EFFECT OF SPORTS TAPING APPLIED FUNCTIONAL CORRECTION GARMENT FOR ADOLESCENT IDIOPATHIC SCOLIOSIS IMPROVEMENT

The purpose of this research was to analyze the effect of wearing underwear type functional garment for the correction scoliosis by conducting a case study. Two patients wore the garment for 8–week. Cobb’s angle and EMG activities during a gait were measured before and after the treatment for the analysis. Both subjects showed that the activities of the right psoas, biceps femoris and gluteus medius were increased. The Cobb’s angle was decreased after 8-week period of wearing. These results matched with the purpose of developed functional correction wear that induce the right psoas muscle contraction and the left psoas muscle relaxation. It seems to be useful wear for adolescent scoliosis patients who avoid using orthosis, and to use special functional underwear to improve their posture

Currents, Eddies, and a Fish Story in the Southwestern Japan/East Sea

As part of the Japan/East Sea (JES) initiative supported by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, we conducted an observational experiment to understand the physics of the mesoscale circulation in the Ulleung Basin, located in the southwestern corner of the JES. The current passing through the Korea Strait divides upon entering the JES, with portions of the current flowing along the Korean and Japanese coasts. The variability of these currents is especially energetic in our study region. Our objectives were to measure the time-varying currents in the upper and deep levels of the JES. We relate the population density of vertically migrating fish or squid to the time-varying locations of fronts

Factors Affecting Willingness to Undergo Carpal Tunnel Release

Background: Factors regarding patient willingness to undergo or avoid joint replacement have been studied; however, these factors have not been studied in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. To further understand the aspects that are important for a patient with carpal tunnel syndrome in deciding whether to have surgery, we identified factors that affect this decision in women and that are not related to Workers` Compensation status. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 282 female patients with electrophysiologically confirmed carpal tunnel syndrome without a known cause who were recommended for carpal tunnel release by a single hand surgeon in a tertiary medical setting. Of those, thirty-six female patients who were not entitled to Workers` Compensation canceled the operation during the waiting period, which averaged four weeks. Thirty-three of them were surveyed with a questionnaire sent by mail, and eighteen completed surveys were reviewed at a mean follow-up of thirty-two months. Furthermore, seventy female patients who underwent carpal tunnel release were randomly sampled, and thirty-eight patients completed the survey. The operation and cancellation groups were compared with regard to the reasons for choosing or canceling surgery. Results: The groups were similar with regard to age, sociodemographic variables, follow-up length, initial electro-physiological findings, and functional status. The highest-ranked reason for choosing surgery was symptom severity rather than fear of progression or a positive electrodiagnostic result. Those who canceled the operation rated symptom improvement during the waiting period as the leading reason for doing so, but they were also concerned about transient weakness, the financial burden, and a scar or pillar pain. Disease persistence or recurrence was the issue of most concern in both groups. At the time of the final review, the functional status was significantly improved in both groups and no significant difference between the groups was detected. Conclusions: Women with carpal tunnel syndrome report that subjective symptom severity is the most important reason for undergoing surgery. Understanding this and other patient concerns may help physicians during patient-oriented consultation and decision-making. In particular, recommendations for carpal tunnel release on the basis of symptoms are reasonable from the perspective of the patient who has carpal tunnel syndrome without a known cause.Lee JY, 2008, J SHOULDER ELB SURG, V17, P570, DOI 10.1016/j.jse.2007.12.005Hudak PL, 2008, J BONE JOINT SURG AM, V90A, P1427, DOI 10.2106/JBJS.G.01077Park KK, 2007, CLIN ORTHOP RELAT R, P143, DOI 10.1097/BLO.0b013e31804ea0bcTaylor-Gjevre RM, 2007, CAN FAM PHYSICIAN, V53, P1186Rigler I, 2007, EUR J NEUROL, V14, P783, DOI 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2007.01855.xBallantyne PJ, 2007, ARTHRIT RHEUM-ARTHR, V57, P27, DOI 10.1002/art.22472*AAOS CARP TUNN SY, 2007, AM AC ORTH SURG GUIDSCHOLTEN RJ, 2007, COCHRANE DB SYST REV, V17, P3905Hawker GA, 2006, CURR OPIN RHEUMATOL, V18, P526Mazur DJ, 2005, HEALTH EXPECT, V8, P97FIGARO MK, 2005, J AMBUL CARE MANAGE, V28, P41Hawker GA, 2004, ARTHRIT RHEUM-ARTHR, V51, P635, DOI 10.1002/art.20524Figaro MK, 2004, HEALTH PSYCHOL, V23, P324, DOI 10.1037/0278-6133.23.3.324Chang HJ, 2004, ARTHRIT RHEUM-ARTHR, V51, P117, DOI 10.1002/art.20073AKELMAN E, 2004, HAND SURG, P867Moran M, 2003, J ARTHROPLASTY, V18, P442, DOI 10.1016/S0883-5403(03)00061-5RESENDE LA, 2003, ELECTROMYOGR CLIN NE, V43, P301Ang DC, 2002, MED CARE, V40, P471Hawker GA, 2001, MED CARE, V39, P206Bland JDP, 2000, MUSCLE NERVE, V23, P1280Trousdale RT, 1999, MAYO CLIN PROC, V74, P978Atroshi I, 1999, JAMA-J AM MED ASSOC, V282, P153Homan MM, 1999, SCAND J WORK ENV HEA, V25, P115Padua L, 1998, ITAL J NEUROL SCI, V19, P357Aulisa L, 1998, J HAND SURG-AM, V23A, P687Nathan PA, 1998, MUSCLE NERVE, V21, P711Concannon MJ, 1997, PLAST RECONSTR SURG, V100, P1452Asch DA, 1997, J CLIN EPIDEMIOL, V50, P1129Hudak PL, 1996, AM J IND MED, V30, P372Deber RB, 1996, ARCH INTERN MED, V156, P1414Hudak PL, 1996, AM J IND MED, V29, P602WRIGHT JG, 1994, J BONE JOINT SURG BR, V76B, P229LEVINE DW, 1993, J BONE JOINT SURG AM, V75A, P1585SIMINOFF LA, 1991, SOC SCI MED, V32, P813GRUNDBERG AB, 1983, J HAND SURG-AM, V8, P348

