Precocious puberty is defined as breast development before the age of 8 years in girls. The present study aimed to reveal the diagnosis of Korean girls referred for precocious puberty and to compare the constitutional and endocrinological features among diagnosis groups.

The present study used a retrospective chart review of 988 Korean girls who had visited a pediatric endocrinology clinic from...

For evaluating the immunogenicity of an influenza vaccine, the microneutralization (MN) test has a higher sensitivity and specificity as compared to the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. However, the MN test is more time consuming and is difficult to standardize. We performed the MN test to determine its usefulness as an alternative or complementary test to the HI test for evaluating...

The purpose of this prospective case-control study was to survey the detection rate of respiratory viruses in children with Kawasaki disease (KD) by using multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and to investigate the clinical implications of the prevalence of respiratory viruses during the acute phase of KD.

RT-PCR assays were carried out to screen for the presence of respiratory syncytial...

In this study, we aimed to investigate the perinatal clinical conditions of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants born to mothers with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) focusing on the effects of early postnatal neutropenia.

We reviewed the medical records of 191 VLBW infants who were born at Konyang University Hospital, between March 2003 and May 2011. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics...

Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (MPS IVA; Morquio A syndrome) is rare lysosomal storage disorder caused by N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfatase (GALNS) deficiency. Only a few MPS IVA cases have been reported in the Korean literature; there is a paucity of research about clinical or radiologic findings for this disorder. Therefore, we studied clinical findings, radiological features, and genetic data of Korean MPS IVA patients for...

Methods for quick and reliable detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae are needed for the diagnosis of pneumococcal disease and vaccine studies. This study aimed to show that sequential multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is more efficient than conventional culture in achieving S. pneumoniae-positive results.

Nasopharyngeal (NP) secretions were obtained from 842 pediatric patients admitted with lower respiratory infections at Severance Children's Hospital...

We phylogenetically analyzed the Escherichia coli strains isolated from children with urinary tract infection (UTI) in 2 regions of Korea. Virulence factors (VFs) and antibiotic resistance of the strains were also determined to compare the possible differences.

A total of 138 E. coli strains were collected from the 2 regions; Gyeongin (78 strains) and Gyeongnam (60 strains). The phylogenetic groups were...

This study aimed to assess early development in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants with mild intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) or those without IVH and to identify the perinatal morbidities affecting early neurodevelopmental outcome.

Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II was used for assessing neurological development in 49 infants with a birth weight <1,500 g and with low grade IVH (≤grade II) or...

Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers within LIN28B have been reported to be related to the timing of pubertal growth. However, no study has investigated the frequency of genetic markers in girls with precocious puberty (PP) or early puberty (EP). This study aimed to determine the frequency of putative genetic markers in girls with PP or EP.

Genomic DNAs were obtained from 77...

Although benign rolandic epilepsy (BRE) is a benign condition, it may be associated with a spectrum of behavioral, psychiatric, and cognitive disorders. This study aimed to assess the cognitive and other neuropsychological profiles of children with BRE.

In total, 23 children with BRE were consecutively recruited. All children underwent sleep electroencephalography (EEG) and were assessed on a battery of comprehensive neuropsychological...

This single-center study aimed to assess the clinical features and surgical approaches and outcomes of complete transposition of the great arteries (TGA).

TGA patients who had undergone surgical correction at the Kyungpook National University Hospital from January 2000 to December 2010, were retrospectively evaluated for patient characteristics, clinical manifestation, preoperative management, intraoperative findings, postoperative progress, and follow-up status.

Twenty-eight patients (17 boys...

Puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN) specifically injures podocytes, leading to foot process effacement, actin cytoskeleton disorganization, and abnormal distribution of slit diaphragm proteins. p130Cas is a docking protein connecting F-actin fibers to the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) and adapter proteins in glomerular epithelial cells (GEpCs; podocytes). We investigated the changes in the p130Cas expression level in the PAN-induced pathological changes of podocytes...

Short sleep duration is associated with obesity. Urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (6-OHMS), the principal metabolite of melatonin, is closely related with sleep. We evaluated the difference in urinary 6-OHMS levels between obese girls and normal weight girls, and the relationship of urinary 6-OHMS with other hormones regulating body weight and metabolism.

A total of 79 girls (6.3 to 12.4 years) were included in...

Leptin has been considered a link between metabolic state and reproductive activity. Defective reproductive function can occur in leptin-deficient and leptin-excessive conditions. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of centrally injected leptin on the hypothalamic KiSS-1 system in relation to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) action in the initial stage of puberty.

Leptin (1 µg) was injected directly into...

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of vital capacity (FEF_25-75) are not included in routine monitoring of asthma control. We observed changes in FeNO level and FEF_25-75 after FeNO-based treatment with inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) in children with controlled asthma (CA).

We recruited 148 children with asthma (age, 8 to 16 years) who had maintained...

Aeroallergens are important causative factors of allergic diseases. Previous studies on aeroallergen sensitization rates investigated patients groups that had visited pediatric allergy clinics. In contrast, we investigated sensitization rates in a general population group of elementary school to teenage students in Incheon, Jeju, and Ulsan.

After obtaining parental consent, skin-prick tests were performed on 5,094 students between March and June 2010....