The buttercup is an inportant irritant plant which contairs an unsaturated lactone, protoanemonin, formed by the breakdown of a glucoside in injured plants. We report the three cases of irritant contact dermatitis due to buttercup(Ranunculus sceleratus). These patient developed erythematous and edematous patches with tense vesicles or bullae on t,he application site of pounded buttercup for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, arthralgia, and neuralgia, respectively.
Arthralgia ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Dermatitis, Irritant* ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Neuralgia ; Plants ; Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation

Paraquat(Gramoxone) is the most commonly used herbicide in Korea. But serious paraquat poisoning in human beings has occurred following ingestion or exposure to the skin. Exposure to paraquat through the skin has resulted in local irritation or inflammation of varyiig degree, sometimes severe. We report three cases of primary irritant dermatitis due to paraquat. Two patients developed generalized vesicobullae and necrotirulcer in the scrotum, respectively. The other patient developed painful whitish patch and erosion in ttie tongue after accidental exposure.
Dermatitis, Irritant* ; Eating ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Korea ; Paraquat ; Poisoning ; Scrotum ; Skin ; Tongue

Focal dermal hypoplasia (Goltz syndrome) is a rare genetic mesoectodermal disorder characterized by variable multisystem defects, including anomalies of the skin, skeleton, teeth and eyes. A 22-year-old female patient presented with confluent and disciete, yellowish nodules on the calves, white linear atrophic lesions, hypoand hyper!igmented patches, and telangiectasia scattered over the trunk, neck and extremities. In addition to the skin lesions, this patient showed hypertrophy of the left leg, anomalies of the left foot, fingers and nails, and maloccluded teeth. Histopathological findings of a yellow nodule revealed accumulations of adipose tissue very near to the epidermis that largely replaced the upper dermis.
Adipose Tissue ; Dermis ; Epidermis ; Extremities ; Female ; Fingers ; Focal Dermal Hypoplasia* ; Foot ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Leg ; Neck ; Skeleton ; Skin ; Telangiectasis ; Tooth ; Young Adult

Ewing's sarcoma is a highly malignant, small, round cell tumor that usually affects long bones. The acral part of the extremities is a very rare primary site for this neo plasm. A fifteen-year-old girl was seen for a lobulated, dome-shaped, 2.7cm diameter, denuded mass on the distal phalanx of the right middle finger which had increased in size over a 14-month period. The radiological featuies of the hand showed a cortical brick of distal phalanx and surrounding soft tissue mass. Histologically, the biopsy specimen showed sheets of small round to oval cells with scanty cytoplasm, that were closely packed and separated into lobules by trands of fibrous tissue. A periodic acid-Schiff stain demonsirated glycogen in the cytoplasm of the tumor cells. Electron microscopy showed large aggregates of glycogen in the cytoplasm of the neoaplastic cells. Immunohistochemical stains revealed positive staining for vimentin, glial fibrillary acid potein, and neuron specific enolase, stains for S-100, Factor VIII, and cytokeratin were negative.
Biopsy ; Coloring Agents ; Cytoplasm ; Extremities ; Factor VIII ; Female ; Fingers ; Glycogen ; Hand ; Humans ; Keratins ; Microscopy, Electron ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; Sarcoma* ; Sarcoma, Ewing ; Vimentin

Ewing's sarcoma is a highly malignant, small, round cell tumor that usually affects long bones. The acral part of the extremities is a very rare primary site for this neo plasm. A fifteen-year-old girl was seen for a lobulated, dome-shaped, 2.7cm diameter, denuded mass on the distal phalanx of the right middle finger which had increased in size over a 14-month period. The radiological featuies of the hand showed a cortical brick of distal phalanx and surrounding soft tissue mass. Histologically, the biopsy specimen showed sheets of small round to oval cells with scanty cytoplasm, that were closely packed and separated into lobules by trands of fibrous tissue. A periodic acid-Schiff stain demonsirated glycogen in the cytoplasm of the tumor cells. Electron microscopy showed large aggregates of glycogen in the cytoplasm of the neoaplastic cells. Immunohistochemical stains revealed positive staining for vimentin, glial fibrillary acid potein, and neuron specific enolase, stains for S-100, Factor VIII, and cytokeratin were negative.
Biopsy ; Coloring Agents ; Cytoplasm ; Extremities ; Factor VIII ; Female ; Fingers ; Glycogen ; Hand ; Humans ; Keratins ; Microscopy, Electron ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; Sarcoma* ; Sarcoma, Ewing ; Vimentin

The fibromatosis is a broad group of benign fibrous tissue proliferations of similar microscopic appearance that are intermediate in their biological behavior between benign fibrous lesions and fibrosarcoma. Although various series have been reported of abdominal wall and extra-abdominal desmoid tumors, intra-abdominal desoids are extremely rare. We experienced a case with mesenteric fibroma-tosis occuring in a 30 year-old male. He was admitted to the Kangbuk Samsung hospital complaining of right lower quadrant abdominal mass and abdominal bloating sense. Utrasonography and computed tomography of the abdomen showed a solid mass in the left abdomen surrounded by loops of small bowel. At explorative laparotomy, there was a hard, well circumscribed round mass (25 X 15 X 12 cm) in the mesentery of the terminal ilem. After the tumor was dissected from the retro-peritoneum and surrounding tissues, segmental re- section of ileum with end-to-end anastomosis was performed. On the histopathologic examination, it was confirmed as mesenteric fibromatosis. A brief review of the literature on mesentery fibromatosis was done.
Abdomen ; Abdominal Wall ; Adult ; Fibroma* ; Fibromatosis, Aggressive ; Fibrosarcoma ; Humans ; Ileum ; Laparotomy ; Male ; Mesentery

