elementary school students (82 boys, 82 girls) participated in "Dietary Intake Survey of Infants, Children and Adolescents" conducted by Korea Food & Drug Administration and Korea Health Industry Development Institute. Information on habitual dietary intake of sugar-containing foods was collected by food frequency questionnaires. Daily nutrients intake of each subject was calculated from 24-hour recall data for two non-consecutive days. As a result of average daily intake of major foods of elementary school students was analyzed from 1 to 50 ranking that show up higher ranking of white milk and white rice but include many kind of sugar-containing food. Dietary intake of energy, carbohydrate, Ca, P, Fe and riboflavin were significantly lower for girls with higher sugar-containing food frequency scores. Significantly negative associations between Index of Nutrition Quality (INQ) and sugar-containing food frequency scores were observed for calcium (r = -0.34) and iron (r = -0.32) among girls. Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR) was significantly lower for girls with higher sugar-containing food frequency scores (r = -0.26). Our results indicated that nutrition education for elementary school students should focus on the importance of reducing the sugar-containing food consumption with more attention for girls.

A Case of Tuberculous Myelitis Misdiagnosed as Lupus Myelitis / 대한류마티스학회지

In systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), besides immunosuppressive therapy, the immunological abnormalities such as impaired phagocytosis and deficiency of cell-mediated immunity contribute to the increased risk of infection. Most of all, the incidence of tuberculous infection is higher and the pattern tends to be more extensive and extrapulmonary than in general population. Therefore the contributory role of tuberculous infection in mortality of SLE should be emphasized, especially in areas endemic for Mycobacterium tuberculosis like Korea. When tuberculous infection involves central nervous system, it can mimic lupus myelitis, showing the clinical manifestations like paraplegia, sensory impairment and bladder dysfunction. Tuberculous myelitis should be differentiated with lupus myelitis as early as possible for proper treatment and better prognosis. We report a 52 year-old woman with SLE presented with paraplegia and urinary incontinence, who were initially suspected as lupus myelitis. But the AFB smear and culture of cerebrospinal fluid were compatible with tuberculosis myelitis.