Variations in gait features in elderly adults during walking considering their balance

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of balance on the spatiotemporal features, lower-limb kinematics, and center of mass (COM) of the non-faller elderly during walking. In this study, 20 healthy elderly women (age, 76.2 ± 5.6 years; height, 150.1 ± 3.2 cm; weight, 55.8 ± 9.0 kg) were enrolled. Based on the Berg balance scale (BBS), the elderly were classified into two groups: poor balance (PB; BBS scores 0.05). The ROM of the mediolateral COM was greater in PB than in GB. Hip transversal movements in the two groups were different. The impairment of the lateral balance function might contribute to an increase in the incidence of fall events in the elderly with poor balance.

A Case of Facial Palsy Following Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology of Parotid Lymphangioma / 대한이비인후과학회지

Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is a highly accurate and safe procedure for the evaluation of salivary gland lesions. Although complications are extremely rare, salivary gland FNA may cause hemorrhage, facial nerve injury, or cellulitis at the entry point. The risk of these complications increases in tumors of high vascularity. We report a case of unexpected facial nerve palsy following a fine needle aspiration in a patient with lymphangioma. The patient received a total parotidectomy with preservation of the facial nerve function, and recovered without developing complications after the surgery.

3-Dimensional Micro-Computed Tomography Study on Bone Regeneration with Silk Fibroin, rh-Bone Morphogenetic Protein Loaded-Silk Fibroin and Tricalcium Phosphate Coated-Silk Fibroin in Rat Calvaria Defect

The Correlation between Butanol Threshold Test (BTT) and Cross Cultural Smell Identification Test (CC-SIT) According to Causes of Olfactory Disorders / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Olfaction is a critical function of our body that allows one to avoid potential dangers in daily living. Although there are numerous subjective and objective tests evaluating the olfactory function, there exist no studies assessing correlations among such tests for various causes of olfactory dysfunction, especially in Korea. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: We collected the olfactory functional test results of 473 subjects who visited our outpatient clinic. We categorized these patients into 5 groups: head trauma, post-upper respiratory infection, chronic sinonasal disease, toxic exposure, and idiopathic. All patients were examined using the Butanol Threshold Test (BTT) and Cross Cultural Smell Identification Test (CC-SIT). The patients' subjective symptoms were recorded using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). RESULTS: The three tests showed significant correlations in different pairs (CC-SIT and BTT; r=0.512, p<0.001, BTT and VAS; r=0.558, p<0.001 and VAS & CC-SIT; r=0.567, p<0.001). Correlation results were lower in patients with olfactory disorders caused by an upper respiratory infection and head trauma than in those with olfactory disorders caused by sinonasal diseases. CONCLUSION: The results from all three tests showed significant correlations with one another. CC-SIT and VAS score seem to represent the olfactory loss caused by sensorineural dysfunction better than BTT.

Tinnitus in the Patients with Cochlear Implantation: Preliminary Report / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: With the wide use of cochlear implants, there have been many published studies which report that cochlear implants have a suppressive effect on tinnitus in profoundly deaf patients. The aim of this study was to understand the clinical and audiologic characteristics of the tinnitus in patients with cochlear implantation and to observe changes of their tinnitus after cochlear implantation. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: A total 23 patients who had undergone cochlear implants in our hospital from August 2003 to December 2006, were included in this study. The patients were divided into tinnitus (n=11) and non-tinnitus groups (n=12) according to the presence of tinnitus at the time of surgery. We compared clinical and audiologic features between the two groups. We also studied changes in tinnitus after surgery in the tinnitus group using validated self-report measures [tinnitus handicap inventory (THI), tinnitus handicap score (THS), and visual analogue scale]. RESULTS: There were significant differences between the two groups with respect to the age of cochlear implant recipients, whether or not the subjects had impaired hearing or were wearing hearing aids. Tinnitus was rarely observed in patients under 20 years of age with cochlear implantation (11.1%) in contrast to the higher rates in the patients of 20 years old and over (71.4%). Marked reduction of THI, THS and visual analogue scale of tinnitus were observed in all patients. CONCLUSION: For the adult patients who had undergone cochlear implant surgery and had tinnitus preoperatively, cochlear implants had shown suppressive effect on their tinnitus. Considering the significant prevalence of tinnitus in profoundly deaf patients, tinnitus of these patients should not be overlooked and further studies should be made to define relationship between cochlear implant and tinnitus.

