• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.245-255
• /
• 2009

The purpose of this study is to analyzed the coordination of lower limb of elderly women who experienced a fall to present basic information for sports science and to deal with the factors that make elderly women fall more effectively. Twenty elderly women were divided into two groups of 10. The mechanisms of balancing lower limb during walk and differences were compared and analyzed using motion analysis and electromyography. The findings of this study are as follows. The first, walking patterns of these women were unstable as their hip joints did not provide sufficient support because of aging. Second, the left and right knee joints showed different walking patterns. The third, the motions of ankle joints became abnormal with increased age. As for the activation of major lower limb muscles, rectus fermois muscle and biceps fermois muscle contracted more to prevent the bending of knees and moved forward while anterior tibial muscle and inner gastrocnemius muscle were demanded highly during walk and the rate of plantar flexion was reduced.

• Perspectives in Nursing Science
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.33-43
• /
• 2008

Objective: This study explored the reuse of data captured into an electronic nursing record system using the International Classification for Nursing Practice to support nursing research of inpatient's falls. Methods: Risk factors relevant to inpatients falls ;n an acute setting were identified from the literature review. Four risk assessment tools and two risk identification studies were selected. To examine the availability of coded data in an electronic nursing record system for the identified fall fisk factors, we reviewed 11.319 hospital-day records of 118 patients who were reported by the self-report system. Results: We identified 24 fall risk factors of five categories from the literature review, which were used to identify the standard nursing statements addressing fall risks. One hundred thirty five nursing statements were searched from the hospital's nursing data dictionary of statements and were matched with 14 fall fisk factors. Using the 135 statements. we found that mental status, catheter of drip in situ, abnormal gait, insomnia, surgical procedure. and dizziness/vertigo appeared frequently in the nursing records of inpatients with fall s. Also we found 6 risk factors more through the record review. Conclusion: The electronic records would be a good research source for inpatients' falls. Specifically international classification for nursing practice based nursing record system has the potential for promoting clinical researches.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
• /
• v.65 no.7
• /
• pp.1242-1246
• /
• 2016

Heel rocking phase in gait cycle is from initial contact to forefoot contact. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of age on heel rocking time. Seven young women ($21.9{\pm}1.5yrs$) and seven elderly women ($74.1{\pm}6.7yrs$) participated in this study. Subjects wore the shoes equipped with pressure sensors and walked along 10 m walkway at comfortable speeds. Stride time, stance time, and heel rocking time were compared between groups. Stride time was not different between groups (p=0.087). Stance time was longer (p<0.001) but heel rocking time was shorter in the elderly than in the young (p<0.001). The shorter heel-rocking time in elderly women indicates less efficient shock-absorption in the heel-rocking phase, which might be related to the abnormal control and/or reduced performance of ankle dorsiflexors.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.381-388
• /
• 2016

Objective: This clinical study reports on the effect of Korean medicine on a patient with drug-induced Parkinsonism.Method: We used herbal medicine (Yigan-san), acupuncture, moxibustion, pharmacopuncture, and bee venom acupuncture to treat a patient with drug-induced Parkinsonism during hospitalization for 11 days. We observed the changes of symptoms using the unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale (UPDRS), the abnormal involuntary movement scale (AIMS), and the Beck depression inventory (BDI).Results: After treatment, the patient’s symptoms showed improvement in tremor, gait disturbance, and general condition. The UPDRS, AIMS, and BDI scores were also improved after treatment.Conclusion: This clinical case study suggests that traditional Korean medicine treatment could be effective in the treatment of drug-induced Parkinsonism.

• Animal cells and systems
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.157-161
• /
• 2001

Mice homozygous for the lethal autosomal recessive anorexia mutation (anx) present with premature death around postnatal day 22. The anorexia mutant mice also present phenotypes such as reduced body weight, decreased food intake, and abnormal behavior characteristics such as body tremors, hyperactivity, uncoordinated gait, and head weaving. In order to investigate the expression of c-Fos in the hippocampus of anorexia mutant mice, the immunohistochemistry was performed in this study. The anorexia mutant mice exhibited lower expression of c-Fos in the hippocampus regions thBn the control group. In the CA3 and dentate gyrus, the number of c-Fos-positive cells in anorexia mutant mice was noticeably lower than that in control mice. However, no significant difference was found in the number of c-Fos-positive cells in CA1 of the two groups. The result suggests that the phenotypic characteristics of anorexia mutant mice may be associated with the hippocampal deficits of c-Fos expression.

• PNF and Movement
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.89-96
• /
• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of foot angles on plantar pressure and the center of pressure (COP) trajectory length during level walking. Methods: The study subjects were 30 female university students without orthopedic diseases in the foot. The foot angle was divided into three forms (out-toeing, normal, in-toeing). The subjects practiced each type of gait, and then performed each of level walking, three times, and their averages were calculated. A plantar pressure measurement instrument was used, and the maximum force was obtained by dividing the foot into nine regions covering the anterior medial-lateral, middle medial-lateral, and posterior medial-lateral. The COP trajectory length was statistically processed by obtaining medial-lateral, anterior-posterior, and entire travel distance. Results: During normal walking, the maximum force was significantly higher in the anterior lateral than in the other areas, and the COP trajectory length was significantly shorter in the front-back and entire travel distances (p<0.05). During stair climbing. Conclusion: Walking at abnormal foot angles does not cause appreciable problems in the short term as pressure is concentrated on a specific plantar part. However, it becomes the cause of deformed foot structures and can result in musculoskeletal disabilities in the long term. Therefore, a kinesiatrics-based intervention is required to maintain normal foot angles.

