No abstract available.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Magnetics ; Magnets ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Sacroiliitis

No abstract available.

Brucellosis is an endemic zoonotic disease, particularly in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions, and can involve many organs and tissues. Recently, the incidence of human brucellosis has increased rapidly in Korea. Brucellosis may often appear as other infections and asymptomatic conditions because of its range of clinical manifestations. Therefore, its diagnosis is frequently missed or delayed. Early diagnosis of brucellar spondylitis is important for reducing the number and intensity of complications. Therefore, it should be included in a differential diagnosis of back pain with an unknown origin. Brucellosis is normally transmitted to humans by direct contact with infected animals or by the ingestion of unpasteurized dairy products. We report an unusual case of brucellar spondylitis complicated by acupuncture.
Acupuncture ; Animals ; Asymptomatic Diseases ; Back Pain ; Brucellosis ; Dairy Products ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Early Diagnosis ; Eating ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Mediterranean Region ; Middle East ; Spondylitis

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem inflammatory disorder mediated by autoantibodies and immune complexes that exhibit a range of symptoms. Although thirty-five to forty percent of patients with SLE show signs or symptoms of gastrointestinal involvement, acute pancreatitis is an uncommon complication of SLE, and SLE presenting with acute pancreatitis is extremely rare. We report a case of a 28-year-old female SLE patient who initially presented with acute abdominal pain and elevated pancreatic enzyme levels. The patient was diagnosed clinically with acute pancreatitis and then with SLE after further investigations. Her condition improved after high dose steroid therapy.
Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Antigen-Antibody Complex ; Autoantibodies ; Female ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Pancreatitis

No abstract available.
Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic

No abstract available.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome ; Diagnosis, Differential

The clinical manifestations of antisynthetase syndrome are severe interstitial pneumonitis, mild polyarthritis, and myositis. This disease is accompanied by anti-Jo-1 antibodies and anti-Ro/SSA antibodies and occasionally by the concurrence of anti-Jo-1 and anti-Ro/SSA antibodies, which leads to a more severe form of interstitial lung disease. In this case, the patient was transferred to our hospital because of pulmonary fibrosis with myositis and diagnosed with antisynthetase syndrome and the concurrence of anti-Jo-1 with anti-Ro/SSA antibodies. He was refractory to glucocorticoids, and developed leucopenia and thrombocytopenia. He was treated with rituximab infusions, but the interstitial pneumonitis progressed very rapidly and he died.
Antibodies ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived ; Arthritis ; Glucocorticoids ; Humans ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial ; Myositis ; Pulmonary Fibrosis ; Rituximab ; Thrombocytopenia

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystemic inflammatory autoimmune disease mediated by autoantibodies and immune complexes. In SLE, a splenectomy to control the thrombocytopenia does not increase the total risk of thrombosis, but tends to increase arterial events. We experienced a patient with lupus- anticoagulant positive SLE who developed a venous thrombosis after a splenectomy for the control of thrombocytopenia, which was a very rare case.
Antigen-Antibody Complex ; Autoantibodies ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Splenectomy ; Thrombocytopenia ; Thrombosis ; Venous Thrombosis

Systemic sclerosis is an autoimmune disease characterized by progressive fibrosis of the skin and visceral organs. Myasthenia gravis is also an autoimmune disease characterized by weakness and fatigue of skeletal muscles. The symptoms of systemic sclerosis and myasthenia gravis overlap clinically, so the recognition of disease co-occurrence may be delayed. Co-occurrence of myasthenia gravis and systemic sclerosis is very uncommon and usually diagnosed after use of D-penicillamine for treating the systemic sclerosis. We report a case of a 49-year-old female patient who complained of general weakness and was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis. Four months earlier she was diagnosed with systemic sclerosis with Sjogren's syndrome and her medications did not include D-penicillamine.
Autoimmune Diseases ; Fatigue ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Myasthenia Gravis ; Penicillamine ; Scleroderma, Systemic ; Sjogren's Syndrome ; Skin

The development of malignant tumors is a more frequent finding in lupus patients than the general population. However, the incidence of multiple myeloma associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a rare manifestation. SLE is an autoimmune disease characterized by B cell hyperactivity, formation of autoantibodies, and multi-clonal hypergammaglobulinemia. Serum immunoglobulin increases, with a specific increase in IgG, which is due to an increase in autoantibody formation related to extrinsic and intrinsic antigens. We report on a patient with SLE combined with IgG, lambda type nonsecretory multiple myeloma, which was diagnosed with refractory anemia and hypergammaglobulinemia.
Anemia, Refractory ; Autoantibodies ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Humans ; Hypergammaglobulinemia ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulins ; Incidence ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Multiple Myeloma