• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2024

Objectives: Botulinum toxin type A (BTX), a powerful neurotoxin, can be an effective treatment choice for diverse muscular disorders and can reduce abnormal muscle activities. Abnormal movements of the mandible can be caused by involuntary and uncontrolled contractions of the lateral pterygoid muscle (LP) in various pathological situations. Previous reports have shown that BTX can reduce abnormal contractions of the LP. However, needle placement into the LP for BTX injection requires skill, experience, and sufficient anatomical knowledge. To place the needle precisely into the LP, ultrasonography (USG) can be used as an effective needle-guidance modality. USG is a non-invasive imaging modality able to create real-time images without any potential risks, including radiation exposure. Patients and Methods: The patients who had been performed USG-guided BTX injection into the LP using an intraoral approach were included in this study with a literature review and case presentations. Using the USG, four patients received BTX injections to treat recurrent temporomandibular dislocation and oromandibular dystonia resulting from involuntary LP activity. Result: Involuntary movements of the mandible were improved successfully in all patients, and showed satisfactory results without significant complication. Conclusion: The intraoral approach could prevent potential complications during needle placement. USG-guided BTX injection is an effective, convenient, and safe method that provides real-time imaging without unnecessary pain to the patient.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.480-490
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• 2018

Objective: This study aimed to report the level of extremely low frequency-magnetic field (ELF-MF) emitted by portable hand-held fans (HHF) and to discuss the methodologies for determining the health risk of ELF-MF for HHF products. Method: ELF-MF was monitored at eight locations by distances in the vicinity of HHFs. A total of 13 HHF brands on the market were randomly selected. A portable ELF-MF monitor MDEX II was used to measure the ELF-MF level in the range of 40-800 Hz with a resolution of $0.01{\mu}T$. This study also examined the frequency results of a total of 45 HHF products investigated by the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (KMSICT). Results: ELF-MF higher than $0.3{\mu}T$ was found to be emitted at a distance of less than 20 cm from 12 HHF. ELF-MF emitted from four products was found to exceed the reference level ($83.3{\mu}T$ based on 60 Hz) recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). KMSIT reported that the principle frequency emitted from the HHFs ranged from 54 Hz to 284 kHz, without the level of LEF-MF. Unscientifically, the KMSICT used the reference level by ICNIRP as the chronic level and concluded that all HHFs are safe with a basis of 1.2-36.0% less than the reference level. Conclusion: The HHF emitted much higher levels of ELF-MF than $0.3-0.4{\mu}T$, which is regarded as the reference level for childhood leukemia. The risk of HHF should be examined in terms of whether they can be used by the general public, including children and pregnant woman.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.325-332
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• 2018

Carotid angiography covering the aortic arch includes contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CEA), which is applied to a large region and usually employs contrast media. However, the use of contrast media can be dangerous in infants, pregnant women, and patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). Follow-up patients informed of a lesion may also want to avoid constant exposure to contrast media. We aimed to apply time-of-flight (TOF) angiography to a large region and compare its usefulness with that of CEA. Ten patients (mean age, 58 years; range, 45~75 years) who visited our hospital for magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) participated in this study. A 3.0 Tesla Achieva magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system (Philips, Netherland) and the SENSE NeuroVascular 16-channel coil were employed for both methods. Both methods were applied simultaneously to the same patient. Three TOF stacks were connected to cover the aortic arch through the circle of Willis, and CEA was applied in the same manner. For the quantitative assessment, the acquired images were used to set the regions of interest (ROIs) in the common carotid artery (CCA) bifurcation, internal carotid artery, external carotid artery, middle cerebral artery, and vertebral artery, and to obtain the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) for the soft tissues. Three radiologists and one radiological resident performed the qualitative assessment on a 5-point scale - 1 point, "very bad"; 2 points, "bad"; 3 points, "average"; 4 points, "good"; and 5 points, "very good" - with regard to 4 items: (1) sharpness, (2) distortion, (3) vein contamination, and (4) expression of peripheral vessels. For the quantitative assessment, we estimated the mean SNR and CNR in each of the 5 ROIs. In general, the mean SNR was higher in TOF angiography (166.1, 205.2, 154.39, 172.23, and 161.95) than in CEA(92.05, 95.43, 84.76, 73.69, and 88.3). Both methods had a similar mean CNR: 67.62, 106.71, 55.9, 73.74, and 63.46 for TOF angiography, and 67.82, 71.19, 60.52, 49.45, and 64.07 for CEA. In all ROIs, the mean SNR was statistically significant (p<0.05), whereas the mean CNR was insignificant (p>0.05). The mean values of TOF angiography and CEA for each item in the qualitative assessment were 4.2 and 4.28, respectively for item 1; 2.93 and 4.55, respectively, for item 2; 4.6 and 3.13, respectively, for item 3; and 2.88 and 4.65, respectively, for item 4. Therefore, TOF angiography had a higher mean for item 3, and CEA had a higher mean for items 2 and 4; there was no significant difference between the two methods for item 1. The results for item 1 were statistically insignificant (p>0.05), whereas the results for items 2~4 were statistically significant (p<0.05). Both methods have advantages and disadvantages and they complement each other. However, CEA is usually applied to a large region covering the aortic arch. Time-of-flight angiography may be useful for people such as infants, pregnant women, CRF patients, and followup patients for whom the use of contrast media can be dangerous or unnecessary, depending on the circumstance.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.227-233
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• 2004

