• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.235-248
• /
• 2011

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of death and disability in children and adults and is a major risk factor for the development of posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE). Recent studies have provided significant insight into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the development of epilepsy. Although the link between brain trauma and epilepsy is well recognized, the complex biological mechanisms that result in PTE following TBI have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, this study investigated in order to identify whether or not the abnormal expression of calcium-binding proteins in the lesioned hippocampus plays a role in neuronal damage by brain trauma and whether or not the expressions may change in the contralateral hippocampus during the adaptive stage as early time point following TBI. During early time point following TBI, both parvalbumin (PV) and calbindin D-28k (CB) immunoreactivities were decreased with in the lesioned hippocampus. However, these expressions were recovered to control levels as depend on time courses. On the other hand, PV immunoreactivity in contralateral hippocampus was transiently reduced as compared to the control levels, whereas CB expression was unchanged. These findings indicate that the alterations of the calcium-binding proteins, especially PV and CB, may contribute to the neuronal death and/or damage induced by abnormal inhibitory neurotransmission at early time period following brain trauma and the development of epileptogenesis in patients with traumatic brain injury.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.29-34
• /
• 2015

Citrullinemia type1 is an autosomal recessive disorder of the urea cycle characterized by neonatal or late onset of hyperammonemia caused by a deficiency of the enzyme argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS). An ASS1 deficiency demonstrates fatal clinical manifestations that are characterized by the neonatal metabolic coma and early death when untreated. It causes a broad spectrum of effects, ranging from a mild disorder to a severe mental retardation, epilepsy, neurologic deficits. An acute neonatal form is the most common. Infants are normal at birth followed by an acute illness characterized by vomiting, lethargy, seizures and coma. These medical problems are life-threatening in many cases. A later onset form is less frequent and may be milder than the neonatal form. This later-onset form is associated with severe headaches, visual dysfunction, motor dysfunction, and lack of energy. Citrullinemia type1 is caused by mutations in the ASS1 gene located on chromosome 9q34.1 that encodes argininosuccinate synthetase, the third enzyme of the urea cycle catalyzing the formation of argininosuccinic acid from citrulline and aspartic acid. The enzyme is distributed in tissues including liver and fibroblasts. This mutation leads to hyperammonemia, arginine deficiency and elevated citrulline level. In the urea cycle, argininosuccinate synthetase catalyses the conversion of citrulline and aspartate to argininosuccinate.. Here, we describe a female newborn patient with lethargy, rigidity and hyperammonemia who was diagnosed as citrullinemia type1 with a c.[421-2A>G], c.[1128-6_1188dup] mutation.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.16 no.2 s.30
• /
• pp.17-35
• /
• 1995

Clinical observation was made on 161 cases of CVA that were confirmed through brain CT, MRI scan and clinical observation. They were hospitalized in the oriental medical hospital of Kyung-Won University from January to December in 1994. 1. The CVA cases were classified into the following kinds: cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH), transient ischemic attack, hypertensive encephalopathy, and the greatest in number among them were the cases of cerebral infarction. 2. The frequency of strokes was much the same between male and female cases and most cases were over 50 of age. 3. In the case of cerebral infarction the place of the most frequent occurrences was in the MCA territory, and as for cerebral hemorrhage, in the basal ganglia area. 4. The most ordinary preceding disease was hypertension. The next was diabetes mellitus. 5. Generally it is thought that CVA occurs frequently in winter. But on the contrary this study of observation confirmed that it occurs mostly in summer. 6. The predisposing factors of cerebral infarction were usually initiated during the time of resting and sleeping and those of cerebral hemorrhage chiefly during the time of exercising. 7. As concerns the course of hospitalization, most patients passed through western medical hospitals or oriental medical hospitals. 8. For the patients the condition of whose consciousness was bad at the time of admission, the prognosis in most cases was bad. 9. The common symptoms were motor disability and verbal disturbance. 10. With regard to cerebral infarction, the average time to start physical theraphy was 11.4 days and with cerebral hemorrhage 22.7 days after stroke. 11. The duration of hospitalization was in most cases more than one month. 12. The main complication was urinary tract infection. The next was pneumonia. 13. At the time of admission to hospital, the blood pressure in most cases was high, but it well controlled at the time of discharge. 14. Most cases were given simultaneous treatment in both ways of western and oriental medicine.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.35 no.5
• /
• pp.980-987
• /
• 2003

