• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.615-621
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• 2000

A social phobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by extreme fear and phobic avoidance of social and performance situations. Medications or cognitive-behavior methods have been mainly used in treating it. These methods have some shortcomings such as being inefficient and difficult to apply to treatment. Lately the virtual rcality technology has been applied to dcal with the anxiety disorders in order to compcnsate for these defects. A virtual environment provides a patient with stimuli which cvokes a phobia. and the patient's exposure to the virtual phobic situation make him be able to overcome it. In this study, we suggested the public speaking simulator based on a personal computer for the treatment of social phobia. The public speaking simulator was composed of a position sensor. head mount display and audio system. And a virtual environment for the treatment was suggested to be a seminar room where 8 avatars are sitting. The virtual environment includes a tracking system the trace a participant's head-movement using a HMD with position sensor and 3D sound is added to the virtual environment so that he might fcel it realistic. We also made avatars' motion and facial expression change in reaction to a participant's speech. The goal of developing public speaking simulator is to apply to treat fear of public speaking efficiently and economically. In a future study. we should get more information about immergence and treatment efficiency by clinical test and apply it to this simulator.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.239-248
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• 2016

Background: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the incidence of chronic persistent post-surgical pain (CPPP) and the role of signal transduction genes in patients undergoing staging laparotomy for carcinoma ovary. Methods: The present observational study was undertaken following institutional ethical committee approval and informed consent from all the participants. A total 21 patients of ASA grade I to III with age 20-70 years, scheduled for elective staging laparotomy for carcinoma ovary were included. Patients were excluded if had other causes of pain, cognitive dysfunction or chronic neurological disorders. Statistical analysis of pool data was done using SPSS version-17. For various scales like GPE, PDQ, NPSI, the visual analogue scale (VAS), global perceived effect (GPE), the pain DETECT questionnaire (PDQ), and neuropathic pain symptoms inventory (NPSI), one factor repaeted measure ANOVA applied with simple contrast with baseline as on post-operative day 1 (considered as reference and compared with subsequent time-interval), and the P values were adjusted according to "Bonferroni adjustments". In patients with CPPP, the ${\Delta}ct$ values of mRNA expressions of genes at the end of postoperative day 90 were compared with the baseline control values by one factor repeated ANOVA. P value < 0.005 significant. Results: The present study demonstrates 38.1% (8 out of 21 patients) incidence of CPPP. The functional status and quality of life as were observed to be significantly diminished in all patients with chronic pain. An up-regulation in the mRNA expression of signal transduction and a positive correlation was noted between the mRNA expression of signal transduction genes and VAS score in all patients with CPPP at the end of postoperative day 90. Conclusions: The reported incidence of CPPP in patients with carcinoma ovary was 38.1%. An up-regulation and positive correlation between mRNA expression of signal transduction genes and VAS score depicts its potential role in the pathogenesis of CPPP.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2018

Objectives: Chronic insomnia disorder is a common and one of the most distressing sleep disorders. This pilot study was conducted to compare the spatial function between insomnia disorder patients and good sleeping control. Methods: We enrolled the 22 patients with chronic insomnia during over one year who met the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria of insomnia disorder and 27 normal sleeping controls. The Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) has been performed to compare the spatial cognitive function between insomnia disorder patients and good sleeping controls. Results: The CANTAB results showed significant differences in the problems solved in minimum moves of Stockings of Cambridge test (t = -2.499, p = 0.017). The significant difference between two groups remained after controlling age, sex, and Beck Depression Index non-sleep scores (F = 5.631, p = 0.022). Conclusion: This study suggests that the patients with insomnia disorder have poor spatial planning function.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.75-81
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• 2017

