Effects of Milk Consumption on Calcaneal Quantitative Ultrasound and Bone Turnover Markers of Women Living in Asan / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness of 16-month milk consumption as a part of the health promotion community program for women in Asan. Subjects included 313 women belonging to the milk group (mean age = 69.1, range 47~89 y) and 66 women to the control (mean age = 43.6, range 20~69 y) group. For those in the milk group, one cup (200ml) of partially lactose-digested low-fat milk was provided everyday for 16 months. Each subject was interviewed to assess calcium intake by a 24-h recall after fasting blood was obtained for analyzing bone turnover markers, and calcaneus broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) was measured by quantitative ultrasound (QUS) on the left heel before and after the milk supplementation. After 16 months, the calcium intake levels changed from 55% of recommended dietary allowance (RDA) to 85% RDA in the milk group and from 73% RDA to 84% RDA in the control group. BUA were reduced from 67.9+/-8.1 to 64.7+/-17.5 dB/MHz for milk and from 90.4+/-13.0 to 87.2+/-15.2 dB/MHz for control groups. Paired ttest showed the changes of BUA for both groups (-3.24 and -3.15 dB/MHz for milk and control groups, respectively) were significant, but the two groups did not show any differences in absolute changes. When post-BUA was analyzed after age, initial BUA and menopausal status were controlled as covariates in ANCOVA model, the milk group showed significantly (p < 0.05) smaller changes than the control group (-3.50 vs -6.71 dB/MHz, respectively). According to a multiple regression analysis, milk consumption and initial BUA showed significant interaction meaning that those with lower initial BUA showed higher milk effects. We conclude that one-cup a day milk consumption for 16 month can prevent further bone loss and significantly improve calcium intake.

Evaluation of Asan Helicobacter Test for Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori Infection / 대한임상미생물학회지

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori is the single most common pathogen that causes chronic bacterial infection in human. The authors designed a new type of urease detection method (Asan Helicobacter test) that can be used for rapid early detection of H. pylori as well as a transport medium. This medium has a strong acidity with a minimal concentration of urea for the purpose of the detection of H. pylori. The current study was to evaluate the bacteriological and clinical usefulness of this medium. METHOD: 252 antral biopsies from patients underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopies in Inha University Hospital were inserted Asan Helicobacter Test and CLO test. 37 antral biopsies from patients underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopies in Konyang University Hospital were inserted Asan Helicobacter Test. Biopsies were cultured on nonselective media only. RESULT: The sensitivity and specificity of the Asan Helicobacter test were comparable with the CLO test (88.0% and 94.0%, respectively), and the results agreed in 99.2% of 252 cases with the CLO test. With this transport medium, all 23 specimens that showed positive reaction among 37 patients yielded satisfactory isolation of H. pylori. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the reagent in the kit inhibit the growth of microbial contaminant due to low pH and do not suppresses growth of H. pylori due to low concentration of urea. This kit may be used as a transport medium as well as a rapid urease test for H. pylori.