An Anthropometric Study in Korean Humerus / 체질인류학회지

There were few studies about anatomic characteristics in Korean humerus recently. In addition, there was no comparison between Westerner (European and American) and Korean in anatomic characteristics of humerus. The aims of this paper are therefore to investigate anatomic characteristics in Korean humerus and to compare them with those of Westerner humerus. The seventy-two humerus (male : 66, female : 6) were scanned by computed tomography and three dimensional (3D) models of humerus were then reconstructed from acquired cross-section images. The twenty-one anatomic characteristics of the humerus were analyzed and were measured for each humerus. From the results, humeral head vertical diameter in the present study was generally bigger than that in the previous study (p0.05). Humeral head inclination angle, greater tuberosity lateral offset distance, humeral head height in Korean were generally bigger than those in Westerner (p<0.05). This study may contribute to develop an optimal implants and prostheses for the treatment of humerus fractures of Koran.

Effect of Whole Body Vibration on Trabecular Bone in OVX Rats / 체질인류학회지

Previous studies showed that whole body vibration could prevent bone resorption and stimulate new bone formation. The aim of this study is to detect and track effect of whole body vibration for osteoporotic bone of OVX rats. 12 Female rats were used and allocated into 5 group, CON, SHAM, WBV 17, WBV 30 and WBV 45. Rats except SHAM group were ovariectomised to induce osteoporosis. Rats in WBV groups were stimulated whole body vibration at magnitude of 1 mm(peak-peak) and frequency 17 Hz, 30 Hz and 45 Hz, repectively, for 8 weeks (20 min, 5 days/week). The 4th lumbar in rats were scanned at a resolution of 35 micrometer at baseline, before stimulation, and 8 weeks by In-vivo Micro-CT. To detect and track changes of morphological characteristics in lumbar trabecuar bone of rats, structural parameters were measured and calculated from acquiring images. In the results, changes of structural characteristics of WBV group were smaller than those of CON group. Loss of quantity of trabecular bone in WBV 45 was the least. In contrast, that in WBV 17 was the biggest. These results showed that reasonable whole body vibration beneficially affected osteoporotic bones. In addition to, whole body vibration was likely to be substituted partly for drug treatment.

Ingestion of orthodontic anchorage screws: An experimental study in dogs

Foreign bodies with a sharp edge which are accidentally swallowed are likely to become lodged in the stomach. An animal study was undertaken to determine the outcome of orthodontic anchorage screw ingestion. The radiographic findings of ten Mongolian dogs that ingested a total of 10 orthodontic anchorage screws and 10 reamers (both a screw and a reamer per dog) were evaluated. The study showed that all orthodontic anchorage screws and reamers reaching the stomach spontaneously passed, with the exception of two reamers. Further investigation of clinical cases might be necessary to determine whether the results of our animal study are in accordance with clinical findings.

Micro-CT Evaluation in Osteoporosis Model / 체질인류학회지

Osteoporosis is a major health-care problem for aging communities. And postmenopausal osteoporosis is a common disorder characterized by an increase in bone resorption relative to bone formation, generally in conjunction with an increased rate of bone turnover. Twenty female rats were used as rat model of osteoporosis. They randomly were divided into two groups: a normal control group, and calcium-free diet groups treated with bilateral ovariectomy. The animals were sacrified at 12 weeks after treatment. In the rats with osteoporosis, there was significant thining and loss of trabeculae, accompanied by a disconnection of trabeculae. And acid mucopolysaccharides were decreased in osteoporotic animals. In order to setup conditions of invivo micro-CT, proper anesthetic is ketamine (50 mg/kg) /xylazine (6 mg/kg). And proper breathing rate of experimental animals is 1.3~1.6/sec. Our finding suggest that bilateral ovariectomy and calcium-free diet induce decrease in thickeness of trabecular bone and decrease in acid mucopolysaccharide, therefore cause weakness of bone. And micro-CT imaging system is useful to evaluate trabecular bone. Anesthetic time, anesthetics and respiration rate also signify much in micro-CT imaging system.