Purpose: Red meat allergy has recently been described as rare food hypersensitivity with unique pathogenesis and clinical relevance of delayed anaphylaxis. The culprits are various mammal meats containing oligosaccharide epitope (galactose-α-1,3-galactose, α-gal). Interestingly, hard tick bites precede the onset of this allergic condition. The clinical characteristics of red meat allergy had never been reported in Korea. Methods: Among patients diagnosed with food hypersensitivity in a hospital located in Jeju, Korea, those with red meat allergy were recruited. Clinical characteristics were retrospectively reviewed and additionally interviewed. Results: Five patients (mean age, 57±4 years; 4 males and 1 female) were diagnosed as having red meat allergy. They suffered from hives, as the most common symptom, followed by shortness of breath from 10 minutes to 6 hours after exposure to the culprits. Four patients visited the emergency department for anaphylaxis. Culprits included beef, pork, dog, ham, goat, and roe deer. Chicken, duck, bacon, or horse did not cause clinical symptoms. In 4 patients, hard tick bites preceded the onset. Detection of specific IgE to α-gal and culprits such as beef and pork facilitated the confirmative diagnosis. They were advised to avoid mammal meats and to receive a prescription for self-injectable epinephrine. Conclusion Red meat allergy is one of the food hypersensitivities, characterized by severe and delayed allergic reactions to various meats. Red meat allergy may be a tick-borne illness in Jeju, Korea.

Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorders which disrupt the afferent and efferent pathways of the cerebellum that cause cerebellar ataxia. Spectrin beta non-erythrocytic 2 (SPTBN2) gene encodes the β-III spectrin protein with high expression in Purkinje cells that is involved in excitatory glutamate signaling through stabilization of the glutamate transporter, and its mutation is known to cause spinocerebellar ataxia type 5. Three years and 5 months old boy with delayed development showed leukodystrophy and cerebellar atrophy in brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Diagnostic exome sequencing revealed that the patient has heterozygous mutation in SPTBN2 (p.Glu1251Gln) which is a causative genetic mutation for spinocerebellar ataxia type 5. With the patient's clinical findings, it seems reasonable to conclude that p.Glu1251Gln mutation of SPTBN2 gene caused spinocerebellar ataxia type 5 in this patient.
Amino Acid Transport System X-AG ; Atrophy ; Brain ; Cerebellar Ataxia ; Cerebellum ; Efferent Pathways ; Exome ; Glutamic Acid ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Purkinje Cells ; Spectrin ; Spinocerebellar Ataxias*

Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) is the most common form of systemic vasculitis in children. Palpable purpura, arthralgia, arthritis, abdominal pain and renal involvement are the major clinical manifestations. Gastrointestinal involvement is related with abdominal pain and bleeding. We described a 71 year-old female experienced acute exacerbation of HSP presented with gastrointestinal bleeding. She was hospitalized for hematemesis and diagnosed duodenitis by esophagogastroduonenoscopy (EGD). Duodenitis was improved at EGD checked in 7 days. She still complained of melena and abdominal pain. There were no abnormal findings at sigmoidoscopy. Jejunal ulcer and purpura were diagnosed by capsule endoscopy. Symptoms were relieved after administration of systemic steroid. But she needed renal replacement therapy for 3 months. Small bowel ulcer diagnosed by capsule endoscopy in patients with HSP was rarely described in Korean literature. This case suggests that capsule endoscopy have a role in diagnosis of small bowel ulcer and its severity in HSP with gastrointestinal symptom.
Abdominal Pain ; Arthralgia ; Arthritis ; Capsule Endoscopy ; Child ; Duodenitis ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Hematemesis ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Melena ; Purpura ; Purpura, Schoenlein-Henoch ; Renal Replacement Therapy ; Sigmoidoscopy ; Systemic Vasculitis ; Ulcer

Mushroom cultivation has been started recently in Bangladesh. Awareness of the nutritional and medicinal importance of mushrooms is not extensive. In this study, the nutritional values of dietary mushrooms- Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus sajorcaju, Pleurotus florida and Calocybe indica that are very popular among the cultivated mushrooms in Bangladesh have been determined. These mushrooms were rich in proteins (20~25%) and fibers (13~24% in dry samples) and contained a lower amount of lipid (4 to 5%). The carbohydrate contents ranged from 37 to 48% (on the basis of dry weight). These were also rich in mineral contents (total ash content is 8~13%). The pileus and gills were protein and lipid rich and stripe was carbohydrate and fiber-rich. The moisture content of mushrooms ranged from 86 to 87.5%. Data of this study suggest that mushrooms are rich in nutritional value.
Agaricales ; Animals ; Bangladesh ; Florida ; Gills ; Minerals ; Nutritive Value ; Pleurotus ; Proteins

Zinner's syndrome is a rare congenital abnormality of the mesonephric duct. Unilateral renal agenesis, ipsilateral seminal vesicle cyst, and ipsilateral ejaculatory duct obstruction are the triad of maldevelopment of the mesonephric duct which comprises Zinner's syndrome. It is an extremely rare case, in that approximately 100 cases only have been reported worldwide. We discovered a rare developmental anomaly with other mesonephric duct-associated abnormalities, Zinner's syndrome with a presumed ectopic prostate and triorchidism and do report here.

