Relationship between vitamin K status, bone mineral density, and hs-CRP in young Korean women

Vitamin K intake has been reported as an essential factor for bone formation. The current study was conducted under the hypothesis that insufficient vitamin K intake would affect inflammatory markers and bone mineral density in young adult women. The study was a cross-sectional design that included 75 women in their 20s. Physical assessments, bone mineral density measurements, 24-hr dietary recalls, and biochemical assessments for high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and percentages of undercarboxylated osteocalcin (%ucOC) were performed. An analysis of vitamin K nutritional status was performed comparing first, second, and third tertiles of intake based on %ucOC in plasma. Vitamin K intake levels in the first, second, and third tertiles were 94.88 +/- 51.48 microg, 73.85 +/- 45.15 microg, and 62.58 +/- 39.92 microg, respectively (P < 0.05). The T-scores of the first and third tertiles were 1.06 and -0.03, respectively, indicating that bone mineral density was significantly lower in the group with lower vitamin K intake (P < 0.05). There was a tendency for different serum hs-CRP concentrations between the first (0.04 +/- 0.02) and third tertiles (0.11 +/- 0.18), however this was not statistically significant. Regression analysis was performed to identify the correlations between vitamin K nutritional status, inflammatory markers, and bone mineral density after adjusting for age and BMI. Serum hs-CRP concentrations were positively correlated with vitamin K deficiency status (P < 0.05). And bone mineral density, which was represented by speed, was negatively correlated with vitamin K deficiency status (P < 0.05). In conclusion, status of vitamin K affects inflammatory status and bone formation. Therefore, sufficient intake of vitamin K is required to secure peak bone mass in young adult women.

The influence of fusional divergence on the surgical results in intermittent exotropia

We investigated the influence of fusional divergence on the surgical results in the intermittent exotropia. Among the 56 patients with intermittent exotropia. the angle of deviation was measured during the preoperative period and the postoperative periods. The amplitude of the fusional divergence was measured with the rotary prism after the correction of the angle of deviation with the prism before the surgery. The subjects were devided into 4 groups; group one which returned to orthophoria after the overcorrection of exodeviation; group two - which did not return to orthophoria after the overcorrection of exodeviation; group three - which remained orthophoria after the correction of exodeviation; group four - which showed orthophoria initially but returned to undercorrection. There was not any significant difference between the four groups. We concluded that the influence of fusional divergence on the surgical results for intermittent exotropia was not significant enough. However, further studies should be done with more subjects for better results.