Assessment of Colonic Motility and Nutrients Intake in Adult with Cerebral Palsy

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the colonic motility and nutrients intake in adults with cerebral palsy (CP) and to compare the results with those of normal adults. METHOD: Thirty-nine adults with CP were participated. They took the radioopaque markers for 3 successive days. Then, abdominal X-ray was taken on the fourth day. The total and segmental colon transits were estimated by the simplified assessment of a single-film technique by Metcalf et al. The amounts of nutrients intake for 3 days were recorded and nutritional factors were analyzed by ESHA(r) Food Processor. Then, daily intakes of the nutrients were compared with Recommended Dietary Allowance of Korean Nutrition Society. RESULT: Colon transit time were more than 2 times delayed in adults with CP as compared with those of normal controls. Colon transit time was significantly prolonged in non- functional ambulators (p<0.05). Colon transit time tended to be delayed in subjects with spastic type, but not related with the degree of cognitive function. On the evaluation of daily nutrients intake, several nutritional factors were inadequate in adults with CP. CONCLUSION: Adults with CP had the problems in colonic motility and nutritional intake. Also, delayed colon transit time was significantly related with poor mobility, and possibly related with spasticity.

Psychological Health Status in Adults with Cerebral Palsy

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the psychological health status in adults with cerebral palsy (CP) and to find out affecting factors on psychological health status. METHOD: Eighty-six adults with CP and 146 age matched controls participated in this study. Psychological health status of all participants was evaluated by the interview and questionnaire including Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI) and Affect Balance Scale (ABS). RESULT: Depressive symptom on BDI was common in adults with CP. Study group showed significantly higher scores in BSI and lower scores in ABS compared with the control group (p<0.05). Employment, severity of disability and health perception were significantly related to the psychological health status in adults with CP (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: This study revealed that psychological problems were greater in adults with CP, compared with the controls. Psychological health status in adults with CP was related to employment, severity of disability and health perception. Therefore, active medical and social interventions for providing employment, minimizing disability and improving health perception will be helpful for enhancing their psychological health.

Morphologic Observation of hair Roots in Alopecia Areata by CaCl2 Method and Its Comparison with Classic Plucking Method / 대한피부과학회지

Observation of hair roots by simple plucking is a comnon methad in trichology. But the plucking method is subject to artificial deformation of hair roots during the procedure and the possibility of the artifact may be greater when hair roots are in pathological state. Treatment of the scalp tissue with 1 M CaC12 permits epidermodermal separation and subsecuent harve.sting of hair follicles without any damage on the structures. To make sure if the possible artificial deformation of the hair roots of plucking method could affect significantly the overall evaluation of the hairs in alopecia areata, authors compared the results of plucking method(total 171 hair roots) with the results of CaCl2 method(total l94 roots) in 15 cases of alopecia areata. The sites of taking hair roots by the two rnethocds were located side by side at the edges of the bald areas. The results were as frllows: 1. The average percentages of actual dystrophic hairs in 15 alopecia areat.a patients are 55% by plucking method and 53% by CaCl2, method, thus showing no significant difference in overall evaluation of the hair roots. 2. The shapes of proximal hair shafts obtained by plucking were similar with the shape obtained by CaCl2 method.

Four Cases of Acrokeratoelastoidosis / 대한피부과학회지

Four cases of acrokeratoelastoidosis are reported. All four patients had symmetrically situated asymptomatic keratotic plaques along the margin of first interdigital space of the hand, The patients were all elderly korean farmers. Elastic stain showed aggregated thickened black elastotic materials occupying mainly the upper dermis. Epidermis showed marked hyperkeratosis and acanthosis. Although this cutaneous condition is not well known to physicians in the country, we think it may be not an uncommon condition in the rural part of Korea.

A Case of Eosinophilis Cellulitis (Wells' Syndrome) / 대한피부과학회지

Eosinophilic cellutitis occurred in an otherwise healthy 38-year-old woman. The patient had 4 months history of extremely pruritic erythematous wheal-like lesions on the extremities with blood eosinophilia. The individual lesions persisted for up to 12 weeks and responded well to systemic corticosteroid therapy. Elistopathologically the lesion showed diffuse tissue eosinophilia, histiocytic granuloma and characteristic flame figures in the dermis.