Whole blood and Plasma Vitamin C Concentrations of Elementary School Children in Chinju

PURPOSE: Recommended dietary allowance of vitamin C was determined on the basis of preventing the scurvy without considerations of the important function of the vitamin C as a first line antioxidant. So we measured the whole blood and plasma vitamin C concentrations of the contemporay healthy elementary school children in Chinju for the establishment of the optimal daily vitamin C requirment in the elementary school children. METHODS: Whole blood and plasma vitamin C concentrations were measured by the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine method in 338 children from the 1st to the 6th grade of one elementary school in Chinju. RESULTS: Whole blood and plasma vitamin C concentrations were 1.36+/-0.34mg/dL and 1.07+/-0.33mg/dL respectively. There existed an close relationship between whole blood and plasma vitamin C concentrations (r=0.77, p=0.0001). Whole blood vitamin C concentration decreased as the age became older (r=-0.22 p=0.0001), but plasma vitamin C concentration did not change. There were no sex differences in the whole blood and plasma vitamin C concentrations except in the 3rd grade (p<0.05). Twenty-three of 338 elementary school children (6.8%) had the plasma vitamin C concentration less than 0.6mg/dL. CONCLUSIONS: We produced the blood and plasma vitamin C concentrations of the contemporay elementary school children in Chinju. These values were not satisfactory in consideration of the importance of the childhood health.

Childhood infection-associated hypocalcemia

The causes of hypocalcemia in patients suffering from severe infection including sepsis are largely uncertain. So we measured serum albumin, total protein, cholesterol, PTH, and calcitonin of the infection-associated hypocalcemic children and compared with those of normocalcemic children suffering from tsutsugamushi disease. All had normal renal functions and had been admitted to the department of pediatrics of Gyeongsang National University Hospital. Hypocalcemic patients were hypoalbuminemic. Serum total calcium was inappropriately more decreased compared to the decreased amount of serum albumin in the hypocalcemic group. We also observed more frequent incidence of hypocholesterolemia (<100mg/dL) in this group. And serum PTH was appropriately elevated in the hypocalcemic patients. Serum calcitonin was elevated in both groups, but 6 times higher in the hypocalcemic group than in the normocalcemic one. Serum total calcium was positively correlated with serum albumin and negatively correlated with serum PTH and calcitonin.

Two cases of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

No abstract available.

A Clinical Observation on the Antihypertensive Effects of Long-acting Propranolol(Inderal LA(R))

The antihypertensive effects of single daily dose of long-acting propranolol(Inderal LA(R)) were observed in 29 cases of essential hypertension, and the results were as follows; 1) Age distribution of the cases was from 39 years to 72 years with the mean age of 51.3. And there were 13 female and 16 male patients. 2) Mean value of the hypotensive effects in systolic and diastolic blood pressure were 22.9 mmHg, and 11.5 mmHg, respectively. 3) The results of the antihypertensive effects were as follows; good 31.0%, fair 34.5%, poor 20.7%, and failure 13.8%. 4) The decrement of heart rate with long-acting propranolol was 9.3 per minute in average. 5) 1 case of nausea and 2 cases of lassitude were noted, but these symptoms were subsided spontaneously with continous medication.