• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.235-243
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• 2020

Lumbar Lordosis Angle (LLA) is an index that can be used to evaluate the curvature of the lumbar vertebrae. It can measure the structural stability of the lumbar spine and the stability of each segment of the vertebral column at the intervertebral disc angle (IDA). Especially, our data shows it is found to be a strong positive correlation between obesity and the angle of lordosis for lumbar vertebrae. Also, the reason for the large IDA in the case of obesity seems to be the result of the weakening of anatomical structure as well as the gravity effect. And, the obesity interferes with normal sagittal balance and fails to maintain a straight posture with minimal energy. Therefore, the obesity can be an important factor in causing back pain by changing the lumbar lordosis.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.65-79
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• 2016

We observed the osteological development of larval and juvenile red spotted grouper (Epinephelus akaara) in order to generate data for the assessment of skeletal deformities and to inform phylogenetic systematics research. Larvae and juveniles were obtained from a aquafarm in Muan-gun, Jeolla-namdo Province, Korea. The average water temperature at the time of breeding was $23.0^{\circ}C$ and average water salinity was 33.0 psu. Freshly hatched fish larvae had not undergone any ossification, but ossification of the parasphenoid bone, which forms the base of the cranium, occurred as the juveniles reached an average body length (BL) of 2.49 mm. At the same time, ossification of the preopercle and opercle occurred in the operculum, and ossification of the maxilla, which forms the upper jaw, and the dentary bones, which form the lower jaw, began. In addition, ossification of the vertebra occurred by formation of 7 vertebral centra and the neural spine in the abdominal vertebra. When the juveniles reached an average (BL) of 5.22 mm, ossification of the nasal, lateral ethmoid, and alisphenoid bones occurred in the cranium; ossification of the endopterygoid and metapterygoid bones began in the palatine region; and ossification of the hypohyal and interhyal bones occurred in the hyoid arch. At an average (BL) of 20.9 mm, ossification of the basisphenoid bone in the cranium and the suborbital bone in the orbital region occurred. Ossification of the vertebra then occurred by the formation of long pairs of ribs from the third to the ninth abdominal vertebrae, completing osteological development.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2005

Objective: Peritumoral brain edema(PTBE) accounts for approximately 60% of meningiomas. It has not been identified why vasogenic edema, frequently shown in intra-axial tumors is also developed in extra-axial tumor such as meningiomas. Therefore, the authors assess the peritumoral brain edema of meningiomas with a focus on the angiographic pattern and expression of MIB-1 to clarify their correlation. Methods: A total 32 cases of meningioma was studied. The authors attempted to identify 1) the location of PTBE and the edema index (EI), 2) the location and dominancy of pial supply compared with meningeal supply, 3) the biological activity of meningiomas indicated by the MIB-1 LI (labeling index), 4) their interaction. Results: No PTBE was observed in the meningiomas without pial arterial supplement from internal carotid artery (ICA) and vertebral artery (VA). The PTBE of meningiomas with pial supply was developed intensely along the pial arterial supplement, and increased statistically in proportion to the extent of pial supply from ICA or VA rather than meningeal supply. Also, the MIB-1 LI in meningiomas tended to be larger in the tumors of the larger EI and the dominancy of pial supply. Conclusion: A strong correlation is found between the extent of PTBE in meningiomas and the dominancy of pial supply. The MIB-1 LI also tend to be associated with the PTBE. Therefore, the MIB-1 LI in benign meningiomas may represent not only the proliferative potential of the tumor, but also the biological activity like angiogenesis.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.415-419
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• 2011

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible association of estrogen receptor alpha ($ER{\alpha}$) gene polymorphisms in a cohort of degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) patients. Methods : Accordingly, the authors examined the association between DS and $ER{\alpha}$ gene polymorphisms in 174 patients diagnosed with DS. The $Pvu$ $II$ and $Xba$ $I$ polymorphisms, bone mineral density at the lumbar spine and femoral neck, and biochemical markers were analyzed and compared in the 174 patients with DS and 214 patients with spinal stenosis (SS). Results : A comparison of genotype frequencies in DS and SS patients revealed a significant difference for the $Pvu$ $II$ polymorphism only ($p$=0.0452). No significant difference was found between these two groups with respect to the $Xba$ $I$ polymorphism, BMD or biochemical markers. No significant association was found between the$Pvu$ $II$ polymorphism of $ER{\alpha}$ and BMD, vertebral slip or biochemical markers in patients with DS. Conclusion : These results suggest that the $ER{\alpha}$ gene polymorphism using $Pvu$ $II$ restriction enzyme influences the prevalence of DS.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.114-118
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• 1999

