• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.165-198
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• 2014

This study investigated a mechanism of naming a disease, as examining how obesity attain a status of disease. WHO(World Health Organization) warned 'The obesity is definitely a disease to need medical treatment' in 1996 and 1997. However, before then, obesity was classified as unusual or nonstandard body status but it was not categorized as a disease. In order to examine a mechanism how obesity attain the status of disease, this study examined the historical process of construction to obesity in discourse of disease and ontological reality of pathological epidemiological to obesity. As a result of this research, it was found that the medical community manipulated BMI(Body Mass Index) and deliberately narrowed the range of person's normal weight, and institutionalized sizism. Especially, it was found that as the medical community associated the body state of obesity with high blood pressure, diabetes, and etc that causes burden of medical expenses to patients, that was fatphobia. And it tried to from a medical control mechanism to assign obesity to an independent status of a disease. Based on this examination, this study found an entailment: the noninfectious disease such as obesity attains the status of disease not because of the pathologic reason but because of cultural or socio-economical reason which han nothing to do with any medical source.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제58권6호
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• pp.607-613
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• 2005

Background : Early death is an important problem associated with the management of community-acquired pneumonia. However, there is little information on the risk factors associated with it. The aim of this study was to identify the factors associated with early death in community-acquired pneumonia patients. Methods : From January 1999 to July 2004, 1,487 adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia who were admitted to the pulmonary department via emergency center were examined. Early death was defined as those who died within 2 days of hospitalization. The clinical and laboratory aspects of the patients who died early (n = 30) were compared with those of an age and gender matched control population (n = 60). Results : In the early death group, respiratory rate, heart rate, and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were significant higher (p < 0.05 for all), while the arterial pH, systolic pressure, and $PaO_2$ were significant lower (p < 0.05 for all) than the control. The independent factor significantly associated with early death was tachypnea (OR, 7.049). Conclusion : The importance of an early clinical assessment in emergency center with community-acquired pneumonia needs to be emphasized in order to recognize patients at risk of early death.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.499-508
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• 2005

The purpose of this study were to evaluate the effect on the reversion of sedation induced by midazolam with flumazenil and to determine the plasma concentration of flumazenil according to the method of administration. Intranasal and intravenous flumazenil were administered to sedated health volunteers aged from 23 to 25 years, in doses typical of those used clinically to induce sedation with midazolam and for reversal with flumazenil. Objective assessment for degree of sedation and vital signs, plasma concentration were made for 2 hours period. 1. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, $SpO_2$ were not changed by adminstration of flumazenil in sedated subject with midazolam, but pulse rate was increased temporarily. 2. Flumazenil showed the reversal of the sedative effect induced by midazolam regardless of administration methods. But intravenous administration showed more effect on the degree and the duration of reversion than intranasal administration with the exception of on set time. 3. Peak plasma concentration of flumazenil administered by intranasal route reached after 2 min and that of flumazenil administered by intravenous route was 4 min. Thus uptake of flumazenil did not showed any difference in accordance with the adminstration route. 4. Administration of flumazenil resulted in the temporary increase of midazolam plasma concentration.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• 제34권2호
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• pp.105-111
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• 2006

Tremella fuciformis, one of edible and medicinal mushroom belonging to Tremellaceae of Basidiomycota, has been known to have a curative effect on sarcoma 180 of mice and lowering high blood pressure of human beings. Neutral salt soluble [0.9% NaCl (Fr. NaCl)], hot water soluble (Fr. HW) and methanol soluble (Fr. MeOH) substances were extracted from Tremella fuciformis. In vitro cytotoxicity tests, Fr. HW and Fr. NaCl were not cytotoxic against cancer cell lines such as NIH3T3, Sarcoma 180, and HT-29 at the concentration of $2000{\mu}g/ml$, while Fr. MeOH was cytotoxic to NIH3T3 and Sarcoma 180. Intraperitoneal injection with Fr. NaCl showed antitumor effect with life prolongation of 53% in mice inoculated with Sarcoma 180. Fr. NaCl improved the immunopotentiation activity of B lymphocyte by increasing the alkaline phosphatase activity by $3.0{\sim}8.1$ folds, respectively. Intraperitoneal injection with Fr. NaCl increased the numbers of peritoneal exudated cells and circulating leukocytes by 7.4 folds and 1.6 folds, respectively, than in the control group. The antitumor effect of T. fuciformis against Sarcoma 180 of mice was likely due to immunopotentiation activity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• 제20권5호
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• pp.799-804
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• 2010