Surgical decompression for cervical radiculopathy includes anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, anterior or posterior cervical foraminotomy, and cervical arthroplasty after decompression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a CO2 laser in posterior-approach surgery for unilateral cervical radiculopathy. From January 2006 to December 2008, 12 consecutive patients with unilateral cervical radiculopathy from either foraminal stenosis or disc herniation, which was confirmed with imaging studies, underwent posterior foraminotomy and discectomy with the use of a microscope and CO2 laser. For annulotomy and discectomy, we used about 300 joules of CO2 laser energy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to evaluate the extent of disc removal or foraminal decompression. Clinical outcome was evaluated by using visual analogue scale scores for radicular pain and Odom's criteria. For evaluation of spinal stability, cervical flexion and extension radiographs were obtained. Single-level foraminotomy was performed in 10 patients and two-level foraminotomies were performed in 2 patients. Preoperative radicular symptoms were improved immediately after surgery in all patients. No surgery-related complications developed in our cases. Postoperative MRI demonstrated effective decompression of ventral lesions and widened foraminal spaces in all cases. There was no development of cervical instability during the follow-up period. Posterior foraminotomy and discectomy using a microscope and CO2 laser is an effective surgical tool for unilateral cervical radiculopathy caused by lateral or foraminal disc herniations or spondylotic stenosis. Long-term follow-up with radiographs showed no significant kyphotic changes or spinal instability.
Arthroplasty ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Decompression ; Decompression, Surgical ; Diskectomy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Foraminotomy ; Humans ; Lasers, Gas ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Radiculopathy

A tuberculous pleural effusion may be a sequel to a primary infection or represent the reactivation of pulmonary tuberculosis. It is believed to result from a rupture of a subpleural caseous focus in the lung into the pleural space. It appears that delayed hypersensitivity plays a large role in the pathogenesis of a tuberculous pleural effusion. We encountered a 52 years old man with pleural effusion that developed several days after a CT guided percutaneous needle biopsy of a solitary pulmonary nodule. He was diagnosed with TB pleurisy. It is believed that his pleural effusion probably developed due to exposure of the parenchymal tuberculous focus into the pleural space during the percutaneous needle biopsy. This case might suggest one of the possible pathogeneses of tuberculous pleural effusion.
Biopsy, Needle* ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity, Delayed ; Lung ; Middle Aged ; Needles* ; Pleural Effusion* ; Pleurisy ; Rupture ; Solitary Pulmonary Nodule* ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

Adrenal cysts are rare lesions usually discovered incidentally during surgery, or at the time of autopsy. Most adrenal cysts are generally asymptomatic and small, less than 10 cm in diameter. When adrenal cysts enlarge sufficiently, they cause pain and gastrointestinal disturbances or become palpable. When cystic lesions in upper abdomen are found, many cystic lesions such as hepatic, splenic, renal and pancreatic cysts should be considered. It's difficult to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions. Usually these cystic lesions have been excised to rule out malignancy. Herein we report a case of adrenal endothelial cyst which was detected in a 63-year-old female patient during a routine health examination by ultrasonography.
Abdomen ; Adrenal Glands* ; Autopsy ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Cyst ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a controlled release, once-daily formulation of mosapride (UI05MSP015CT) in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD). METHODS: Patients with FD were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either UI05MSP015CT (15 mg once a day, study group) or mosapride (5 mg three times a day, control group) and corresponding placebo for 4 weeks. The primary endpoint was a change in the gastrointestinal symptom score (GIS) evaluated at enrollment and after 4 weeks. Secondary endpoints were changes in the Nepean Dyspepsia Index-Korean version (NDI-K), rate of satisfactory symptom relief, and rate of adverse events. RESULTS: A total of 138 patients were enrolled (female, 73.9%; mean age, 44.0±15.4 years). After excluding patients who violated the study protocol, 59 and 58 patients from the study and control groups, respectively, were included in the per-protocol analysis. No difference was observed in drug compliance between the control and study groups (97.07%±4.52% vs 96.85%±6.05%, p=0.870). Changes in GIS scores were 9.69±6.44 and 10.01±5.92 in the study and control groups. The mean difference in GIS change between groups was 0.33 (95% confidence interval, 1.75 to 2.41), demonstrating non-inferiority of UI-05MSP015CT (p=0.755). The rate of satisfactory symptom relief was not different between the study and control groups (39.0% vs 56.9%, p=0.053). No differences in change in NDI-K score (14.3 vs 16.9, p=0.263) or rates of adverse events (12.9% vs. 4.4%, p=0.062) were observed between the study and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: Once-daily mosapride is not inferior to conventional mosapride in efficacy and is safe in patients with FD.
Compliance ; Dyspepsia* ; Humans