Effects of Vojta Therapy on the Forced Vital Capacity and Forced Expiratory Volume at One Second in Young Male Smokers: A Single-Subject Design

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of Vojta therapy on the respiratory function in young male smokers.METHODS: Three subjects were tested using the ABA design for Single-subject Experimental Research Design. This study was conducted with the baseline, intervention, and follow-up phase. Intervention was conducted three to four times a week for 20 minutes per times and a total of 25 sessions. The respiratory function was measured using a Spirometer.RESULTS: The results of Forced Vital Capacity and Forced Expiratory Volume at one second for all subjects showed improvements in the intervention phase over the baseline phase. In the follow-up phase, the improved ability was still maintained or slightly reduced.CONCLUSION: Vojta therapy used on young male smokers was effective in both FVC and FEV1. In other words, the Vojta therapy worked effectively in improving the respiratory function. In future studies, it is necessary to have a control group and increase the number of trials in order to generalize the effect of Vojta therapy.

Comparison of Choroidal Thickness Change between Ranibizumab and Aflibercept in Age-related Macular Degeneration: Six Month Results

PURPOSE: To compare the changes in subfoveal choroidal thickness between intravitreal aflibercept and ranibizumab injection in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). METHODS: Fifty patients with wet AMD patients who were treated with aflibercpet or ranibizumab were evaluated retrospectively. All patients were treated with pro re nata after 3 consecutive monthly injections and were followed up for at least 6 months. We measured subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) using enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography before the first injection and 1, 2, 3, and 6 months after initial injection. RESULTS: The SFCT measures before initial injection and 1, 2, 3, and 6 months after initial injection were 244.94 ± 103.77 µm, 219.04 ± 95.89 µm, 208.74 ± 91.03 µm, 203.64 ± 91.35 µm, and 226.98 ± 96.79 µm in the aflibercept group (25 eyes) and 222.68 ± 102.04 µm, 210.23 ± 95.91 µm, 203.66 ± 99.39 µm, 197.27 ± 100.25 µm, and 210.32 ± 111.86 µm in the ranibizumab group (28 eyes). Mean change in SFCT was greater in the aflibercept group at 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months after initial injection (p 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in SFCT was greater after aflibercept injection than ranibizumab injection in 3 consecutive months. However, at 6 months after initial injection, the difference in the change in SFCT was not significant.

Choroidal Thickness Variation According to Refractive Error Measured by Spectral Domain-optical Coherence Tomography in Korean Children

PURPOSE: To assess choroidal thickness (CT) variation according to refractive errors using enhanced-depth imaging optical coherence tomography. METHODS: Eighty-nine eyes (in 89 children) <±6 diopter were categorized into three groups: hyperopia, emmetropia, and myopia, according to refractive error, and underwent choroidal scans using enhanced-depth imaging-optical coherence tomography. CT was measured at the fovea and at 1 mm and 3 mm nasal (N1 and N3), temporal (T1 and T3), superior (S1 and S3), and inferior (I1 and I3) from the fovea. RESULTS: Mean foveal CTs were 346.86 µm, 301.97 µm, and 267.46 µm in the hyperopia, emmetropia, and myopia groups, respectively (p < 0.05). CTs at N3 and T3 were 214.59 µm and 318.68 µm, 163.92 µm and 320.79 µm, and 153.93 µm and 295.61 µm in the hyperopia, emmetropia, and myopia groups, respectively (p < 0.05). All CTs in the hyperopia group were thicker than those of other groups (p < 0.05). Fovea was thickest and was significantly thicker than at N3 and I3 in hyperopia (p < 0.05). T3 thickness in the emmetropia and myopia groups was greater than thickness at other areas, particularly the nasal and inferior choroids (p < 0.05). CT was positively correlated with spherical equivalent (p = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS: In Korean children, CTs were greater in the hyperopia group than in the emmetropia and myopia groups. The temporal choroid was thicker than the nasal choroid, regardless of the refractive error. The thickest location in the hyperopia group was the fovea; however, the temporal choroid was thickest in the emmetropia and myopia groups.

Lamina Cribrosa Thickness in the Fellow Eyes of Patients with Unilateral Retinal Vein Occlusion

PURPOSE: To compare the lamina cribrosa thickness in fellow eyes of patients with unilateral retinal vein occlusion (RVO) with the normal control eyes and the type of RVO. METHODS: This study included 40 patients with unilateral RVO and 45 normal control subjects. We compared the lamina cribrosa thickness between the RVO eyes and the fellow eyes, the fellow eyes and the normal control eyes and the type of RVO eyes. We measured central lamina thickness using enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. RESULTS: In patients with unilateral RVO, central lamina cribrosa thickness was not significantly different between the RVO eyes (211.33 microm) and the fellow eyes (204.13 microm; p = 0.202). However, central lamina cribrosa thickness in the fellow eyes was significantly reduced compared with the normal control eyes (217.76 microm; p = 0.046). Central lamina cribrosa thickness in the fellow eyes according to the type of RVO was not statistically significantly different (p = 0.672). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the central lamina cribrosa thickness in the fellow eyes of patients with unilateral RVO was thinner than in normal patients. Therefore, the lamina cribrosa thickness may be associated with RVO as well as glaucoma.

