Tuberculous peritonitis in the first trimester of pregnancy

Tuberculous peritonitis in pregnancy is a rare form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis that is not easily diagnosed. The clinical presentations of tuberculous peritonitis are usually non-specific and mimic those of other diseases, such as ovarian malignancy or chronic liver disease, and this non-specificity can cause diagnostic delays and complications. The authors report the case of a 31-year-old primigravida woman who presented with uncontrolled fever, dyspnea, elevated liver enzymes, and mild abdominal distension at 13+2 weeks of gestation. At 14+2 weeks, a therapeutic abortion was conducted and tuberculous peritonitis was confirmed by laparoscopic excisional biopsy of peritoneal nodules and histopathologic examination. The patient recovered on antituberculosis therapy and abdomen and chest follow up radiographic findings have confirmed improvement.

Uterine prolapse in a primigravid woman

Uterine prolapse during pregnancy is an uncommon condition. It can cause preterm labor, spontaneous abortion, fetal demise, maternal urinary complication, maternal sepsis and death. We report the case of uterine prolapse in a 32-year-old healthy primigravid woman. She had no risk factors associated with uterine prolapse. She was conservatively treated, resulting in a successful vaginal delivery. This report is a very rare case of uterine prolapse in a young healthy primigravid woman, resulting in a successful vaginal delivery.

Anti-carcinogenic actions of glycoprotein conjugated with isoflavones from submerged-liquid culture of Agaricus blazei mycelia through reciprocal expression of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins / 동물의과학연구지

Glycoproteins isolated from fruit bodies and mycelial cultures of mushrooms exhibit anti-carcinogenic actions in human cancer cells and animal tumor cells by induction of apoptosis. Here, we report that isoflavone-conjugated glycoproteins (designate Gluvone), exhibit strong anti-carcinogenic effects on human breast cancer MCF-7 cells by induction of apoptosis. Gluvone with 9.4 kDa of molecular weight was isolated from submerged-liquid culture of Agaricus blazei mycelia (ABM) in soy flake-containing liquid medium. MCF-7 cells were incubated with various amounts of Gluvone (0~250 microM) for a period of 6 days. Gluvone exhibited anti-proliferative actions in a dose-dependent manner and 62% growth inhibition at 200 microM for 4 days relative to control. Hoechst 33258 staining analysis revealed that Gluvone induced formation of apoptotic bodies. Gluvone was associated with down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein expression as well as up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax protein expression. Gluvone treatment induced proteolytic activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 through cytochrome c release from mitochondria to cytosol as well as concomitant degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). In addition, Gluvone induced activation of caspase-8. Taken all together, these results indicate that the anti-proliferative effect of Gluvone is associated with induction of apoptotic cell death through the mitochondrial dysfunction pathway mediated by enhancement of Bax protein expression and suppression of Bcl-2 protein expression.

Relevance of Exhaled Nitric Oxide Levels to Asthma Control Test Scores and Spirometry Values in Children with Atopic Asthma / 소아알레르기및호흡기학회지

PURPOSE: Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) has been proposed as a tool for assessing airway inflammation in patients with atopic asthma. We evaluated the relationship between FeNO with asthma control test (ACT) scores and spirometry values in children with atopic asthma. METHODS: One hundred twenty-six children with atopic asthma, 8-16 years of age, were included in the study. None of the participants received regular controller therapy for at least 4 weeks before the study. The ACT (for children >12 years of age) or the Childhood Asthma Control Test (C-ACT; for children between the ages of 8 and 11 years of age), FeNO measurements and pulmonary function tests were performed. RESULTS: The geometric mean of the FeNO in children with atopic asthma (16.1 parts per billion [ppb]; 95% CI, 14.5-17.8 ppb) was significantly higher than that healthy controls (7.5 ppb; 95% CI, 7.0-8.1 ppb; P 20 in 82% of enrolled patients and correlated with the %FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and %FEF25-75. However, FeNO was not related to %FEV1, FEV1/FVC, %FEF25-75, and scores for asthma controls. FeNO levels in asthmatic children were not significantly different with respect to age, gender, BMI, and tobacco exposure. CONCLUSION: FeNO was not related to the spirometry values and scores for asthma control. Measurement of FeNO may be a complementary tool in the assessment of asthma control.

