ABSTRACT
This report describes a dog infected with Hepatozoon canis, the first canine infection in the Republic of Korea. A 2-year-old intact male Maltese dog presented with anorexia and depression. Physical examinations revealed mild dehydration and hyperthermia (39.8°C), and blood analysis showed pancytopenia. Diff-Quik staining of blood smear specimens showed the presence of ellipsoidal shaped structures (gamonts of H. canis) within a small number of neutrophils. Real-time PCR analysis using whole blood confirmed infection by H. canis. The clinical condition of the dog improved after symptomatic treatment and administration of doxycycline. Although a molecular epidemiologic survey in Korea showed H. canis infection of dogs, to our knowledge this is the first report of a dog infection in Korea molecularly shown to be H. canis.
Subject(s)
Animals , Child, Preschool , Dogs , Humans , Male , Anorexia , Dehydration , Depression , Doxycycline , Fever , Korea , Neutrophils , Pancytopenia , Physical Examination , Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction , Republic of KoreaABSTRACT
PURPOSE:This study was undertaken to announce our experience of the 1st Daegu- Gyeongbuk Multicenter Epilepsy Camp for children and their parents to improve the understanding of epilepsy. METHODS:We held the camp on February 25th to 26th, 2006 at Gyeongju. 33 families with epileptic childlend joined the camp. At the end of the camp, we performed a survey with 37 questionnaires to obtain data concerning the parents' understanding of epilepsy and the satisfaction with the camp. Data was analyzed with SPSS 10.0 program using frequency analysis. RESULTS:Parents knew about epilepsy but for some degrel still wanted to get more information about epilepsy. Parents were satisfied with the educational programs but not with the recreation programs. CONCLUSION:This study suggests that more social approaches such as an epilepsy camp is needed to provide the families with more information fot the understanding about epilepsy.
Subject(s)
Child , Humans , Epilepsy , Parents , Surveys and Questionnaires , RecreationABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Febrile seizures(FS) are the most common form of childhood seizures and their prognosis are favorable. Despite the fact, there are still some concerns that prolonged febrile seizures may cause brain damages or neurological sequelae, which may be associated with the development of mesial temporal sclerosis and intractable temporal lobe epilepsy in later life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes in children with febrile status epilepticus(FSE). METHODS: 39 children aged 6 months to 5 years were enrolled in this study, who presented with FSE at Kyungpook National University Hospital, from January, 2000 to December, 2004. They were compared with 250 children who presented with the first episodes of FS at the same period. We reviewed retrospectively the medical records for the clinical characteristics and outcomes of the two groups. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of age, etiology, degree and duration of fever, type of seizure, family history of FS or epilepsy, EEG and MRI findings, and recurrence rates of FS. Children with FSE were more likely to have neurological sequelae(12.5% vs. 2.4%; P=0.008), to develop afebrile seizures(21% vs. 4%; P=0.00) and to take anticonvulsants chronically(33% vs. 2%; P=0.00) than children with FS. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that prolonged febrile seizures are associated with unfavorable neurological outcomes compared with simple febrile seizures. However, long-term, and extensive follow-up studies are needed to find out the relationship between prolonged febrile seizures and subsequent mesial temporal sclerosis as well as intractable temporal lobe epilepsy.
Subject(s)
Child , Humans , Anticonvulsants , Brain , Electroencephalography , Epilepsy , Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe , Fever , Follow-Up Studies , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Medical Records , Prognosis , Recurrence , Retrospective Studies , Sclerosis , Seizures , Seizures, Febrile , Status EpilepticusABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The study was aimed to investigate immunogenetic peculiarities of neuroinflammatory CNS diseases in Korean children. METHODS: A total of 16 children with neuroinflammatory CNS diseases(9 males and 7 females; mean age 7.5+/-4.2 years) were consecutively recruited. Genomic typings were performed on their HLA DRB/HLA DQB genes using PCR-SSOP/SSP techniques with Gel immunoelectrophoresis. RESULTS: The frequencies of HLA-DRB1*14(38%), HLA-DRB1*15(25%), HLA-DRB3* 02(50%), HLA-DQB1*05(56%) and DQB1*06(44%) were significantly increased compared with a control group. The frequencies of HLA-DRB1*15(50%) and HLA-DQB1*06(63%) were significantly increased in children with ADEM and HLA-DRB3*0202(100%), HLA- DRB1*1302(67%), HLA-DRB3*0301(67%), and HLA-DQB1*0301(67%) in children with multiple sclerosis. HLA-DRB1*1401, HLA-DRB3*0202, and HLA-DQB1*0502 were found in children with acute necrotizing encephalopathy. CONCLUSION:HLA-DRB1*14, HLA-DRB1*15, HLA-DRB3*02, HLA-DQB1*05 and DQB1*06 may be associated with the susceptibility to neuroinflammatory CNS diseases in Korean children. The frequencies of HLA-DRB1*1501, HLA-DRB5*0101, HLA-DRB3* 0301, and HLA-DQB1*0602 in Korean children with multiple sclerosis were not as high as those in western children. However, HLA-DRB3*0202 was seen in all the children with multiple sclerosis. Our data may provide further evidence that the immunogenetic backgrounds of neuroinflammatory CNS diseases in Korean children are distinctly different from those in Westerns. However, further studies are needed.