Fibroma of the tendon sheath is a benign slow-growing fibrous tumor. Although rare, cases occurring in the upper extremities usually involve the fingers. It appears as a well-defined, roundor oval-shaped mass originating from the flexor tendon. Abundant fibrous stroma makes fibromas appear as a low intensity mass in all MRI sequences. Most of the fibromas manifest as painless soft tissue masses. Herein, we report a case of fibroma of the tendon sheath with an unusual clinical presentation, triggering carpal tunnel syndrome during wrist movement.

We present a case of persistent left superior vena cava, anomalous right pulmonary venous connection to the right-sided superior vena cava and sinus venosus atrial septal defect detected by computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiography and echocardiography. These defects were surgically corrected using a double-patch technique. In fact, CT can provide anatomical information about a complex anomaly in the systemic and pulmonary vasculatures. Though modern imaging techniques are useful for detecting complex cardiovascular disease, careful echocardiographic examination should be performed to diagnose complex cardiac anomalies.
Angiography ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Echocardiography ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial ; Vascular Diseases ; Vena Cava, Superior

We present a case of persistent left superior vena cava, anomalous right pulmonary venous connection to the right-sided superior vena cava and sinus venosus atrial septal defect detected by computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiography and echocardiography. These defects were surgically corrected using a double-patch technique. In fact, CT can provide anatomical information about a complex anomaly in the systemic and pulmonary vasculatures. Though modern imaging techniques are useful for detecting complex cardiovascular disease, careful echocardiographic examination should be performed to diagnose complex cardiac anomalies.
Angiography ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Echocardiography ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial ; Vascular Diseases ; Vena Cava, Superior

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) act as regulators of gene expression by binding to the 3’ untranslated region (UTR) of target genes. They perform important biological functions in the various species. Among many miRNAs, miR-21-3p is known to serve vital functions in development and apoptosis in olive flounder. Using genomic and bioinformatic tools, evolutionary conservation of miR-21-3p was examined in various species, and expression pattern was analyzed in olive flounder. Conserved sequences (5’-CAGUCG-3’) in numerous species were detected through the stem-loop structure of miR-21-3p. Thus, we analyzed target genes of miR-21-3p. Among them, 3’ UTR region of PPIL2 gene indicated the highest binding affinity with miR-21-3p based on the minimum free energy value. The PPIL2 gene showed high expression levels in testis tissue of the olive flounder, whereas miR-21-3p showed rather ubiquitous expression patterns except in testis tissue, indicating that miR-21-3p seems to control the PPIL2 gene expression in a complementary repression manner in various tissues of olive flounder. Taken together, this current study contributes to infer the target gene candidates for the miR-21-3p using bioinformatics tools. Furthermore, our data offers important information on the relationship between miR-21-3p and target gene for further functional study.
Apoptosis ; Computational Biology ; Conserved Sequence ; Flounder* ; Gene Expression ; MicroRNAs ; Olea* ; Repression, Psychology ; Testis ; Untranslated Regions

PURPOSE: South Korea has the highest incidence rate of thyroid cancer in the world, and the incidence rate continues to increase. The aim of this study was to determine the age-period-cohort effects on the incidence of thyroid cancer in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the Korean National Cancer registry database, age-standardized incidence rates and annual percent changes (APCs) in thyroid cancer according to sex and histologic type were analyzed between 1997 and 2011. Age-period-cohort models were applied using an intrinsic estimator method according to sex. RESULTS: In both men and women, the incidence of thyroid cancer showed a sharp increase from 1997 through 2011. Among the histologic types, papillary carcinoma showed the greatest increase, with APCs of 25.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 22.7% to 27.5%) in men and 23.7% (95% CI, 21.9% to 25.5%) in women, whereas anaplastic carcinoma did not show a significant increase in either sex. An increase in overall thyroid cancer incidence over time was observed in all birth cohorts. An age-period-cohort model indicated a steeply increasing period effect, which increased prominently from 1997 to 2011 in both men and women. The age effect showed an inverted U-shaped trend. The cohort effect tended to show a slight increase or remain constant from 1952 to 1977, followed by a decrease. CONCLUSION: The period effect can explain the sharp increase in thyroid cancer incidence, strongly suggesting the role of thyroid screening.
Carcinoma ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Cohort Effect ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Korea ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Parturition ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms*