• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.129-139
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• 1988

Vaginitis is one of the most common disease in gynecologic field in recent days. About 90% of these patients suffer from the infection of the vagina caused by Gardnerella vaginalis, Candida, or Trichomonas, either alone or in combination. For the effective diagnosis and management, it is essential to get an accurate identification of the causative agent. Applying simple and easy diagnostic methods such as pH of vaginal discharge, amine test and microscopic examination of wet mount preparation of normal saline and 10% KOH to 549 cases of randomly selected patients visiting Out-patient Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Yeung-nam University Hospital through May 1st to Sept. 31st, 1987, the following results were obtained. 1. In the Gardnerella vaginitis vaginal pH was more than 5.0 in 81.0% of total cases, positive amine test in 62.8%, decreased lactobacilli in 77.4% & decreased WBC counts in 70.1%, In the Trichomonas vaginitis vaginal pH more than 5.0 was noted in 93.3% of the cases, negative amine test in 90%, decreased lactobacilli in 90% & increased WBC counts in 93.3%, whereas Candida vaginitis and normal groups showed vaginal pH of 3.0~4.0 in 83.2%, negative amine test in 100%, normal distribution of lactobacilli in 89.7%, normal WBC counts in 72.4%. 2. The accuracy rates of physical diagnosis by wet mount preparation of normal saline and 10% KOH revealed 26.3%, 47.5% % 70,0% in Gardnerella vaginitis, Candida vaginitis, and Trichomonas vaginitis, respectively. The vaginal pH and amine test showed 83.2% of accuracy rate in Candida vaginitis group, 60.6% in Gardnerella vaginitis group and 83.3% III Trichomonas vaginitis group. 3. In 23 cases of Gardnerella vaginitis showing vaginal pH of 3.0 or 4.0 and positive amine test, the clue cells were observed in 10% or less in 12 cases, 30% in 5 cases, 50% in 4 cases and 50% or more in 2 cases. In summary vaginal pH and amine test could be useful in screening and differentiating the different types of infectious vaginitis. Furthermore by adding microscopic examination of normal saline and 10% KOH wet mount preparation to them, they not only could obtain higher diagnostic accuracy rate but would be more valuable in selecting the patients requiring cultures to confirm the diagnoses.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.91-97
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• 2012

Purpose: This purpose of study is to investigate the effect of UV-A-blocking or brown-tinted ophthalmic lens against A2E photooxidation which known as one of the etiologies of AMD(Age-related macular degenaration). Methods: The photooxidation of A2E, synthetic product of two molecules of all-trans-retinal and ethanolamine, was induced by the exposure to blue light (420~470 nm, $94mW/cm^2$) for 3 minutes. The inhibitory effect of UVblocking or brown-tinted ophthalmic lens against A2E photooxidation was evaluated by UV absorbance and HPLC analysis of remained A2E after the exposure to blue light. Results: UV-blocking ophthalmic lens could not inhibit A2E photooxidation induced by blue light irradiation. There was no difference in A2E photooxidation in the presence of brown-tinted ophthalmic lens to block 15% of visible ray, however, those lenses blocking 55% or 86% of visible ray showed the inhibitory effect of A2E photooxidation as 9.98% and 16.55%, respectively. By HPLC analysis, the amount of residual A2E which was not blocked by any lens was $199.29{\pm}26.53{\mu}M$, however, the inhibitory effect against A2E photooxidation was shown in the presence of brown-tinted lens. The remained A2Es were $264.58{\pm}31.91{\mu}M$ and $402.93{\pm}28.68{\mu}M$ in brown-tinted lenses of 55% and 86% blocking visible ray, respectively. However, there was no inhibitory effect against A2E photooxidation in the case of UV-blocking lens by HPLC analysis. Conclusions: In this study, brown-tinted ophthalmic lens was confirmed to have the inhibitory effect against the photooxidation of A2E, a causing substance of AMD onset.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.12
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• pp.1212-1216
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• 2003

Purpose : Rotavirus is a leading cause of severe gastroenteritis in infants and young children around the world. The aim of this study is to investigate the fat content in stools of patients with rotaviral enteritis compared to the stools of children who had no gastroenteritis. Methods : Seventy two patients who were admitted to Konkuk University Hospital, College of Medicine from Jun 2001 to May 2002 due to rotaviral enteritis and seventy five patients who were admitted at the same time with other diseases with no gastrointestinal problems as control, were enrolled in this study. The age of patients was from one month to five years. The average age of children with rotaviral enteritis was $17{\pm}11months$ and the average age of control patients was $14{\pm}15months$. Fat content of stools was investigated by acid steatocrit tests in both patients with rotaviral enteritis and control. Results : Acid steatocrit value of patients with rotaviral enteritis was higher than that of control patients. There was no difference in acid steatocrit value of children with rotaviral enteritis among the age groups. In one month- to six month-old infants, there was no difference in acid steatocrit values between the children with rotaviral enteritis and control patients. But, over the age of seven months, the acid steatocrit value of children with rotaviral enteritis was higher than that of control patients. Conclusion : We are of the opinion that fat malabsorption in patients with rotaviral enteritis and steatorrhea in rotaviral enteritis may result from decreased fat absorption in the small intestine.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.173-179
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• 2002

Background and Objectives : Intracordal cysts may occur secondary to voice abuse and overuse or may be secondary to a remnant of epithelium trapped within the lamina propria. They nay occur spontaneously or may be associated with poor vocal hygiene. As the cyst enlarges it can start to significantly affect the vibratory region of the vocal fold. Recently, with the advancement of the microsurgical technique and the laryngeal stroboscopy, correct diagnosis of intracordal cyst have been increased. The aims of this study is to review the important clinical characteristics of the intracordal cyst. Materials and Method : In the present study, 121 cases of the intracordal cyst were treated by the microsurgical technique. These lesions were diagnosed before the operation with indirect laryngoscopy, laryngeal endoscopy, laryngeal stroboscopy and confirmed with the findings observed during operations and the results of the biopsies. Results : The intracordal cysts were 121 cases in the 2595 patients who underwent laryngeal micorosurgery(4.7%). Ductal cyst were 88 cases and epidermoid cyst were 33 cases. The lesions are more frequent in women and anterior third of true vocal cord is more frequently involved site. With the indirect laryngoscopic examination, the ductal cysts are more frequently misdiagnosed as other diseases of the vocal cord such as vocal polyps or nodules. The degree of postoperative voice satisfaction is similar to that of vocal polyps. Conclusion : Intracordal cysts are very similar to the other mucosal disorders of the vocal cord and it may be misdiagnosed as vocal polyps or nodules, frequently. Therefore careful preoperative examinations for the vocal cord lesions with stroboscopy and other endoscopic instruments are important part of the correct diagnosis. An ideal treatment is enucleation of the cysts without upture of the cystic wall or injury of the lamina propria.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.149-157
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• 2007

Objective: This study was performed to compare the expression of osteopontin (OPN) mRNA and protein in the eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues in women with endometriosis and endometrial tissues in women without endometriosis. Methods: A total of 32 women with histologically confirmed endometriosis were recruited for study group. For controls, 34 women undergoing operative treatment for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or benign gynecologic condition other than endometriosis were recruited. At the time of laparoscopy or laparotomy, a biopsy specimen was taken from the endometrial cavity and peritoneal endometrial implant or endometrioma whenever appropriate. We employed real time quantitative RT-PCR to quantify OPN mRNA expression of these tissues and performed western blot analysis to measure the quantity of OPN. Results: The expression of OPN mRNA was significantly higher in both eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues of women with endometriosis than in endometrial tissues of controls during both proliferative and secretory phase. In the eutopic endometrial tissue of women with endometriosis, OPN mRNA expression significantly increased during the secretory phase compared to the proliferative phase in women with endometriosis as well as controls. However, in the ectopic endometrial tissue, OPN mRNA expression significantly decreased during the secretory phase compared to the proliferative phase. The expression of OPN protein was significantly higher in women with endometriosis than in controls. Conclusion: This study shows the marked expression of OPN mRNA and protein in eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues in women with endometriosis may be associated with the adhesion and invasion of endometrial explants.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.208-218
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• 1999

Background: Lung cancer-associated hypercalcemia is one of the most disabling and life-threatening paraneoplastic disorders. Humoral hypercalcemia is responsible for most lung cancer-associated hypercalcemia. Patients with hypercalcemia are usually in the advanced stage with obvious bulky tumor and carry a poor prognosis. Materials and Methods: Total 29 patients satisfied the following criteria: histologically proven primary lung cancer, corrected calcium level ${\geq}$ 10.5 mg/dL, and symptoms which could possibly be attributed to hypercalcemia. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the various clinical aspects of hypercalcemia, in relation to cancer stage, histologic cell type, mass size, bone metastasis, performance status, and other possible characteristics. Results: Total 29 lung cancer patients with hypercalcemia were studied, and most of them had squamous cell carcinoma in their histologic finding. The incidence of hypercalcemia was significantly higher between 50 and 69 years of age, and in the advancement of cancer stage. Although serum calcium level showed positive correlation with mass size, performance status, and bone metastasis, it was not significant statistically. Altered consciousness was significantly more frequent in the patients with higher serum calcium level. There were no differences in effectiveness among therapeutic regimens. Hypercalcemia was more frequently in the later stage of disease than during the initial diagnosis of lung cancer. Most of the patients died within 1 month after development of hypercalcemia. Conclusion: We concluded that hypercalcemia in lung cancer is related to extremely poor prognosis, and may be one of the causes of death and should be treated aggressively to prevent sudden deterioration or death.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.75-84
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• 1999

This study assessed development in vitro of pronuclear(PN) stage embryos cryopreserved by the method of either vitrification or slow freezing, by using of different cryoprotectants, and equilibration and cooling rate, in rabbit. Ethyleneglycol- ficoll- sucrose(EFS) or ethyleneglycol- polyvinylpyrrolidone - galactose- (EPG-I) for vitrification, and EPG- II for slow freezing as cryoprotectant were used. The pronuclear embryos were exposed to EFS for 0 to 5 min and diluted with D-PBS and/or pre-dilution with 0.5 M sucrose. To examine the viability of frozen-thawed embryos, PN embryos were co-cultured with bovine oviductal epitherial cell(BOEC) for 5 days to hatching blastocyst stage in 39 $^{\circ}C$ 5% $CO_2$incubator. The results obtained were as follows: The dilution with 0.5 M sucrose and D-PBS after the exposure to EFS for 1.0 min resulted in no significant(P＜0.05) decrease in the development of PN embryos to hatching blastocyst(72.0%), compared with controls. The development of PN embryos cryopreserved to hatching blastocyst was not significantly (P＜0.05) different between EFS for 1.0 min(72.0%), EPG-I for 1.0 min(72.0%) and EPG-II for 30 min(66. 7%). The post-thaw development of PN embryos to hatching blastocyst was similarly very low as 6.1% and 11.5% in vitrification with EFS and slow freezing with EPG-II, respectively. The incidence of post-thaw zona-crack in PN embryos cryopreserved by slow freezing with plunging to liquid nitrogen at －35$^{\circ}C$ was signicantly(P＜0.05) higher(25.0%), compared with －85$^{\circ}C$ (1.9%). These results indicated that the rabbit PN embryos could be cryopreserved with either vitrification or slow freezing procedure, and frozen PN embryos could be successfully developed in vitro to haching blastocyst. but the post-thaw development of cryopreserved PN embryos was still very low under the present conditions.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.105-111
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• 1997

group($22\%\;vs.\;38\%$, p=0.24). The 5YSRs of 21 patients of primary tumor extension to adjacent sites and the other 13 patients of tonsillar proper site were $28\%\;and\;38\%$, respectively but the difference was not significant statistically(p=0.52) There was a statistically significant difference in 5YSRs between the groups of the Patients who received radiotherapy in less than 61days vs more than 60days($60\%\;vs.\;18\%$, p=0.027). All living Patients without any tumor progression(n=11) had suffered from serious late sequelae such as xerostomia, edentia, dental caries and one patient had the osteoradionecrosis of mandible. On univariate analysis. the duration of radiotherapy and T-stage were the significant prognostic factors affecting 5YSR. On multivariate analysis, also the duration of radiotherapy was the only significant Prognostic factor(p=0.01). Conclusion : There was no survival difference between the radiotherapy alone and with neoadiuvant chemothe groups. Although it was a retrospective study, the role of conventional radiotherapy alone could be effective as the local treatment modality only for the early stage of tonsillar carcinomas. But for the purpose of more improved survivals and better quality of lives of living patients, other altered fractionation such as hyperfractionated radiotherapy with shorter treatment time and smaller fraction size rather than conventional radiotherapy might be beneficial and these prospective studies are needed.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2000