Three Cases of Outer Retinal Tubulation in Bietti's Crystalline Dystrophy

PURPOSE: To report the prevalence and the characteristics of outer retinal tubulation (ORT) in Bietti's crystalline dystrophy in 6 eyes of 3 patients. CASE SUMMARY: Three patients with Bietti's crystalline dystrophy were examined using color fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence picture, spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), fluorescein angiography, electroretinogram and electrooculogram. ORT was detected in 3 of 3 (100%) Bietti's crystalline dystrophy patients. SD-OCT B-scan revealed hyperreflective material inside the hyporeflective internal space with hyperreflective border. ORT was observed under the fovea or outside the fovea and on the outer nuclear layer in the retina. ORTs were no greater than 70 x 140 microm in size when measured using SD-OCT B-scan image. CONCLUSIONS: ORT was observed frequently in patients with Bietti's crystalline dystrophy. These findings can potentially predict the extensive photoreceptor abnormalities in retinal pigment epithelial atrophy.

Oral health educational contents in primary, middle, and high school textbooks / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted in order to analyze oral health content and its importance in primary, middle, and high school textbooks. METHODS: A total of 1,176 textbooks was reviewed, and the items under investigation included: textbook division (national/authorized), titles; grade levels, semesters taught, inclusion of educational content for general and oral health, and the number of pages and rows containing the oral health information. The data were analyzed via paired t-tests, frequency analyses, and one-way ANOVAs. RESULTS: Oral health content was found in 12.1 percent of the primary school textbooks, 6.5% of the middle school texts, and 2.1% of the high school textbooks. The total average was 5.4%. Among the textbooks containing health (general and oral) content, the average number of pages (P<0.001) containing general and oral health information were 22.1 and 0.5, respectively. The average number of lines (P<0.001) for both types of health information were 475.1 and 6.2, respectively, in the primary school textbooks. Middle school textbooks included average numbers of health information-related pages (P<0.001) of 45.7 and 0.4 and average numbers of lines (P<0.001) of 1,086.9 and 5.3, respectively. The average number of pages (P<0.001) in the high school books containing general and oral health content were 83.0 and 0.9, respectively, and the average number of lines (P<0.001) were 2,128.6 and 10.7. Our research showed that, regarding the degree of reflecting oral health education objectives, high school textbooks gained 1.00 point (1 objective), middle school books obtained 0.67 point (5 objectives), and primary school books received 0.18 point (39 objectives; P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Oral health content in textbooks decreased as school level increased. The objectives of oral health education for primary school were not properly reflected in the textbooks because the objectives were relatively diverse, and the textbook treatment of the material was rather static.

Difference in Subfoveal Choroidal Thickness between Two Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Systems

PURPOSE: To determine the difference in subfoveal choroidal thickness between two spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) systems in normal eyes and eyes with retinal diseases. METHODS: Thirty-three normal eyes and 49 eyes with retinal disease (13 eyes with diabetic retinopathy, 28 eyes with epiretinal membrane and eight eyes with macular hole) were enrolled in the study. Subfoveal choroidal thicknesses were measured by 3 observers using the enhanced depth imaging technique of Heidelberg Spectralis(R) and the high-definition five-line raster scan of Cirrus HD-OCT(R) using calipers within the program. Differences between the measured values were analyzed with a paired t-test in PASW 18.0. RESULTS: The mean age of normal eyes was 67.31 years, while eyes with diabetic retinopathy, epiretinal membrane and macular hole were aged 56.08 years, 70.00 years and 68.50 years, respectively. The mean subfoveal choroidal thickness of normal eyes was 237.61 +/- 104.60 microm for Spectralis and 239.52 +/- 92.08 microm for Cirrus and showed no significant difference (p = 0.397). Eyes with diabetic retinopathy, epiretinal membrane, and macular hole measured 267.46 +/- 74.91 microm, 236.79 +/- 84.16 microm and 209.63 +/- 86.71 microm for Spectralis, respectively, and 266.69 +/- 73.76 microm, 226.75 +/- 77.30 microm and 206.75 +/- 78.69 microm for Cirrus. They also showed no statistical difference (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Subfoveal choroidal thickness measurements according to Heidelberg Spectralis(R) and Cirrus HD-OCT(R) in both normal eyes and eyes with retinal diseases showed no significant differences.