Backgrouds: Cervical epidural blocks were used as part of a comprehensive multimodal treatment program for patients with chronic pain in the head, neck and upper extremities. The depth of the epidural space beneth the skin surface varies at different levels of the spinal column in the same patient. It also varies from patient to patient at the same vertebral level. We studied the distance the skin to the cervical epidural space in adults patients at different intervertebral spaces. Methods: Date were gathered from 628 patients having cervical epidural block for relief of cervical and upper extrimity pain. All blocks were performed using hanging drop method after loss of resistance with saline at C5-6, C6-7, C7-T1 intervertebral space. Results: Mean distances for skin to cervical epidural space (DSES) were 5.42 cm, 5.06 cm, 4.68 cm in male, 5.00 cm, 4.61 cm, 4.10 cm in female at C7-T1, C6-7, C5-6 intervertebral space. DSES correlated with body weight, neck circumference and body mass index significantly. Conclusion: In the cervical spine, DSES varies from space to space. The longest DSES were noted at C7-T1 level in male, and the shortest DSES were at C5-6 in female. DSES has significant relationships with weight, neck circumference and body mass index.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.151-155
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• 2005

Interspinous spacers have been developed as an alternative surgical treatment for laminectomy or fusion with pedicle screws and rods for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis. However, its biomedical efficacies are well not known. In this study, we evaluated kinematic behaviors of the surgical and the adjacent levels before and after inserting interspinous spacers. Three porcine lumbar spines were prepared. On each specimen, an interspinous spacer was inserted at the L4-L5. Flexion-extension moments (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10Nm) were applied. A stereophotogrammetric set-up with DLT algorithm was used to assess the three-dimensional motions of the specimen where three markers $({\square}0.8mm)$ were attached to each vertebra. Results showed that extension motion decreased by $15-24\%$ at the surgical level (L4-L5) after insertion of interspinous spacer. At the adjacent levels, the range of motion remained unchanged. In flexion, no significant changes in motion were observed regardless of levels. Therefore, our experimental results demonstrated the interspinous spacer is very effective in limiting the extension motion that may cause narrowing of the spinal canal and vertebral foramen while maintaining kinematic behaviors at the adjacent levels. Further, these results suggested that the use of interspinous spacer may be able to prevent lower back pain at the surgical level and to lower the incidence of degenerative changes at the adjacent levels.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.95-102
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• 2016

Objectives To investigate correlation between slip percentage (SP) of spondylolisthesis and cross-sectional area (CSA) of lumbar paraspinal muscles; psoas major (PM), multifidus (MU) and erector spinae (ES). Methods A retrospective study was carried out in 120 spondylolisthesis patients who had visited the Spine center of Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong and had taken lumbar MRI. CSA of lumbar paraspinal muscles was measured from axial T2-weighted MRI and divided by CSA of vertebral body to avoid weight's influence. SP was also measured from sagittal MRI. Results SP increase has significant correlation with decreased CSA-MU (r=0.37, p<0.01) and increased CSA-ES (r=0.19, p<0.05). There was no significant correlation between SP and CSA-PM. Conclusions MU atrophy and ES hypertrophy have significant correlation with SP of spondylolisthesis. CSA of lumbar paraspinal muscles can be a risk factor of progression of spondylolisthesis and compensation for the instability.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.114-121
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• 1998

