Breast is a typical female sexual physiologic organ that is influenced by steroid hormone from menarche until menopause. Therefore various diseases can be developed by continuous action of estrogen and progesterone. Breast diseases are mainly categorized as benign and malignant. It is very important to distinguish the malignancy from breast diseases. However, it is very difficult to diagnose malignancy in pregnant and lactating women even though the same breast diseases took place. Therefore, we will review breast diseases such as breast carcinoma during pregnancy and lactation.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied over the prefrontal cortex on the improvement of verbal, visuospatial working memory and naming in healthy adults.MethodThirty two healthy adults (15 males and 17 females, mean age 37.3±13.0 years) were enrolled in this study. The subjects were divided into four groups randomly. They underwent sham or anodal tDCS over the left or right prefrontal cortex, for 20 minutes at a direct current of 1 mA. Before and immediately after tDCS, the subjects performed the Korean version of the mini-mental state exam (K-MMSE) and stroop test (color/word/interference) for the screening of cognitive function. For working memory and language evaluation, the digit span test (forward/backward), the visuospatial attention test in computer assisted cognitive program (CogPack®) and the Korean-Boston Naming Test (K-BNT) were assessed before tDCS, immediately after tDCS, and 2 weeks after tDCS.ResultsThe stroop test (word/interference), backward digit span test and K-BNT were improved in the left prefrontal tDCS group compared with that of the sham group (p<0.05). The stroop test (interference) and visuospatial attention test were in the right prefrontal tDCS group compared with that of the sham group (p<0.05). Their improvement lasted for 2 weeks after stimulation.ConclusiontDCS can induce verbal working memory improvement and naming facilitation by stimulating the left prefrontal cortex. It can also improve the visuospatial working memory by stimulating the right prefrontal cortex. Further studies which are lesion and symptom specific tDCS treatment for rehabilitation of stroke can be carried out.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in myofascial pain syndrome of upper trapezius with visual analogue scale (VAS) and pressure threshold by digital algometer.MethodTwenty-two patients diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome in upper trapezius were selected. They were assigned to treatment and standard care (control) groups balanced by age and sex, with eleven subjects in each group. The treated group had done four sessions of ESWT (0.056 mJ/mm2, 1,000 impulses, semiweekly) while the control group was treated by the same protocol but with different energy levels applied, 0.001 mJ/mm2. The VAS and pressure threshold were measured twice: before and after last therapy. We evaluated VAS of patients and measured the pressure threshold by using algometer.ResultsThere were two withdrawals and the remaining 20 patients were three men and 17 women. Age was distributed with 11 patients in their twenties and 9 over 30 years old. There was no significant difference of age, sex, pre-VAS and pre-pressure threshold between 2 groups (p>0.05) found. The VAS significantly decreased from 4.91±1.76 to 2.27±1.27 in the treated group (p<0.01). The control group did not show any significant changes of VAS score. The pressure threshold significantly increased from 40.4±9.94 N to 61.2±12.16 N in the treated group (p<0.05), but there was no significant change in the control group.ConclusionESWT in myofascial pain syndrome of upper trapezius is effective to relieve pain after four times therapies in two weeks. But further study will be required with more patients, a broader age range and more males.
Falls and fall-related injuries are important issue among polio survivors. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of, and consequences and factors associated with falls among Korean polio survivors. A total of 317 polio survivors participated in this study. All participants completed a questionnaire including fall history, symptoms related to post-polio syndrome and other information through a telephone interview. Among them, 80 participants visited our clinic for additional physical measurements and tests. Of the 317 respondents, 68.5% reported at least one fall in the past year. Of the fallers, 42.5% experienced at least one fall during one month. Most falls occurred during ambulation (76.6%), outside (75.2%) and by slipping down (29.7%). Of fallers, 45% reported any injuries caused by falls, and 23.3% reported fractures specifically. Female sex, old age, low bone mineral density, the presence of symptoms related to post-polio syndrome (PPS), poor balance confidence, short physical performance battery and weak muscle strength of knee extensor were not significantly associated with falls. Only leg-length discrepancy using spine-malleolar distance (SMD) was a significant factor associated with falls among Korean polio survivors. Our findings suggest that malalignment between the paralytic and non-paralytic limb length should be addressed in polio survivors for preventing falls.
Recent studies have suggested that photo-oxidative lesions produced by photodynamic therapy (PDT)-treated tumors are recognized by the host as altered self, (4) prompting a strong inflammatory and immune response.(5) In addition, the use of PDT vaccines has been studied to generate antitumor immunity and control tumor growth, suggesting that further improvements can be achieved in the optimization of the protocols for the generation of PDTgenerated cancer vaccines.(6,7) Because of the inflammatory/immune response triggered by PDT, this therapy has been shown to be particularly suitable for combination with a variety of immunotherapy based treatments, including angiogenic growth factors, matrix metalloproteinases, cytokines and adoptive transfer of immune cells. (8 -12) Overexpression of these molecules within PDTtargeted tissue can adversely affect tumor response. Therefore, experimental protocols combining PDT with procedures targeting these molecules are being examined in an effort to improve treatment efficacy.Oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) containing unmethylated cytosine-phosphate-guanosine (CpG) motifs was originally isolated from components of bacterial DNA.(13) CpG-ODN immunotherapy has been studied as a strategy for tumor prevention as well as for treatment of immune disorders. (14,15) A variety of studies have shown that CpG-ODN can activate B cells, monocytes and natural killer cells, and induce a Th1-like pattern of cytokine production.(16-18) The CpG sequences drive macrophages to secrete interleukin-12, a potent inducer of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production in vivo from natural killer cells. IFN-γ production drives Th1-type immune responses by inducing differentiation of type-1 Th cells, which see antigen in the presence of IFN-γ from the uncommitted T-cell pool. (19,20) Moreover, ODN enhances humoral responses and induces the development of enhanced cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) activity. (17,21) ODN has been studied extensively as a strong immunomodulatory agent. (22)(23)(24) The aim of the present study was to further characterize the immunotherapeutic significance of the combination of CpGoligodeoxynucleotide and TC-1 tumor cell lysates induced by PDT. We examined the in vivo antitumor effect of PDT (or freezing/thawing)-generated cell lysates plus ODN injection and the immune response in a mouse model. Our results showed that PDT-cell lysates plus ODN showed a significant suppression of tumor growth at both prophylactic and therapeutic levels, compared to PDT (or F/T)-cell lysates or ODN alone. Materials and MethodsPreparation of PDT-generated tumor cell lysates. Radachlorin (25) was purchased from RADA-PHARMA group (RADA-PHARMA, Moscow, Russia). The light source was a diode laser with a 662 ± 3 nm wavelength (Won-PDT D662, Won Technology, Daejeon, Korea). The irradiation power in vitro was fixed to be 6.25 J/cm 2 at 20 mW/cm 2 for 5 min irradiation measured at a distance of 3 cm from the exit slit.To generate cell lysates by Radachlorin/PDT, TC-1 cells carrying human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 E7 (ATC...
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