Purpose :We peformed the retrospective analysis to find the outcome of external beam radiotherapy alone in advanced esophageal cancer patients. Methods and Materials : One hundred and six Patients treated with external beam radiotherapy alone between July 1990 and December 1996 were analyzed retrospectively. We limited the site of the lesions to the thoracic esophagus and cell type to the squamous cell carcinoma. Follow-up was completed in 100 patients (94$\%$) and ranged from 1 month to 92 months (median; 6 months). Results :The median age was 62 years old and male to female ratio was 104 2. Fifty-three percent was the middle thorax lesion and curative radiotherapy was peformed in 83$\%$. Mean tumor dose delivered with curative aim was 58.6 Gy (55$\~$70.8 Gy) and median duration of the radiation therapy was 53 days. The median survival of all patients was 6 months and )-year and 2-year overall survival rate was 27$\%$ and 12$\%$, respectively, Improvement of dysphagia was obtained in most patients except for 7 patients who underwent feeding gastrostomy. The complete response rate immediately after radiation therapy was 32$\%$ (34/106). The median survival and 2-year survival rate of the complete responder was 14 months and 30$\%$ respectively, while those of the nonresponder was 4 months and 0$\%$ respectively (p=0.000). The median survival and 2-year survival rate of the patients who could tolerate regular diet was 9 months and 16$\%$ while those of the patients who could not tolerate regular diet was 3 months and 0$\%$, respectively (p=0.004). The survival difference between the patients with S cm or less tumor length and those with more than 5 cm tumor length was marginally statistically significant (u=0,06). However, the survival difference according to the periesophageal invasion or mediastinal tyrnphadenopathy in the chest CT imaging study was not statistically significant in this study. In a multivariate analysis, the statistically significant covariates to the survival were complete response to radiotherapy, tumor length, and initial degree of dysphagia in a decreasing order. The complication was observed in 10 patients (9$\%$). Conclusion :The survival outcome for advanced esophageal cancer patients treated by external beam radiotherapy alone was very poor. In the treatment of these patients, the brachytherapy and chemotherapy should be added to improve the treatment outcome.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.37 no.8
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• pp.684-690
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• 2004

Background: Primary thymic epithelial neoplasm is a type of mediastinal tumors that have various biologic and morphologic features. In this study, we reclassified 59 cases of thymic epithelial tumors by the new WHO classification. We inquired whether the new WHO classification has independent prognostic relevance by analyzing clinical characteristics of thymic epithelial tumors including Masaoka's clinical stage. Material and Method: From December 1986 to August 2003, 59. patients who underwent surgery in the Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center with definite diagnosis of thymic epithelial tumor were studied. We analyzed the histologic subtype (WHO classification). clinical stage (Masaoka's clinical stage) and patient's characteristics (sex, age, myasthenia gravis, tumor size, invasion. recurrence, metastasis) as prognostic factors. We analyzed the relationship between histologic subtype and clinical stage. Result: 32 patients were male and 27 were female. Mean age was 50.1$\pm$14.2. From WHO A to C, all thymic epithelial tumors were reclassified by the new WHO classification. Six patients (10.2%) had Type A, 7 (11.9%) had Type AB, 7 (11.9%) had Type B$_1$, 10 (16.9%) had Type B$_2$ and 7 (11.9%) had Type B$_3$, 22 (37.3%) had Type C. Two factors were shown by multivariate analysis to be associated with a favorable prognosis: completeness of resection (p=0.003) and non-invasiveness (p=0.001). The overall 5-year survival of the 59 patients was 53%, subtype A and AB were 92.3%, B$_1$ and B$_2$ were 70.2%, and B$_3$ and C were 26.1%. The association between histologic subtype and invasive behavior (stage) was statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: The WHO classfication is not only a histologic classfication of the thymic epithelial tumors but also a significant prognostic factor that influence the survival of thymic epithelial tumors.