Outer Retinal Tubulation in Chronic Central Serous Chorioretinopathy

PURPOSE: To evaluate outer retinal tubulation (ORT) found in chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) using color fundus photography and spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). METHODS: ORT identified in patients with chronic CSC was examined using color fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence image, fluorescein angiography, indocyanin green angiography, and SD-OCT. The images were analyzed for morphological features, location, and size of ORT in the retinal layers. RESULTS: ORT was detected in 3 of 342 (0.88%) chronic CSC patients. Color fundus photography revealed circular or ovoid shape with hollow lumen and deep yellowish border mainly appearing at the affected retinal pigment epithelium layer in the macular area. SD-OCT B-scan revealed hyperreflective material observed inside the hyporeflective internal space with hyperreflective border. ORT had circular or ovoid shape on the SD-OCT C-scan. ORT was primarily located on the outer nuclear layer in the retina, emanating to the inner nuclear layer and was not greater than 170 x 170 microm in size when measured with SD-OCT B-scan image. CONCLUSIONS: ORT was identified in patients with chronic CSC which was observed using color fundus photography and circular or ovoid structure was observed using a SD-OCT C-scan.

The Posterior Choroidal Profiles Measured by Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography in Healthy Korean Children

PURPOSE: We assessed changes of the choroidal thickness in healthy Korean children using enhanced depth imaging (EDI) optical coherence tomography (OCT) and evaluated the association of choroidal thickness and axial length. METHODS: Seventy-nine eyes (79 children) within +/-1 diopter spherical equivalent underwent horizontal and vertical scan using EDI OCT. Two observers determined independently the choroidal thickness at 1 mm intervals from 3 mm nasal and 4 mm temporal to the fovea and 1 mm superior and inferior to the fovea using the manual caliper provided by the device software. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate variations of choroidal thickness at each location and to correlate choroidal thickness and axial length. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated. RESULTS: The subjects' mean age was 7.67 years. The mean axial length was 22.96 mm and mean subfoveal choroidal thickness was 296.13 microm. The thinnest choroidal thickness was 160.57 microm at 3 mm nasal to the fovea and the thickest was 319.49 microm at 4 mm temporal to the fovea. The choroidal thickness at 1 mm superior (294.70 microm) and inferior (287.11 microm) to the fovea showed no statistical significance compared with the subfoveal choroidal thickness. The mean choroidal thickness was thicker at 3 mm and 2 mm nasal to the fovea in eyes with shorter than the mean axial length (p < 0.05). For the assessment of intra-observer reproducibility, the ICC ranged from 0.995 to 0.998 (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The choroidal thickness increased from the nasal to the temporal direction at the posterior pole and eyes with shorter axial lengths tended to present thicker choroids at the nasal area in healthy Korean children.

Effects of Amount of Myopic Correction on Long-term Changes in Higher-order Wavefront Aberrations in ASA-PRK

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of the amount of myopic correction on long-term changes in higher-order wavefront aberrations (HOAs) in advanced surface ablation-photorefractive keratectomy (ASA-PRK). METHODS: The 193 eyes of 101 patients who underwent ASA-PRK were divided into two groups according to the amount of myopic correction by the median value (Group 1 -4.37D, 96 eyes, mean -5.77 +/- 1.00D). Wavefront aberrometry was performed to measure total HOA, coma, trefoil, and spherical aberration preoperatively and at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after ASA-PRK. Statistical analysis was performed to compare changes in all HOAs between the two groups. RESULTS: Each magnitude of total HOA, coma, and spherical aberration except trefoil significantly increased at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively in each group (p -4.37D). Increases in ASA-PRK-induced HOAs primarily originated from short-term changes in the postoperative one-month period and did not return to the preoperative level during the postoperative two-year period.

Esophageal acid clearance in patients with ineffective esophageal motility / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND: Failed or hypotensive peristalsis, two of the diagnostic criteria for NEMD, correlates with impaired anterograde propulsion and retrograde escape of esophageal contents. The aim of this study was to evaluate esophageal acid clearance (EAC) in patients with ineffective esophageal motility (IEM). METHODS: Of 252 patients performing esophageal manometry and ambulatory esophageal pH monitoring, 51 patients with normal motility and acid reflux and 40 patients with IEM and acid reflux were included. RESULTS: The amplitude of peristaltic waves in the proximal and distal esophagus and lower esophageal sphincter pressure was lower significantly in patients with IEM than those with normal motility. Percentage of time of pH<4 in total, upright, and supine period and number of reflux episodes was not different in both. Supine EAC was significantly increased in patients with IEM when compared to those with normal motility. Upright EAC was not different in both. CONCLUSION: We concluded supine EAC is increased in patients with IEM. Since IEM is frequently associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a more intensive therapy must be needed. We propose IEM can be as a specific entity of primary esophageal motility disorder, especially in patients with GERD.