The right hand of a 58-year-old female was compressed by a compression machine and subsequently began to show pain. She was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome type 2 according to the Budapest criteria. Conventional therapy was ineffective for her allodynia. After subcutaneous injection of botulinum toxin, the subject’s allodynia substantially improved. Subcutaneous injection of botulinum toxin could effectively treat patients with complex regional pain syndrome and intractable allodynia. Clinical studies with larger sample sizes are needed to evaluate the efficacy of and selection of patients for botulinum toxin treatment of complex regional pain syndrome.

No abstract available.
Humans

PURPOSE: To study the short term effects of hypercholesterolemia on corpus cavernosal tissue, we performed isometric tension studies and RT-PCR was used to identify mRNA expression of VEGF on isolated strips of corpus cavernosum, on rabbits which underwent partial ligation of the abdominal aorta and received a diet containing 2% cholesterol. MATERIALS AND METHODS: New Zealand White rabbits were divided into a control group(n=6) fed with a regular diet and a hypercholesterolemic group(n=10) which underwent partial ligation of the abdominal aorta and received a diet containing 2% cholesterol. After 3 weeks, the relationship between hypercholesterolemia and cavernosal smooth muscle pathophysiology was studied. To characterize the cavernosal smooth muscle reactivity in hypercholesterolemia, we performed isometric tension studies with phenylephrine(PE), acetylcholine(Ach), sodium nitroprusside(SNP) and electrical field stimulation(ES). RT-PCR was used to identify the mRNA expression of VEGF. RESULTS: PE-induced cavernous smooth muscle contraction in the hypercholesterolemic group was increased compared with the control group(p<0.05), while relaxation by Ach and ES in PE pretreated cavernosal smooth muscle in the hypercholesterolemic group was decreased(p<0.05). Relaxation by SNP in PE pretreated cavernosal smooth muscle was not different between any experimental groups. Expression of VEGF mRNA in cavernosal smooth muscle was significantly increased in the hypercholesterolemic group compared with the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Hypercholesterolemia caused a significant increase in PE-induced contraction of cavernosal tissue. Hypercholesterolemic cavernosal tissue retained the ability of relaxation induced by endothelium-independent, but relaxation induced by endothelium-dependant was impaired. Furthermore, expression of VEGF mRNA in cavernosal tissues was up regulated in the hypercholesterolemic group. This study showed that a short period of hypercholesterolemia could induce pathophysiologic change of cavernosal tissue.
Aorta, Abdominal ; Cholesterol ; Diet ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Hypercholesterolemia* ; Ligation ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth ; Rabbits* ; Relaxation ; RNA, Messenger ; Sodium ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

The 5-HT2A receptor is of great interest for research into schizophrenia and psychopharmacology in light of the observation that schizophrenic patients has 5-HT cortical-subcortical imbalance and atypical antipsychotic clozpine has 5-HT2A antagonists properties. An significant association between schizophrenia and the T102C polymorphism of the gene for 5-HT2A receptor has been reported. In this study, we investigated an association between schizophrenia and the T102C polymorphism of the gene for 5-HT2A receptor in Korean schizophrenic patients. The subjects consisted of 139 schizophrenic patients and 88 normal controls. Genomic DNA was amplified by PCR and digested with MsPI. The uncutt product identified allele 1(nucleotide sequence TCT) ; digested products of 216bp and 156bp identified allele 2(nucleotide sequence TCC). The allele frequencies and the genotypic distribution of 5-HT2A receptor gene were not significantly different between schizophrenic patients and normal controls. Since allele frequencies of the T102C polymorphism may differ between individuals of different ethnic backgrounds, it needs to be conducted in an advanced research.
Alleles ; DNA ; Gene Frequency ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Psychopharmacology ; Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A ; Schizophrenia* ; Serotonin ; Serotonin 5-HT2 Receptor Antagonists

