The Results of Nation-Wide Registry of Age-related Macular Degeneration in Korea

PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence and clinical features of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Korea. METHODS: Web-based (www.armd-nova.or.kr) registration was conducted for AMD patients aged 50 or more who were newly diagnosed by retinal specialists in Korea from August 20, 2005 to August 20, 2006. Patient data including ophthalmologic examination, fundus photography, fluorescein angiogram and/or indocyanin green angiogram (ICG), past medical history, behavioral habit, combined systemic diseases were up-loaded. RESULTS: Among finally enrolled 1,141 newly diagnosed AMD patients, 690 patients (60.5%) were male and 451 patients (39.5%) were female. The average age of AMD patients was 69.7+/-8.0. Early AMD was observed in 190 patients and 951 patients had late AMD. Classic choroidal neovascular membrane (CNVM) was observed in 18.6% of exudative AMD patients and 63.4 % had occult CNVM. Subfoveal CNVM was observed in 80.4% of the patients with CNVM. Among the 580 exudative AMD eyes that performed indocyanin green angiography (ICG), 184 eyes (31.7%) had polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and 36 eyes (6.2%) showed retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP). Age, male gender, smoking, diabetes and hypertension significantly increased the risk of the AMD among Koreans. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the low rate of participation by retinal specialists, definite incidence of AMD was not obtainable. However, the estimated 1-year AMD incidence in the Pusan area of Korea is at least 0.4%. In contrast to Western people, 31.7% of exudative AMD cases were revealed to be PCV and 6.2% were revealed to be RAP. This discrepancy between ethnic groups should be considered in the diagnosis and treatment modality selection of Korean AMD patients.

Incidence, Timing of Screening Examinations and Perinatal Risk Factors for Retinopathy of Prematurity in Very Low Birth Weight Infants / 대한주산의학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to evaluate the incidence, the optimal timing of screening examinations for retinopathy of prematurity(ROP) and to analyze perinatal risk factors associated with cryotherapy or lasertherapy(CT/LT) in ROP. METHODS: Medical records of 130 very low birth weight(VLBW) infants who admitted to the NICU of Wonkwang University Hospital from July 1997 to June 2002 were reviewed retrospectively. We evaluated the incidence and severity of ROP by gestational age(GA) and birth weight(BW). And the comparisons of perinatal risk factors between ROP with and without CT/LT have been made. RESULTS: Incidence of ROP was 36.9% and mean GA and BW were 29.1+/-1.99 weeks, 1,153+/-209 gm in VLBW infants respectively. ROP Stage II or greater was 15.4% of VLBW infants, 41.7% of ROP infants, and 27.1% of ROP infants were treated with CT/LT. All infants with BW <750gm or GA <26 weeks were developed ROP with stage II or greater and treated with CT/LT. First detection of ROP was performed at chronologic age(CA) 3 weeks, postconceptional age(PCA) 30 weeks, and first identification of threshold ROP needed with CT/LT were at CA 5 weeks and PCA 33 weeks. The perinatal risk factors with CT/LT for ROP were significant in GA, BW, Apgar score at 1 and 5 minutes and number of blood transfusion. The mean time of spontaneous regression is 13.4+/-8.8 weeks in the mild ROP infants without CT/LT. CONCLUSION: The incidence of ROP is 36.9% and the optimal timing of screening for ROP should be selected by earlier time in 2 guidelines of at 5 weeks of CA and 33 weeks of PCA in VLBW infants. And the related risk factors with CT/LT for threshold ROP were GA, BW and Apgar score at 1 and 5 minutes and number of blood transfusions.

Immunohistochemical Study on Cfokeratin Expression in Lingual Epithelium of Human Fetus / 대한해부학회지

The human oral mucosa has noncornified lining epithelium, cornified masticatory epithelium, and complex epithelium. The epithelium of human tongue shows diverse morphological variations from one site to another, and conflicting reports exist in the literature concerning the type of lingual epithelium. Cytokeratin[CK] have been shown to characterize different type of epithelia. In the present study to clarify intermediate filament patterns of tongue mucosa and lingual gland in human fetus from second trimester of pregnancy and adult, cytokeratin expression was investigated immunohistochemically using antibodies for cytokeratins in the dorsal surface of tongue, taste bud, and lingual gland, and comparison with the expression between fetus and adult was made. The epithelium of the fetal lingual papillae consisted of 4 to 6 layered stratified cells, and that of the inferior surface of tongue consisted of 6-8 layered stratified cells in PAS-hematoxylin stain. The lingual gland was well differentiated and the alveolus was strongly positive to PAS reaction. The dorsal surface of the adult tongue was composed of lingual papillae. The papillae was covered by keratinized stratified squamous epithelium and interpapillary area by nokeratinized epithelium in hematoxylin-eosin stain. The taste bud was present in the fungiform papilla. The lingual gland appeared among the muscle layers near the inferior surtace and was composed of mucous and serous cells. By immunohistochemical stain, the epithelium of the lingual papillae exhibited various staining-intensities for cytokeratin antibodies, and showed same staining patterns bosh epithelium in tip of papilla and interpapillary area in fetus. However, the dorsal epithelium of the adult tongue showed different staining patterns between tip of the papilla and interpapillary area. In fetal lingual papilla CK7 and CK8 were expressed in superficial cells, AE8 in intermediate and superficial cells, CKl4 in basal cells. MNFI116 and AE3 showed a strong reaction in basal and suprabasal cells. The epithelium of the inferior lingual surface reacted positively with AE8 and CK14, MNF116, and AE3. CK7 and CK8, however, were not reacted. In adult lingual papilla CK10 was expressed in superficial cells of the tip of the papilla, AE8 in suprabasal cells of interpapillary epithelium, CKl4 in basal cells of papillary and interpapillary epithelium, CKl9 in superficial cells of interpapillary epithelium, MNFI116 and AE3 in suprabasal cells of papillary and interpapillary epithelium. However, CK7, CK8, CK18, and 5D3 were not expressed in the epithelium of the dorsal tongue. The cells of taste bud in fetus showed positive reactions for CK7, CK8, MNF116, and AE3, but negative reactions with CK10 and AE8. The cells of taste bud in adult were stained with CK7, CK8, CK18, and MNF116, but not stained with CK10 and AE8. In lingual gland of fetus, CK7, CK8, CKl8, 5D3, MNF116, and AE3 were expressed in alveolar cells. Only CK10 gave a negative staining in ductal cells. The mucous cells of the adult lingual gland were reacted with CK7, CK10, CK18, CK19, and MNF116, and the serous cell with CK7, CK19, and MNF116. The ductal cells of the adult lingual gland were stained with CK7, AE8, CK18, CKl9, 5D3, MNF116, and AE3. CK14 was expressed in the cells of intralubular ductule, not in the ductal cells. By electron microscopy, the epithelia of both dorsal and inferior lingual surfaces in fetus consisted of nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium. A cell with clear cytoplasm and some dense granules was noted among the basal cells. These results indicate that the epithelium of fetal lingual papillae is non-keratinized type and the epithelium of the papillary tip is keratinized type and interpapillary epithelium is nonkeratinized type in adult, and suggest that the superficial cell containing cytokeratins 7 and 8 in dorsal lingual epithelium of fetus has a similar role to the periderm of fatal skin.