Thyroid Dysfunction Detected in Intensively Cared Neonates for More than 1 Month / 대한소아내분비학회지

PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence, time of detection, classification, and risk factors of thyroid dysfunction in neonates at a neonatal intensive care unit. METHODS: This is a retrospective study reviewing medical records of 67 infants (including 40 very low birth weight infants, VLBW), who were admitted for more than 1 month at Chungbuk National University Hospital from July 2006 to June 2009. Initial screening and repeat thyroid function tests were performed before and after two weeks of age. RESULTS: 1) In the thyroid dysfunctional group (42/67, 62.7% including 30 VLBW), only 9 infants (including 8 VLBW) were abnormal at screening. Among 57 infants with normal screening, 33 infants (57.9%, including 22 VLBW) changed to abnormal at follow-up. The detection times at the repeat test were 2-4 weeks of age (WA) (n = 15), 4-6 WA (n = 15), and 6-8 WA (n = 3). 2) The types of dysfunction were primary hypothyroidism (PH) with marked TSH rise (n = 7), mild PH (n = 3), hyperthyrotropinemia (n = 11), hypothyroxinemia (n = 7), and non-thyroidal illness (n = 14). 3) Compared to the normal group (n = 25), the dysfunctional group (n = 42) had lower birth weight, shorter gestational age, and more morbidity of respiratory distress syndrome (P < 0.05). 4) Thyroxine was prescribed in 15cases (35.7%) in the dysfunctional group except non-thyroidal illness. CONCLUSION: Thyroid dysfunction was common in the intensively cared neonates, especially in VLBW, and many cases were detected at the repeat test. The thyroid function test should therefore be repeated at least from 2 WA to 8 WA, and a proper management plan established by investigate the characteristics and long-term prognosis of these neonates.

Minute-depressed Type of Submucosal Colon Cancer / 대한소화기내시경학회지

The development of colorectal cancer has been known as the adenoma-carcinoma sequence. Yet another route for cancer development has recently been proposed, which is call the de novo pathway based on the reports of the depressed-type early colorectal cancers. Early colorectal cancer is defined as invasive tumor limited to the colorectal mucosa or submucosa, regardless of the presence or absence of lymph node metastasis. Especially, depressed type colorectal cancers have a much higher rate of submucosal invasion and rapid progression despite of their relatively small sizes. Our case displayed a depressed type tumor that was only 5mm in diameter and it had invaded the deep submucosal layer (SM3); this was resected by operation with no predictive endoscopic finding. So, the depressed type tumor can show deep invasion or lymph node metastasis despite of its small size.

Effects of Taping Therapy on the Deformed Angle of the Foot and Pain in Hallux Valgus Patients / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study was to examine the effects of Taping therapy on the deformed angle of the foot and pain in hallux valgus patients. METHOD: The subjects were 24 feet from 15 patients who were diagnosed withhallus valgus at the orthopedic department of K University Hospital in Seoul. Taping therapy was conducted 15 times overall during a four-week period. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test. RESULT: The deformed angle of the foot of the hallus valgus patients significantly improved from 21.95(4.38) to 18.75(4.80) after Taping therapy. Pain significantly decreased from 4.73(1.56) to 3.45(2.21) after Taping therapy. CONCLUSION: The result shows that Taping therapy is effective in improving the deformed angle of the foot and in decreasing pain in the hallux valgus patients.

Development of the Korean Version of the Social Adjustment Scale in the Schizophrenics: A Study on the Reliability and Validity / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to develop the Korean version of the Social Adjustment Scale II-Revised Version (KSAS II-RV) in the schizophrenics. METHODS: KSAS II-RV was administered to 67 schizophrenic patients and 78 matched normal controls for examining the reliability and validity. RESULTS: Data analysis showed statistically significant reliabilities and validities of KSAS II-RV. The test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, and internal consistency for total scores of KSAS II-RV were 0.85, 0.89. and 0.87, respectively. Evidence for discriminant validity of KSAS II-RV comes from the results that the mean scores of schizophrenic patients were significantly high than those of normal controls. Construct validity was assessed by calculating the 10 inter-subareas correlations of the KSAS II-RV, and all except the sexual adjustment area were statistically significant. Significant correlations between the global area scores of KSAS II-RV and those of Global Assessment of Functioning Scale lend support for the concurrent validity of this instrument indirectly. CONCLUSION: KSAS II-RV was found to be a valid and reliable instrument which can be used to evaluate the degree of social adjustment in the schizophrenic patients.

A Clinical Study on Children with Acute Glomerulonephritis

No abstract available.