In humans, CYP2C19, a member of the cytochrome P450 subfamily, metabolizes arachidonic acid to produce epoxyicosanoid acids, which are involved in vascular tone and regulation of blood pressure (BP). Recent findings suggest that CYP2C19 gene polymorphisms might be considered as a novel candidate gene for cardiovascular disease. We thus focused on the Korean population to explore the association of two polymorphisms ($CYP2C19^*2$ and $^*3$) in this gene and essential hypertension (EH). A total of 1,241 participants (537 hypertensive subjects and 704 healthy controls) were recruited from the Yonsei Cardiovascular Genome Center in Korea. The CYP2C19 polymorphisms were genotyped using the $SNaPShot^{TM}$ assay. The allele and genotype frequencies of $CYP2C19^*3$ showed significant difference between hypertensives and normotensives (P=0.019 and P=0.023, respectively). Logistic regression analysis indicated that the $CYP2C19^*3$ A allele carriers were significantly associated with EH (OR, 0.723; 95% CI, 0.538-0.972, P=0.032) under a dominant model. In addition, CYP2C19 G-A haplotype ($2C19^*2\;G-^*3$ A combination) was found to significantly reduce EH risk (OR, 0.714, P=0.015). We believe this provides evidence that $CYP2C19^*3$ polymorphism may contribute to a protective effect in the development of EH.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• 제38권3호
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• pp.208-211
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• 2006

Microalbuminuria is most frequently caused by kidney damage from diabetes. Moreover, many other conditions can lead to kidney damage, such as high blood pressure, heart failure, cirrhosis, or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The measurement of the microalbumin in urine may be useful for the early diagnosis or as a predictor of nephropathy in diabetes. The most common method for getting a quantitative measurement of urinary protein relies on a 24-hour urine collection. The result of this method is accurate. But 24hr urine collection is difficult to obtain and variations in volume are frequent. Also the patients complain about urine collection. We tried to measure reference values for microalbumin using fasting urine and compare them with the albumin/creatinine ratio using 24hr urine. The concentrations of microalbumin in fasting urine and 24hr urine were $7.1{\pm}3.8mg/L$, $5.7{\pm}2.9mg/L$ (r=0.61, p=0.27), respectively. The albumin/creatinine ratios using fasting urine and 24hr urine were $8.7{\pm}4.2{\mu}g/mg$, $8.7{\pm}4.0{\mu}g/mg$ (r=0.76, p=0.88), respectively. This study indicated that the measurement of microalbumin in fasting urine was an easy and simple method for early diagnosis or to predict nephropathy in diabetes. Thus, setting up the reference value using fasting urine may be useful in the screening test for the diabetic nephropathy patients instead of using the 24hr albumin excretion rate (AER).

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제40권4호
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• pp.305-312
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• 2007

Objectives : To estimate the awareness, treatment and control rate, as well as to identify the awareness-related factors for hypertension. Methods : The study participants were 482 adults (men 206, women 276), aged 45 or over, diagnosed with hypertension and living in Chuncheon. The awareness rate was defined as the proportion of persons among those with hypertension who had previously been diagnosed by a physician. The treatment rate was defined as the proportion of persons who had used anti-hypertensive medication, among those who were aware of their hypertension. The control rate was defined as the proportion of persons who kept blood pressure normal, among those who had been treated for their hypertension. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was carried out for the awareness-related factors using SAS VER 8.1. Results : The awareness, treatment, and control rate were 55,8% (53.4% for men; 57.6% for women), 89.6% (87,2% for men; 91.2% for women), and 34.4% (28.1 % for men; 38.6% for women), respectively. The awareness-related factors included a family history of hypertension (odds ratio[OR], 5.63; 95% confidence interval[95% CI]=1.53-20.72), smoking([Ex; OR 0.38, 95% CI= 0.15-0.96)], [Current; OR 0.28, 95% CI=0.10-0.80]), and alcohol intake ([Ex; OR 3.22, 95% CI 1.03-10.09],[Current; OR 3.36, 95% CI=1.30-8.71]) for men, and education(OR 2.23, 95% CI=1.10-4.53), body mass index(OR 2.72, 95% CI=1.13-6.53), and self-rated health(OR 2.38, 95% CI=1.07-5.30) for women. Conclusions : The awareness rate of hypertension among the middle aged and elderly in Chuncheon was 55.8%. The related factors of awareness were gender specific. Further studies are needed to elucidate the putative reasons for these gender differences.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• 제30권1호
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• pp.33-41
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• 1996