Objectives Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic and disabling psychiatric disorder. The duration of untreated illness (DUI) has been suggested as one of the predictors of clinical course and outcome in various psychiatric disorders. There is increasing evidence that cognitive dysfunction is associated with the prognosis of OCD. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of DUI on the neurocognitive functions in patients with OCD. Methods Sixty-two patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of OCD from the outpatient clinic were included in this study. We defined the short DUI if the DUI was 2-year or less and the long DUI if it was longer than 2-year. Neurocognitive functions were assessed by visuospatial memory function test and 4 subsets of K-WAIS such as vocabulary, arithmetic, block design and picture arrangement. Differences in neurocognitive functions as well as clinical variables between OCD patients with short DUI and those with long DUI were investigated. Correlation analyses were also performed to determine the correlation between DUI and neurocognitive functions. Results Compared with the short DUI group, the long DUI group performed worse in the block design test, which measures executive function. The long DUI group also had a higher level of compulsive symptom severity than the short DUI group. However, the DUI was not correlated with neurocognitive functions. Conclusions Findings in this preliminary study suggest that the long DUI in patients with OCD is associated with more severe executive dysfunction. Studies with larger samples and longitudinal design are needed to further confirm the prognostic role of the DUI in OCD.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.708-712
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• 2020

Vacuolar protein sorting (VPS) 26b is a newly discovered member of the retromer complex; it is encoded by a single-copy gene located on mouse chromosome 9, and the complex has been reported as being composed of proteins VPS26, VPS29, and VPS35. We have previously shown that mice lacking VPS26b exhibited no significant body size or health issues. Although retromer components are widely expressed in mouse tissue, their roles have not yet been completely elucidated. The current study investigates whether the VPS26b-associated retromer complex can be used as a neurodegeneration model. Previously, we observed a significant reduction in VPS35 and VPS29 in the brain cells of in VPS26b-deficient mice as well as an absence of the VPS26b-VPS29-VPS35 retromer complex despite the normal presence of VPS26a-VPS29-VPS35. Recent studies have suggested that low levels of VPS35 can lead to Alzheimer's disease-like phenotypes including cognitive memory deficits. In this study, we successfully demonstrate an association between the absence of the VPS26b-VPS29-VPS35 retromer complex, reduced cell density in the CA3 region of the hippocampus, and learning disability in VPS26b knock-out mice. The results also indicate that the VPS26b-associated retromer complex affects neurodegenerative disorders and learning processes.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2007

The chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome (abbreviated CFIDS or CFS) is a disorder characterized by debilitating fatigue(over 6 months.), along with cognitive, musculoskeletal, and sleep abnormalities. The etiology of this illness is unlikely to be a single agent. Findings to date suggest that physiological and psychological factors work together to predispose and perpetuate the illness. Diagnosis is made difficult by the nonspecific clinical findings and no available diagnostic testing. With no known cause or cure for the chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome, treatment is based on relieving symptoms and improving the quality of life of affected patients. There is emerging evidence that chronic fatigue syndrome may be familial. In the future, studies will examine the extent to which genetic and environmental factors play a role in the development of chronic fatigue syndrome. Most patients with CFS have psychiatric problems such as a generalized anxiety disorder, or major or minor depression, therefore, these mental health disorders may be correlated with the pathophysiology of the CFS. The treatment for CFS must be individualized, due to the heterogeneity of the CFS population. Also the treatment of CFS is built on a foundation of patient-physician relationship, respect and advocacy.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.137-144
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• 2020

Delirium is among the most common mental disorders encountered in patients with a temporary cognitive impairment such as consciousness disorder, attention disorder, and poor speech, particularly among those who are older. Delirium is distressing for patients and families, can interfere with the management of symptoms such as pain, and is associated with increased elderly mortality. The purpose of this paper is to generate useful clinical knowledge that can be used to distinguish the outcomes of patients with delirium in long-term care facilities. For this purpose, we extracted the clinical classification knowledge associated with delirium using a local covering rule acquisition approach with the rough lower approximation region. The clinical applicability of the proposed method was verified using data collected from a prospective cohort study. From the results of this study, we found six useful clinical pieces of evidence that the duration of delirium could more than 12 days. Also, we confirmed eight factors such as BMI, Charlson Comorbidity Index, hospitalization path, nutrition deficiency, infection, sleep disturbance, bed scores, and diaper use are important in distinguishing the outcomes of delirium patients. The classification performance of the proposed method was verified by comparison with three benchmarking models, ANN, SVM with RBF kernel, and Random Forest, using a statistical five-fold cross-validation method. The proposed method showed an improved average performance of 0.6% and 2.7% in both accuracy and AUC criteria when compared with the SVM model with the highest classification performance of the three models respectively.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2007