In this report, we investigated the detoxication effects of Saururus chinenis, Geranium nepalense, Lonicera japonica, Cassia obtusifolia, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, or their mixtures by employing acute toxicity tests for nicotine and dioxin. When fatal doses $(LD_{100}\;=\;42\;mg/kg)$ of nicotine were injected into the abdominal cavities of ICR mice, those treated with OHEM showed delayed paralysis, half the duration of hyperactivity, and a 73 % survival rate. The results revealed the strong detoxicating effects of the mixtures. We also measured the amount of the degradation product of nicotine and cotinine in humans. Consumption of OHEM promoted (he more specific) the metabolic pathways of nicotine, increasing continine excretion by 1.5 times. As a result the amount of cotinine in urine was reduced to less than 5% after treatment with OHEM. In order to test the toxicity of dioxin, we used TcnN(SD)BR rats exposed to TCDD. While TCDD treatment reduced the blood levels of hemoglobin and platelet, OHEM consumption relieved these effects and, furthermore, helped to recover the number of platelet to the normal level (p<0.05). Moreover, neutrophils (%) and monocytes (%), which were reduced by the injection of TCDD, recovered to normal levels upon treatment with OHEM. The amount albumin reduced by TCDD (p<0.05) normalized, while the activities of GOT and GTP increased by TCDD were reduced. Increases in total cholesterol and neutral fatty acids induced by TCDD were also reduced by OHEM injection (p<0.05). In the kidney, TCDD-induced rises in creatinine were suppressed by OHEM treatment, while decreases in iron levels from TCDD were raised to normal. The treatment of TCDD had more toxic effects in the blood and pancreas than on the liver, kidney and heart. On the other hand, the detoxication of OHEM had significant effects on the liver and pancreas. The normalization by OHEM of various clinical abnormalities induced by TCDD demonstrates the detoxicating effect of OHEM that ameliorates systemic metabolism not properly functioning.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.5-24
• /
• 1997

Clinical observation was made on 226 cases of CVA that were confirmed through brain CT, MRI scan and clinical observation. They were hospitalized in the oriental medical hospital of Kyung-Won University from January to December in 1995. 1. The CVA cases were classified into the following kinds: cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH), transient ischemic attack, and the greatest in number among them were the cases of cerebral infarction. 2. The frequency of strokes was much the same between male and female cases and most cases were over 50 of age. 3. In the case of cerebral infarction the place of the most frequent occurrences was in the MCA territory, and as for cerebral hemorrhage, in the basal ganglia area. 4. The most ordinary preceding disease was hypertension. The next was diabetes mellitus. 5. Generally it is thought that CVA occurs frequently in winter. But on the contrary this study of observation confirmed that it occurs mostly in spring and summer. 6. The predisposing factors of cerebral infarction were usually initiated during the time of resting and sleeping and those of cerebral hemorrhage chiefly during the time of exercising. 7. As concerns the course of hospitalization, most patients passed through vestern medical hospitals or oriental medical hospitals. 8. For the patients the condition of whose consciousness was bad at the time of admission. the prognosis in most cases was bad. 9. The common symptoms were motor disability and verbal disturbance. 10. With regard to cerebral infarction, the average time to start physical theraphy was 6.4 days and with cerebral hemorrhage 9.7 days after stroke. 11. The duration of hospitalization was in most cases more than one month. 12. The main complication was urinary tract infection. 13. At the time of admission to hospital, the blood pressure in most cases was high, but it well controlled at the time of discharge. 14. Most cases were given simultaneous treatment in both ways of western and oriental medicine.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.548-554
• /
• 1999

Background : Asthma is the most common respiratory crisis encountered in clinical practice, occurring in up to 4% of all pregnancies. Pregnancy often appears to alter the course of asthma. But the mechanisms responsible for variable changes in the asthma course during pregnancy remain unknown. Poor control and exacerbations of asthma during pregnancy may result in serious maternal and fetal complications. To investigate the course of asthma during pregnancy in korean women, we did a retrograde study of 27 pregnant women who had been admitted to Korea University Hospital for asthma worsened. Method: Twenty seven pregnant women who had been visited to Korea University Hospital for asthma worsened were enrolled in our retrospective study. We reviewed medical recordings and interviewed patients with asthma. Results: Twenty seven pregnant women with asthma were evaluated, and 25 patients were enrolled to our study. Two patients experienced abortions at 6 weeks and 25 weeks gestation, respectively. The period of asthma worsened was commonly during weeks 20 to 28 of gestation. And all patients wosened were improved during the last 4 weeks of pregnancy. Twenty(80%) of 25 women whose asthma worsened during pregnancy reverted toward their prepregnancy status after delivery(p<0.002). The causes of asthma worsened during pregnancy are reduction or even complete cessaton of medication due to fears about its safety(40%), worsening after upper respiratory infection (28%), and unknown(32%). There were no adverse perinatal outcomes in 25 pregnant asthma subjects. Conclusions: A major problem of therapy for asthma during pregnancy is reduction or even complete cessation of medication due to fears of fetal effects. Therefore, maternal education and optimal clinical and pharmacologic management is necessary to mitigate maternal and fetal complications.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.45 no.5
• /
• pp.629-636
• /
• 2002