• The Journal of the Society of Stroke on Korean Medicine
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.50-56
• /
• 2014

The prevalence rate of plant poisoning is growing up gradually. However, it could be difficult to get proper treatment without detail medical history taking due to the diversity of poisonous plants and their various symptoms. Scopolia Japonica, which grows naturally in Korea, is reported to cause severe toxicity which could be lethal. A few therapeutic measures have been reported in Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM), but it has not been reported yet that those measures have been successfully proven in the clinical practice in modern times. This is a case report of toxicity caused by scopolia japonica ingestion. A 65years-old male patient with cognitive impairment, behavioral disorder, gait difficulty, dysarthria, dysphagia and abnormal pupil reflex recovered from those symptoms during taking Gamigamdu-tang and getting acupuncture. This study shows the clinical aspects of Scopolia Japonica toxicity and the possibility of TKM treatments as one of plant poisoning treatments.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.344-350
• /
• 2023

Background: 4-carvomenthenol[4-methyl-1-(1-methylethyl)-3-cyclohexen-1-ol] is a main component of Origanum vulgare L., Zanthoxylum piperitum (L.) DC., and other plants. It has been reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anti-tumor effects. Furthermore, it is necessary to conduct a toxicity test on 4-carvomenthenol to ensure its safety. Methods: This study included 5-week-old Institute of Cancer Research mice that were categorized into 3 treatment groups (12, 25, and 50 mg/kg 4-carvomenthenol dose levels) and a control group (10% dimethyl sulfoxide, 40% polyethylene glycol 300, 5% Tween 80, and 45% normal saline injection of the final volume), with 5 male mice and 5 female mice per group. All groups were observed for clinical symptoms and body weight in a period of 14 days and were subjected to gross necropsy after euthanasia. Results: No deaths were recorded. No test substance-related clinical signs in the female mice of the 12 mg/kg dose group were observed. Abnormal gait was observed in 1 male from day 1 to day 3 in the 12 mg/kg dose group; 1-3 males from day 1 to day 7 and 1-5 females from day 1 to day 15 in the 25 mg/kg dose group; and 2-5 males and 2-5 females from day 1 to day 15 in the 50 mg/kg dose group. No test substance-related effect on the body weight and necropsy findings was observed. Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that the lethal dose of 4-carvomenthenol could be greater than 50 mg/kg. However, further research is needed, especially repeated-dose toxicity studies, to confirm the efficacy and safety of 4-carvomenthenol.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.184-193
• /
• 2007

Objectives:There is increasing evidence that the cerebellum plays an important role in cognition and psychiatric symptoms as well as motor coordination. The concept of cognitive dysmetria has been making cerebellar function in schizophrenia the focus of current studies. In other words, disruption in the corticocerebellum-thalamic -cortical circuit could lead to disordered cognition and clinical symptoms of schizophrenia. The purposes of this study were to determine cerebellar dysfunction in male schizophrenic patients semiquantitatively with ICARS and to investigate the clinical and cognitive correlates of ICARS in patients. Methods:We compared the scores of cerebellar neurologic sign using ICARS in 47 male patients with a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of schizophrenia with 30 gender and age-matched healthy control subjects. The semiquantitative 100-point ICARS consists of 19 items divided into 4 unequally weighted subscores:posture and gait disturbances, kinetic functions, speech disorders and oculomotor disorders. All subjects were also assessed with cognitive function test. Cognitive functions were evaluated by Korean-Mini Mental Status Examination (K-MMSE), Verbal fluency test, and Clock drawing test. The patients were administered Korea version of Positive and Negative Symptom Scale(K-PANSS) to assess the symptom severity. Results:Schizophrenic patients had significantly higher scores on the ICARS than control subjects with posture and gait disturbances, kinetic functions, and oculomotor disorders. They also showed more significant impairments in cognitive function tests than control subjects. There was a significant correlation between ICARS and negative symptoms of patients. In cognitive function test, Clock drawing test was significantly associated with negative symptoms. In addition, Clock drawing test was negatively correlated with the total score of ICARS. Conclusion:In this study, we confirmed that schizophrenic patients have significant impairments in cognitive and cerebellar function, and that those were related with negative symptoms of schizophrenic patients. These results support a role of the cerebellum in schizophrenia. It is meaningful that we used a structured, and reliable procedure for rating neurological soft signs, ICARS. We hope that future prospective studies using a similar design help that rate of neurological sign should have been visible with the progression of illness.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.305-313
• /
• 2016

Movements of the lower limb are important for normal walking and smooth oscillation of the center of gravity. The ankle rotations such as dorsi-flexion, plantar-flexion, inversion and eversion allows the foot to accommodate to ground during level ground walking. Current below knee (B/K) prostheses are used for replacing amputated ankle, and make it possible for amputees to walk again. However, most of amputees with B/K prostheses often experience a loss of terrain adaptability as well as stability because of limited ankle rotation. This study is focused on the development of multi-rotational prosthetic foot for lower limb amputee. Our prosthesis is possible for amputees to easily walk in level ground by rotating ankle joint in sagittal plane and adapt to the abnormal terrain with ankle rotation in coronal plane. The resistance of ankle joint in the direction of dorsi/plantar-flexion can be manually regulated by hydraulic damper with controllable nozzle. Furthermore, double layered rubber induce the prosthesis adapt to irregular ground by tilting itself in direction of eversion and inversion. The experimental results highlights the potential that our prosthesis induce a normal gait for below knee amputee.