The present study was aimed to investigate the role of endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO) in the control of renin release and to examine if NO is implicated in the development of two-kidney, one clip (2K1C) hypertension. Male Sprague-Dawley rats $(150{\sim}200\; g)$ were constricted at the left renal artery. They were then supplemented with $N^{G}-nitro-L-arginine\;methyl\;ester\;(L-NAME,\; 5mg/100\;mL)$ or with L-arginine hydrochloride (400 mg/100 mL) in the drinking water. The control group was supplied with normal tap water. The sham-clipped rats were operated as in 2K1C rats except for that no clip was made. The kidneys were taken to examine in vitro release of renin at days 7 and 14 following clipping the renal artery. Northern blot analysis was also done to assess the expression of renin gene in the kidney. In sham-clipped rats, L-NAME caused a sustained increase of the blood pressure, whereas L-arginine was without effect. Neither L-NAME nor L-arginine-supplementation significantly affected the development of hypertension in 2K1C rats. Plasma renin concentration (PRC) measured on day 28 did not significantly differ among the L-NAME, L-arginine and control groups either in 2K1C or in sham-clipped rats. Renin contents (RRC) in the clipped kidney were increased, while those in the contralateral kidney were decreased. The release of renin in vitro from cortical slices was also enhanced in the clipped kidney, whereas it was attenuated in the contralateral. Comparing the RRC and in vitro release, the latter was more rapidly decreased than the former in the contralateral kidney. The renin mRNA levels in the contralateral kidney were almost at their nadir at days 7 and 14 in 2K1C rats. It is suggested that NO does not affect the development of 2K1C hypertension in which the renin-angiotensin system has been activated. The data also confirm that RRC and renin gene expression are increased in the clipped kidney and suppressed in the contralateral kidney in 2K1C rats.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제56권3호
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• pp.308-314
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• 2004

Atelocollagen have been used recently in skin and other soft tissue defect regions more than silicone fluid because of the low incidence of an immune reaction and complications. Several cases of acute pneumonitis after a subcutaneous injection of silicone have been reported. The symptoms were dyspnea, fever, chest pain and hemoptysis. Previous reports have explained the pathophysiology of acute pneumonitis to a pulmonary microembolism and cellular inflammation. We experienced two cases of an acute interstitial pneumonitis and pulmonary hemorrhage after a subcutaneous injection of atelocollagen. They were all healthy young women and complained of dyspnea, fever and blood tinged sputum. The chest radiography and computerized tomography showed a bilateral ground glass opacity in both lung fields. One case recovered completely with conservative treatment but the clinical course of the other case was aggravated to the degree that invasive positive pressure ventilation therapy was required. We report a rare case of a diffuse pulmonary alveolar hemorrhage and an interstitial pneumonitis after the subcutaneous injection of atelocollagen for cosmetic purposes.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제68권2호
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• pp.87-92
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• 2010

Background: D-dimer testing is widely applied as a first step in the diagnostic work-up of pulmonary embolism (PE). Although this is the most sensitive assay for ruling out PE, the prognostic implications of D-dimer testing in patients with normotensive PE are not well known. The aim of this study was to determine if D-dimer testing on admission predicts major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in patients with normotensive PE. Methods: A total of 180 consecutive patients with normotensive PE admitted between January 2003 and June 2009 were included. The group was divided into quartiles on the basis of their D-dimer levels. We compared the frequency of MACE by quartile of D-dimer level and estimated sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values for MACE in the first and fourth quartile. Results: In the 37 (20.6%) patients with MACEs, the median D-dimer level (7.94[IQR:4.03~18.17]${\mu}g/mL$) was higher than in patients with a benign course (5.29[IQR:2.60~11.52]${\mu}g/mL$, p<0.01). The occurrence of MACEs was increased with increasing D-dimer level (p=0.017). In the first quartile (D-Dimer <$2.76{\mu}g/mL$) sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for predicting MACEs were, respectively, 91.9%, 29.4%, 25.2%, and 93.3%. Conclusion: Patients with D-dimer levels below $2.76{\mu}g/mL$ have a low risk of MACEs. Our study suggest that D-dimer level may be used to identify low risk patients with normotensive PE.