Osteoporosis is defined as a pathologic condition in which there occurs no change in the chemical composition of the bone, while bone resorption is abnormally increased. This compares with osteogenesis, which leads to a decrease in the amount of bone. Though many varieties of therapies have been tried, no fully effective method has been found. Korean red ginseng is an important variety of Korean ginsengs and many studies have been performed to investigate its effectiveness. But there has been no report on red ginseng's effects on osteoporosis. The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical effects of Korean red ginseng on postmenopausal osteoporosis patients. The study was designed as a double-blind study. Group I consisted of 30 postmenopausal osteoporosis patients who were administered red ginseng extracts and 15 patients who were administered maltose capsules, were included in group II. The following results were obtained after one-year administration to both groups. 1. There were no significant differences in the degree of wedging, number of compression fractures in the vertebral body, trabeculations, and Cobb's angles between the experimental and control groups. 2. Even though bone mineral density increased in the lumbar spine, and decreased in the femur, there was no significant statistical difference. 3. The serum levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium, phosphate, and alkaline phosphates showed no difference between the two groups regardless of treatment. 4. Urine Deoxy-pyridinoline (DPYD) decreased in the red ginseng group while it increased in the maltose group, but statistically there was no significant difference between the two groups. 5. The clinical presentations showed no significant differences using Visual Analog Scale. 6. The specific complications related with the long-term use of red ginseng did not occur in all patients. In conclusion, there were no statistically significant differences in clinical presentations, biochemical, and radiological studies between the red gins eng and maltose groups. No definite effectiveness of red ginseng on patients with osteoporosis was found.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.43-50
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in the flexicurve kyphosis index (KI), the flexicurve lordosis index (LI) and the distance from the inferior angle of the scapula to the nearest vertebral spinous process (DS), as a dependent variable of scapular protraction, after applying of adolescents with thoracic hyperkyphosis using three different garments. A repeated measures design was used. Ten adolescents ($15.8{\pm}1.0$ years) with thoracic hyperkyphosis ($40.1{\pm}3.7$ Cobb angle) were recruited from a university hospital. A flexicurve ruler was used to measure KI and LI and a scoliometer was used to measure DS under three different conditions: wearing-a hospital garment (HG), wearing-a sham garment (SG), and wearing-an experimental garment (EG). KI under EG condition was significantly decreased compared with that wearing the HG. However, there was no significant difference between wearing the SG and HG. LI when wearing the EG was significantly increased compared with that when wearing HG. However, there was no significant difference under SG and HG conditions. DS when wearing the EG was significantly decreased compared with wearing HG. However, there was no significant difference between the SG and HG. The results of this study show that the EG was effective in decreasing KI, but not effective in decreasing LI. Hence, the effect of the EG for correcting sagittal spine angle in adolescents with thoracic hyperkyphosis is still debatable. However, since we showed that DS decreases in the EG, this method could be applied in correcting the scapular protraction.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.435-441
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• 2005

Objective : Expandable cage used for spinal reconstruction after corpectomy has several advantages over nonexpendable cages. Here we present our clinical experience with the use of this cage after anterior column corpectomy with an average of one year follow up. Methods : Ten patients underwent expandable cage reconstruction of the anterior column after single-level or multilevel corpectomy for various cervical spinal disorders. Anterior plating with or without additional posterior instrumentation were performed in all patients. Functional outcomes, complications, and radiographic outcomes were determined. Results : There was no cage-related complication. Functionally, neurological examination revealed improvement in 7 of 10 patients and no patient had neurological deterioration after the surgery. Immediate stability was achieved and maintained throughout the period of follow-up. There was minimal subsidence [<2mm] noticeable in three of the cases that underwent a two-level corpectomy. Subsidence was noted in osteoporotic patients and patients undergoing multi-level corpectomies. Average pre-operative kyphotic angle was 9 degrees. This was corrected to an average of 5.4 degrees in lordosis postoperatively. Conclusion : In conclusion, expandable cages are safe and effective devices for vertebral body replacement after cervical corpectomy when used in combination with anterior plating with or without additional posterior stabilization. The advantages of using expandable cages include its ability to easily accommodate itself into the corpectomy defect, its ability to tightly purchase into the end plates after expansion and thus minimizing the potential for migration, and finally, its ability to correct kyphosis deformity via its in vivo expansion properties.