Chronic exposure to solar radiation, particularly ultraviolet (UV) light, causes a variety of adverse reactions on human skin, such as sunburn, photoaging and photocarcinogenesis. Free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused by UV exposure or other environmental facts play critical roles in cellular damage. And, repeated-UV irradiation activated the expression of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and induced skin irritation. Therefore, the development of effective and safe photoprotectants that can reduce and improve the skin damage has been required. The purpose of this study was to investigate the photo-protective effect of several chinese medical plants (Juniperus chinensis) on the UV -induced skin cell damages. We tested free radical and superoxide scavenging effect in vitro. Fluorometric assays of the proteolytic activities of MMP-1 (collagenase) were performed using fluorescent collagen substrates. UVA induced MMP-1 synthesis and activity were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and gelatin-based zymography in skin fibroblasts. We also examined anti-inflammatory effects by the determination test of proinflammatory cytokine, interleukin 6 in HaCaT keratinocytes. Expression of prostaglandin E$_2$ (PGE$_2$) after UVB irradiation was measured by competitive enzyme immunoassay(EIA) using PGE$_2$ monoclonal antibody. In the human skin we tested anti-irritation effect on the SLS-induced damage skin after appling the extract containing emulsion. We found that Juniperus chinensis extract had potent radical scavenging effect by 98% at 100$\mu\textrm{g}$/mL. The extract of Juniperus chinensis showed strong inhibitory effect on MMP-1 activities by 97% at 100 $\mu\textrm{g}$/mL and suppressed the UVA induced expression of MMP-1 by 79% at 25$\mu\textrm{g}$/mL. This extract also showed strong inhibition on MMP-2 activity in UVA irradiated fibroblast by zymography. In the test of proinflammatory cytokines of human keratinocytes Juniperus chinensis extract decreased expression of interleukin 6 about 30%. The amount of PGE$_2$ by HaCaT keratinocytes was significantly increased at the doses of above 10 mJ/$\textrm{cm}^2$ of UVB (p < 0.05). At the concentrations of 3.2-25$\mu\textrm{g}$/mL of this extract, the production of PGE$_2$ by HaCaT keratinocytes (24 h after 10mJ/$\textrm{cm}^2$ UVB irradiation) was significantly inhibited in culture supernatants (p < 0.05). In SLS-induced skin irritation model in vivo, we found to reduce skin erythema and improve barrier recovery after appling Juniperus chinensis extract containing emulsion when compared to irritated non-treated and placebo-treated skin. Our results suggest that Juniperus chinensis extract can be effectively used for the prevention of UV and SLS-induced adverse skin reactions and applied as anti-aging and anti-irritation cosmetics.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2003

Purpose: As diagnostic tools for Hirschsprung's disease (HD), barium enema and rectal biopsy have radiation exposure and invasiveness respectively; however anorectal manometry does not have these disadvantages. We therefore performed this study to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of anorectal manometry. Methods: We reviewed medical records of infants with one or two symptoms of vomiting, abdominal distension, chronic diarrhea or constipation who had a anorectal manometry followed by barium enema and/or biopsy from July 1995 to May 2002. We evaluated the sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of anorectal manometry and barium enema for diagnosis of HD. We also measured sphincter length, median value of balloon volume at which rectoanal inhibitory reflex (RAIR) occurred. Results: All 61 patients received anorectal manometry, 33 of 61 received barium enema. 18 of 61 were diagnosed as HD according to histology and 43 of 61 were evaluated as a control. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value of anorectal manometry and barium enema for diagnosis of HD were 1.00, 0.91, 0.82, 1.00 and 0.93, 0.67, 0.70, 0.92 respectively. The mean value of sphincter length in control was $1.68{\pm}0.67$ cm and correlated with age, weight and significantly longitudinal length. The median value of balloon volume at which RAIR occurred was 10 mL and did not correlated with age, weight and longitudinal length. Conclusion: This study suggests that anorectal manometry is an excellent initial screening test for Hirschsprung's disease because of its safety and accuracy.