The pregnancy and postpartum period appear to be a time of heightened vulnerability for the development of major depression in some women. Postpartum depression affects 10% of women within a few weeks immediately postpartum. Postpartum depression is associated with disturbances in the mother-infant relationship, which in turn have an adverse impact on the course of child cognitive and emotional development. Depression during pregnancy is also common, although it has been relatively neglected. Psychopathological symptoms during pregnancy have physiological consequences for the fetus. Understanding the aetiology of perinatal depression requires integrating of multiple psychosocial and biological risk factors. The treatment of depressed pregnant women requires skilled decision making by psychiatrists. Risk-benefit analysis is appropriate method for intervention fur depression in pregnancy. Effective treatments for depression in pregnancy include psychotherapy, antidepressant medication and electroconvulsive therapy. In treatment of postpartum depression, the biological, psychological, and social interventions are included. Prescribing antidepressants(such as fluoxetine), estrogen in severe and chronic cases, and counselling can be effective for improving maternal mood and aspects of infant outcome. Ongoing research is directed to further elucidating neurohormonal and psychosocial contributions to depression during pregnancy or postpartum. Screening for risk factors and symptoms for depression need to be incorporated into antenatal and pediatric clinics.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.89-97
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• 2020

Objectives: The quality of life (QoL) of the elderly and elder abuse are growing public health concerns. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of abuse and the association between QoL and abuse in older adults. Methods: Multistage random cluster sampling, along with valid QoL (LEIPAD: LEIden, the Netherlands; PADua, Italy; Helsinki, Finland) and abuse questionnaires, were used to assess QoL and elder abuse. Path analysis was performed using Mplus. SPSS and AMOS were used for the other analyses. Results: A total of 386 elderly individuals with a mean age of 68.00±6.10 years were interviewed, of whom 200 (51.8%), 289 (74.9%), and 376 (97.4%) were women, educated, and married, respectively. Moreover, 167 (43.2%) had low-to-moderate QoL, and 108 (27.9%) had experienced a moderate level of abuse. QoL and abuse were inversely associated (r=-0.253), with men (β=-0.24) more affected than women (β=-0.21). Musculoskeletal disorders were also strong determinants of QoL in the elderly. QoL was strongly associated with emotional abuse, while abuse was highly related to the social component of QoL. Furthermore, emotional abuse was the type of abuse most significantly associated with the self-care, depression/anxiety, cognitive, and social components of QoL. Sexual abuse, violation of personal rights, and neglect were the main determinants of the physical functioning, life satisfaction, and sexual domains of QoL, respectively. Conclusions: Nearly half of the elderly individuals lacked a high QoL, and at least one-fourth had experienced some form of abuse. Elder abuse was correlated inversely with QoL. Therefore, preventive interventions are recommended to decrease elder abuse in the family, community, and other settings.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.85-90
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• 2010

Objectives: Ginseng has a long history of being used in insomnia treatment and there is some evidence from animal studies of its sleep-enhancing property. From this, it can be assumed that ginseng has sleep-promoting effect in humans. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Korean red ginseng on change of sleep architecture in humans. Methods: A total of 20 healthy young males with regular sleep and wake habits and without any psychiatric nor cognitive problems were selected based on review of sleep questionnaires and sleep diaries they completed followed by an interview with a board-certified psychiatrist. The subjects were randomly assigned to red ginseng or placebo for 2 weeks of trial. The total daily dose of ginseng was 4,500 mg. The polysomnographic recordings were made at baseline and at 2 weeks after. The effects of red ginseng and placebo on sleep were assessed by comparing the changes in polysomnographic variables between the two groups. Results: A total of 15 subjects, 8 from red ginseng group and 7 from placebo group, were included to undergo polysomnographic procedures. The red ginseng group showed tendencies to increase stage 3 sleep (p=0.087) and to decrease stage 2 sleep (p=0.071) from the baseline compared with the placebo group. Conclusion: Korean red ginseng tends to increase deep sleep and decrease shallow sleep. Our result is in line, at least in part, with previous findings that Korean red ginseng increased total and NREM sleep in rats. Further studies with higher ginseng dosage, larger sample size and longer trial duration should be conducted to confirm the sleep stabilizing and balancing effects of Korean red ginseng.