Purpose : Our study was aimed to investigate the characteristics of seizures as well as to determine whether the expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase expression(nNOS) of hippocampus has an affect in the hyperthermic seizure in developing rat. Methods : Hyperthermic seizures were repeatedly induced twice a week for four weeks in 20-day old Spraque-Dowley rats. Fifty two rats were used as a hyperthermic group and 30 rats used as a normothermic control group. Hyperthermic seizures were induced in a water bath at $45^{\circ}C{\pm}1$ for 4 min. The characteristics of seizures were recorded. Using western blot, hippocampal nNOS expression was measured in normothermic control, hyperthermic non-seizure, and hyperthermic seizure groups, respectively. Results : Eighty seven percent of hyperthermia exposed rats showed generalized tonic-clonic seizure most frequently. The duration of seizure was ranged from 12 to 145 sec(mean 55 sec) and the latency to seizure ranged from 158 to 240 sec(mean 204 sec). The duration of seizure was prolonged but there was no significant difference in the seizure latency as the rat exposed more number of hyperthermia. Interestingly, the expression level of hippocampal nNOS in hyperthermic seizure and hyperthermic non-seizure groups was not different from each other, however, the expression in these groups was lower than that of the control group. Conclusion : Our results indicate that nNOS do not have an affect in this repeated hyperthermic seizures. Further studies are required to clarify a role of nNOS in hyperthermic seizure.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.67-74
• /
• 2006

Introduction: Excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy are key features of narcolepsy. Modafinil is psychostimulant used in the treatment of narcolepsy. In this study, we evaluated effects of modafinil on nocturnal sleep structure and sleep latency in multiple sleep latency test and clinical features. Methods: Twelve narcoleptic patients (7 male, age: $22.9{\pm}2.6\;yrs$) were participated in the study. All of them had done nocturnal polysomnography (nPSG), multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), clinical symptoms scales and have repeated same procedure after taking 200 mg of modafinil. We have done linear mixed model analysis to describe effects of group, medication and nap time on these measures. Results: Modafinil did not affect clinical scales except PSQI which had been reduced after medication. In this study, Modafinil reduced total sleep time, sleep efficiency and increased wake after sleep onset and percent of arousal during sleep in nocturnal polysomnography and prolonged mean sleep latency in multiple sleep latency tests in both group. Discussion: Modafinil has stimulant effect of central nervous system but its effect on night sleep is less than other psychostimulants such as methylphenidate. We ascertained that modafinil affected total sleep time, sleep efficiency and percent of wake during sleep but did not effect on sleep structure. Modafinil was effective in the management of day time sleepiness. Modafinil can enhance alertness of control group without day time sleepiness.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.189-198
• /
• 2009

Purpose: We wanted to evaluate the clinical results of the Latarjet procedure for treating anterior shoulder instability combined with a glenoid bone defect. Materials and Methods: Between Oct. 2006 and May. 2007, fourteen patients underwent a Latarjet operation to treat their anterior shoulder instability combined with a glenoid bone defect. The mean follow-up period was 15 months (range: 12 to 19 months), and the average age at the time of surgery was 29.9-years-old (range: 19 to 44 years). There were 13 males and 1 female. Eight patients exhibited involvement of the right shoulder. The dominant arm was involved in 8 patients. Six patients had undergone a previous arthroscopic Bankart repair before their Latarjet operation and 2 patients had a history of seizure. Results: The average Rowe score improved from 51.8 to 80.2 with 9 excellent, 4 good, and 1 fair results. The average Korean shoulder score for instability improved from 61.6 to 82.1 postoperatively. The active forward flexion and external rotation at the side of the involved shoulder was an average of $8^{\circ}$ and $16^{\circ}$ less than that of the uninvolved shoulder. The muscle strength of the involved shoulder measured 78.7% in forward flexion and 82.5% in external rotation, as compared with that of the uninvolved shoulder. There was 1 case of dislocation, 1 transient subluxation, 2 fibrotic unions, 1 resorption of the transferred coracoid process, 1 intraoperative broken bone, 1 transient musculocutaneous nerve injury and 1 case of stiffness. Conclusion: The Latarjet procedure for treating anterior shoulder instability combined with a significant glenoid defect effectively restores function and stability through extending the articular arc at the expense of external rotation. We should be cautious to avoid or detect complications when performing coracoid transfer.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.1-16
• /
• 2009

Purposes: The objective of this study was to develop a management program for Korean elementary school students suffering from asthma, which would be based on the Australian Asthma-Friendly Schools (AFS) program. Methods: On the basis of the AFS program, we designed a 6-month pilot project for asthmatic students in two elementary schools in a rural area and one elementary school in an urban area of Korea. The pilot project consisted of the following processes: identifying students with asthma in a school, educating school staffs and the parents of an asthmatic child, registering those with asthma, and installing emergency kits for asthma attacks in school health rooms. In order to evaluate these processes, group discussions were held between project team members and school staffs in each area. In addition, we conducted a postal survey of 144 households having an asthmatic child. Results: The screening process adopted in this program resulted in the early diagnosis in asthma; however, it needs to be evaluated economically due to expensive diagnostic test for asthma. For the school nurses, asthma lessons were evaluated as being very helpful for their tasks, while teachers tended to take less interest in the program with only 45% of all teachers attending these lessons. Almost all participating parents reported that such lessons would be beneficial for the care of their child, even though only 24.2% of the survey respondents (122 households) attended the lessons. Installing emergency kits in school health rooms was regarded as a key feature of this project. The introduction of a register card containing more specific health records of asthmatic students was considered necessary to replace the existing list of students with asthma. Conclusion: This study has merit in that a Korean asthma-friendly schools program was developed for the first time, despite the many obstacles to such programs becoming more common.