Yonsei medical journal
-
Yonsei medical journal · Jun 2005
Review Retracted PublicationEfficacy of oral etidronate for skeletal diseases in Japan.
Etidronate is an oral bisphosphonate compound that is known to reduce bone resorption through the inhibition of osteoclastic activity. The efficacy of etidronate for involutional (postmenopausal and senile) and glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis, as well as that for other skeletal diseases, was reviewed in Japanese patients. Cyclical etidronate treatment (200 mg or 400mg/day for 2 weeks about every 3 months) increases the lumbar bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with involutional osteoporosis and prevents incident vertebral fractures in patients with glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. ⋯ Oral etidronate treatment may also help to transiently relieve metastatic cancer bone pain followed by a decrease in abnormally raised bone resorption in patients with painful bone metastases from primary cancer sites, such as the lung, breast and prostate. Thus, oral etidronate treatment is suggested to be efficacious for osteoporosis, as well as other skeletal diseases associated with increased bone resorption, in Japanese patients. Randomized controlled trials needed to be conducted on a large number of patients to confirm these effects.
-
We present a case of oral myiasis in a 15-year-old boy with tuberculosis meningitis. The diagnosis was based on the visual presence of wriggling larvae about 1 cm in size and on the microscopic features of the maggots, especially those relating to stigmatic structures. The larvae were identified as third-stage larvae of Sarcophaga sp.
-
Yonsei medical journal · Jun 2005
Development of a structural model explaining medication compliance of persons with schizophrenia.
The purpose of this study was to develop and test a structural model explaining medication compliance of schizophrenia. From a review of the literature, a hypothetical model was developed based on the conceptual framework of the Health Belief Model with medication knowledge, symptom severity and social support as the exogenous variables, and perceived benefits, perceived barriers, substance use and medication compliance as the endogenous variables. Data was collected at various mental health facilities, including psychiatric outpatient clinics of general hospitals and community mental health centers, between March and May, 2001. ⋯ Medication knowledge, social support and perceived benefits had significant effects on medication compliance. The findings of this study address the importance of medication education and social support to promote medication compliance. It is also suggested that various education programs and support groups are needed to enhance medication compliance.
-
Yonsei medical journal · Jun 2005
Review Case ReportsAn unusual case of spontaneous remission of Hodgkin's disease after a single cycle of COPP-ABV chemotherapy followed by infectious complications.
Advanced Hodgkin's disease is usually treated with six or more cycles of combination chemotherapy. Spontaneous regression of the cancer is very rarely reported in patients with Hodgkin's disease. We present an unusual case of a patient with Hodgkin's disease who experienced complete remission with a single cycle of chemotherapy, followed by pneumonia. ⋯ Four years later, the patient is well and without relapse. This report is followed by a short review of the literature on spontaneous regression of Hodgkin's disease. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of spontaneous remission of Hodgkin's disease in Korea.