Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2004
Decreasing incidence of chronic lung disease despite the gradual reduction of postnatal dexamethasone use in very low birth weight infants.
Dexamethasone has been widely used in very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) weighing less than 1,500 g at birth for the prevention or treatment of chronic lung disease (CLD). Recently, however the use of dexamethasone is being reduced, as its association with abnormal neurodevelopmental outcome is known. On the other hand, there have been persistent concerns about the increased risk of CLD according to the reduction of postnatal dexamethasone use. ⋯ The day when postnatal dexamethasone therapy was begun has also been significantly delayed. The incidence of CLD has significantly decreased over the same period. In conclusion, the incidence of CLD has not increased despite the decreased use of postnatal dexamethasone.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2004
Case ReportsDuodenal duplicated cyst manifested by acute pancreatitis and obstructive jaundice in an elderly man.
A duodenal duplication cyst is an uncommon congenital anomaly that is usually encountered during infancy or in early childhood. Duodenal duplication cysts generally appear on the first or second portion of the duodenum and may cause duodenal obstruction, hemorrhage or pancreatitis. Here, we report a case of a duodenal duplication cyst on the second and third portion of the duodenum in an old aged man with obstructive jaundice and acute pancreatitis, which was treated successfully by a surgical excision.
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During the past decade, major breakthroughs have been achieved in treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Currently, three therapeutic agents are approved for chronic hepatitis B: interferon-alpha, lamivudine and adefovir dipivoxil. In patients with HBeAgpositive chronic hepatitis B, all of these drugs achieve HBeAg loss (24-33%) and anti-HBe seroconversion (12-30%) rates that are superior to those observed in untreated controls. ⋯ The main advantage of adefovir dipivoxil is the rare emergence of resistance, which has been identified in less than 2% of patients at 2 yr of treatment. Adefovir is also effective against lamivudine-resistant strains. This review will focus on the natural history and recently gained knowledge on the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2004
Interaction between intrathecal gabapentin and adenosine in the formalin test of rats.
Spinal gabapentin and adenosine have been known to display an antinociceptive effect. We evaluated the nature of the interaction between gabapentin and adenosine in formalin-induced nociception at the spinal level. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were prepared for intrathecal catheterization. ⋯ Gabapentin or adenosine decreased the sum of the number of flinches during phase 2, but not during phase 1 in the formalin test. Isobolographic analysis, in phase 2, revealed an additive interaction between gabapentin and adenosine. Taken together, intrathecal gabapentin and adenosine attenuated the facilitated state and interacted additively with each other.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2004
Effect of DA-8159, a selective phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, on electroretinogram and retinal histology in rabbits.
DA-8159, a selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase type 5, was developed as a new drug for erectile dysfunction. The effect of DA-8159 on the electroretinogram (ERG) and the retinal histopathology were evaluated in rabbits. The ERG was performed prior to, and 1 and 5 hr after DA-8159 (5 to 30 mg/kg) administration. ⋯ At either 15 mg/kg or 30 mg/kg, there was a dose-dependent increase in the blood concentration after 1 hr of drug administration, which decreased with time. In light and electron microscopic examinations of the retina, there was no remarkable change at any dose. These results suggest DA-8159 has a low risk potential to the retina, but further evaluation on the visual functions in human is needed.