• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.351-359
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• 2019

Neurocognitive testing commonly uses the MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination) to evaluate the overall cognitive function of patients at outpatient clinics, but the MMSE has recently been extensively used in the SNSB II (Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery II) for making diagnoses. We retrospectively investigated the results of routine neurocognitive tests and the results of the blood tests of 120 elderly patients who had been referred to a South Central Medical Center from 2017 to 2018 and who had been examined at a public health center. These subjects' space-time capability was high on the sub-region of the global deterioration scale (GDS). GDS showed a significant increase as the Na decreased on the electrolyte analysis. The subjects' concentration, their language-based orientation for space and time, their memory, and their scores for the frontal lobe function on GDS showed statistically significant reductions (P<0.001) For the normal and abnormal groups according to the ALT and creatinine levels, the frontal/execute function areas showed statistically significant differences (P<0.001) as well as negative correlation between GDS and ALT (P<0.01). In conclusion, this study provides basic information to develop test items that are important for patient screening and diagnosis, and several routine blood chemistry factors provide basic information for diagnosing and assessing the status and progress of cognitively impaired patients.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.85-124
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• 2016

The Human gene testing act (GenDG) in Germany starts from the characteristic features of gene testing, i.e. dualisting structure consisted of anlaysis on the one side and the interpretation on the other side. The linguistic distincion of 'testing', 'anlaysis' and 'judgment' in the act is a fine example. Another important basis of the regulation is the ideological purpose of the law, that is information autonomy. The normative texts as such and the founding principle are the basis of the classification of testing types. Especially in the case of gene testing for medical purpose is classified into testing for diagnostic purpose and predictive purpose. However, those two types are not always clearly differentiated because the predictive value of testing is common in both types. In the legal regulation of gene testing it is therefore important to manage the uncertainty and subjectivity which are inherent in the gene-analysis and the judgment. In GenDG the system ensuring the quality of analysis is set up and GEKO(Commity for gene tisting) based on the section 23 of GenDG concretes the criterium of validity through guidelines. It is also very important in the case of gene testing for medical purpose to set up the system for ensurement of procedural rationality of the interpretation. The interpretation of the results of analysis has a wide spectrum because of the consistent development of technology on the one side and different understandings of different subjects who performs gene testings. Therefore the process should include the communication process for patients in oder that he or she could understand the meaning of gene testing and make plans of life. In GenDG the process of genetic counselling and GEKO concretes the regulation very precisely. The regulation as such in GenDG seems to be very suggestive to Korean legal polic concerning the gene testing.