Subject(s)
Child , Female , Humans , Male , Central Nervous System Diseases , Encephalomyelitis, Acute Disseminated , Immunoelectrophoresis , Immunogenetics , Molecular Typing , Multiple SclerosisABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Chronic administration of anticonvulsants for children with epilepsy may cause multiple abnormalities in bone metabolism. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of anticonvulsants on bone mineral density(BMD) in children with epilepsy. METHODS: Seventy patients with epilepsy were enrolled in this study. All subjects had taken anticonvulsants for at least 1 year or more. Subjects were classified into three groups according to age(5-7 yrs, 8-11 yrs, >12 yrs). BMD was measured by Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry(DXA) on the lumbar spine and whole body. Statistical analysis for BMD of anticonvulsants-treated subjects were compared to results with the published data. RESULTS: BMD was significantly decreased in the anticonvulsants-treated group as compared with the control group of all age groups(P0.05). CONCLUSION: Because chronic administration of anticonvulsants for growing children leads to a decrease in BMD, early detection and management of abnormal BMD is important in monitoring of children with epilepsy.
Subject(s)
Child , Male , Female , HumansABSTRACT
The work was done to study immunogenetic peculiarities of neuroinflammatory diseases among Korean children. A total of 13 children with neuroinflammatory diseases (8 males and 5 females; mean age 4.6+/-2.6 yr) were consecutively recruited. Genomic typing was performed on their HLA DRB/HLA DQB genes using PCR-SSOP/ SSP techniques with gel immunoelectrophoresis. The frequencies of HLA-DR1* 15 in children with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) (31%) and DQB1* 06 in other neuroinflammatory diseases (38%) were significantly increased compared with control subjects. The frequencies of HLA-DRB3*0202 (100%), HLA-DRB1*1302 (67%), HLA-DRB3*0301 (67%), and HLA-DQB1*0301 (67%) were significantly increased in children with multiple sclerosis and the frequencies of HLA-DRB1*1501 (40%) and HLA-DRB5*0101 (40%) were significantly increased in children with ADEM. HLA-DRB1*1401, HLA- DRB3*0202, and HLA-DQB1*0502 were found in children with acute necrotizing encephalopathy. In conclusion, HLA-DR1*15 and DQB1*06 may be involved in susceptibility to inflammation in Korean children. The frequencies of HLA-DRB1*1501, HLA-DRB5*0101, HLA-DRB3*0301, and HLADQB1* 0602 were not as high in Korean children with multiple sclerosis as in western children. However, HLA-DRB3*0202 was seen in all children with multiple sclerosis. Our data may provide further evidence that the immunogenetic background of neuroinflammatory diseases in Korean is distinctly different from the ones in western countries. Further studies are necessary to confirm this finding.
Subject(s)
Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Alleles , Electrophoresis , Encephalomyelitis/genetics , Genes, MHC Class II/genetics , Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Genotype , Inflammation/genetics , Multiple Sclerosis/genetics , Neurons/pathology , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Polymorphism, Single-Stranded ConformationalABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Minimal Change Disease(MCD) is the most common primary nephrotic syndrome in children. Some suggested that tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-alpha) are involved in the pathogenesis of MCD. This study was done to see the changes of plasma and urinary TNF-alpha, and their effects on the permeability of glomerular basement membrane. METHODS: Study patients consisted of 19 biopsy-proven MCD children aged 2-15 years old. Both plasma and urinary TNF-alpha were measured. Employing the Millicell system, TNF-alpha were screened for the permeability factors. RESULTS: Urinary TNF-alpha during relapse was significantly increased(P<0.01). No significant change was seen in the plasma TNF-alpha during relapse when compared to those in remission and the healthy controls. Furthermore, in the in vitro Millicell system, TNF-alpha did not produce a significant change in albumin permeability. CONCLUSION: Therefore, it seems that TNF-alpha may not play a disease-specific role in the pathogenesis of MCD.