Post-traumatic Back Pain Revealed as Tuberculous Spondylitis -A Case Report-

Tuberculous spondylitis is a very rare disease, but it can result in bone destruction, kyphotic deformity, spinal instability, and neurologic complications unless early diagnosis and proper management are done. Because the most common symptom of tuberculous spondylitis is back pain, it can often be misdiagnosed. Atypical tuberculous spondylitis can be presented as a metastatic cancer or a primary vertebral tumor. We must make a differential diagnosis through adequate biopsy. A 30-year-old man visited our clinic due to back and chest pain after a recent traffic accident. About 1 year ago, he had successfully recovered from tuberculous pleurisy after taking anti-tuberculosis medication. We performed epidural and intercostal blocks but the pain was not relieved. For the further evaluation, several imaging and laboratory tests were done. Finally, we confirmed tuberculous spondylitis diagnosis with the biopsy results

Intranasal immunization with plasmid DNA encoding spike protein of SARS-coronavirus/polyethylenimine nanoparticles elicits antigen-specific humoral and cellular immune responses

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Immunization with the spike protein (S) of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-coronavirus (CoV) in mice is known to produce neutralizing antibodies and to prevent the infection caused by SARS-CoV. Polyethylenimine 25K (PEI) is a cationic polymer which effectively delivers the plasmid DNA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the present study, the immune responses of BALB/c mice immunized via intranasal (i.n.) route with SARS DNA vaccine (pci-S) in a PEI/pci-S complex form have been examined. The size of the PEI/pci-S nanoparticles appeared to be around 194.7 ± 99.3 nm, and the expression of the S mRNA and protein was confirmed <it>in vitro</it>. The mice immunized with i.n. PEI/pci-S nanoparticles produced significantly (<it>P </it>< 0.05) higher S-specific IgG1 in the sera and mucosal secretory IgA in the lung wash than those in mice treated with pci-S alone. Compared to those in mice challenged with pci-S alone, the number of B220⁺cells found in PEI/pci-S vaccinated mice was elevated. Co-stimulatory molecules (CD80 and CD86) and class II major histocompatibility complex molecules (I-A^d) were increased on CD11c⁺dendritic cells in cervical lymph node from the mice after PEI/pci-S vaccination. The percentage of IFN-γ-, TNF-α- and IL-2-producing cells were higher in PEI/pci-S vaccinated mice than in control mice.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results showed that intranasal immunization with PEI/pci-S nanoparticles induce antigen specific humoral and cellular immune responses.</p

Enhancement of protective immune responses by oral vaccination with Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing recombinant Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae ApxIA or ApxIIA in mice

We previously induced protective immune response by oral immunization with yeast expressing the ApxIIA antigen. The ApxI antigen is also an important factor in the protection against Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 5 infection; therefore, the protective immunity in mice following oral immunization with Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing either ApxIA (group C) or ApxIIA (group D) alone or both (group E) was compared with that in two control groups (group A and B). The immunogenicity of the rApxIA antigen derived from the yeast was confirmed by a high survival rate and an ApxIA-specific IgG antibody response (p < 0.01). The highest systemic (IgG) and local (IgA) humoral immune responses to ApxIA and ApxIIA were detected in group E after the third immunization (p < 0.05). The levels of IL-1β and IL-6 after challenge with an A. pleuropneumoniae field isolate did not change significantly in the vaccinated groups. The level of TNF-α increased in a time-dependent manner in group E but was not significantly different after the challenge. After the challenge, the mice in group E had a significantly lower infectious burden and a higher level of protection than the mice in the other groups (p < 0.05). The survival rate in each group was closely correlated to the immune response and histopathological observations in the lung following the challenge. These results suggested that immunity to the ApxIA antigen is required for optimal protection

A Nationwide Survey of Lymphangioleiomyomatosis in Korea: Recent Increase in Newly Diagnosed Patients

In 2007, the Korean Interstitial Lung Disease Society had collected clinical data of patients who have diagnosed as Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) since 1990 through nationwide survey, which showed that LAM patients had increased sharply after 2004. The present study was performed to show the clinical features of Korean patients with LAM, and to establish the reason for the recent increase in the diagnosis. All 63 patients were women and the mean age at diagnosis was 36 yr. The most common presenting symptom was dyspnea and 8 patients had tuberous sclerosis complex. The survival rate at 5 yr after diagnosis was 84%. Compared with patients diagnosed after 2004 (n=34), the patients diagnosed before 2004 (n=29) complained with dyspnea more (P=0.016) and had lower FEV1% predicted (P=0.003), and DLco% predicted (P=0.042). The higher proportion of patients diagnosed after 2004 showed the normal chest radiography, and they were detected by routine chest CT screening (P=0.016). This study showed that clinical features of Korean patients with LAM were not different from those reported elsewhere. It is concluded that the reason for the increase of newly diagnosed patients is the result of increase in detection of the early stage LAM by the widespread use of chest CT screening