The author attempted to allelic association between the a1 allele of Dopamine D2 receptor and alcoholism in Korean. The allelic disribution of Taq I polymorphism of the D2 dopamine receptor gene with alcoholism was examined in 67 Korean alcoholics and compared with 100 Korean controls. In alcoholics, the numbers of alcoholics with A1A1, A1A2 and A2A2 were 11(16.4%), 30(44.8%) and 26(38.8%) respectively and in control with A1A1, A1A2 and A2A2 were 17(17.0%), 42(42.0%), respectively. The prevalence of the A1 allele in alcoholics was 61.2% and 59.0% in controls. And the frequency of the A1 allele in alcoholics and controls were 0.39 and 0.38, respectively. There was not significant difference in the frequency of the A1 allele between alcoholics and controls. This data suggest that the A1 allele is not associated with alcoholism in Koreans. The author conclude that our data do not support on allelic association between the A1 allele at Dopamine D2 receptor and alcoholism. Further systemized studies will be necessary to determine whether the role of allele of Dopamine D2 receptor is major effect gene or modifying effect gene in the pathogenesis of alcoholism.
Alcoholics* ; Alcoholism ; Alleles ; Dopamine* ; Humans ; Prevalence ; Receptors, Dopamine ; Receptors, Dopamine D2

No abstract available.
Anxiety Disorders* ; Anxiety*

The results regarding an association between the polymorphism sites in the dopamine D1 receptor gene and schizophrenia compelled us to study the distribution of the polymorphism in Korean schizophrenia and controls. Eighty-eight schizophrenic patients and normal controls were examined by case-control study for distribution of the polymorphism of the dopamine D1 receptor gene in Korean popualtion to minimize the effect of racial differencies in gene frequencies. The frequencies of the B1 and B2 in schizophrenic patients were 0.11 and 9.89, respectively. And 0.10 and 0.90 in normal control. There was no significant differences in the frequencies in the allele B1 and 2 between schizophrenic patients and normal controls. The author present here the evidence of a lack of alleic association between the polymorphism of the dopamine D1 receptor gene and Korean schizophrenic. The assumption that the dopamine D1 receptor gene has genetic role in the development of schizophrenia was not supported by this case-control study.
Alleles* ; Case-Control Studies ; Dopamine* ; Gene Frequency ; Humans ; Receptors, Dopamine D1 ; Receptors, Dopamine D2 ; Schizophrenia*

Lipomas of the heart are benign neoplasms and have rarely been described. Due to the fact that they normally cause no symptoms, diagnosis is often purely accidental. Because of the rarity of these tumors, it seems worthwhile to present an example studied at autopsy. It was associated with the sudden death of a 15-year-old boy. The tumor arose from the wall of the left ventricle and occupied the pericardial cavity, measuring 13x7x6 cm in size. The tumor was whitish-yellow, translucent, and soft. Microscopically, the tumor was composed of mature adipose tissue which extended between muscle fibers. This current case, the giant cardiac lipoma is believed to produce disturbances of the conduction system and distrubances of cardiac filling.

Extramedullary hematopoiesis occurring in multiple organs such as thorax, liver and both kidneys is an unusual condition. We report the CT findings of this condition with review of literature. The lesions consisted of intrathoracic paravertebral masses, focal intrahepatic mass and masses of both pelvocalyceal systems on CT scans.
Biopsy ; Case Report ; Female ; Hematopoiesis, Extramedullary+ACo- ; Human ; Kidney/radiography ; Kidney/physiopathology ; Liver/radiography ; Liver/physiopathology ; Liver/pathology ; Mediastinum/radiography ; Mediastinum/physiopathology ; Middle Age ; Myelofibrosis/physiopathology+ACo- ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Extramedullary hematopoiesis occurring in multiple organs such as thorax, liver and both kidneys is an unusual condition. We report the CT findings of this condition with review of literature. The lesions consisted of intrathoracic paravertebral masses, focal intrahepatic mass and masses of both pelvocalyceal systems on CT scans.
Biopsy ; Case Report ; Female ; Hematopoiesis, Extramedullary+ACo- ; Human ; Kidney/radiography ; Kidney/physiopathology ; Liver/radiography ; Liver/physiopathology ; Liver/pathology ; Mediastinum/radiography ; Mediastinum/physiopathology ; Middle Age ; Myelofibrosis/physiopathology+ACo- ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed