Ataxia is one of the most serious neurological symptoms in elderly The clarification of the related anatomical structures are necessary for the understanding of pathophysiologic mechanisms of ataxia. We have recently experienced a case of thalamic infarct in the territory of thalamogeniculate artery. The localization of lesion was based on CT and MR imaging. At first time, right hemiparesis and ataxia were prominent. Hemiparesis was transient but ataxia had been persistent for several months. It has been suspected that thalamus could be the part of neural circuits in balancing. Our case support this suggestion clinically. Based on clinical observations, a plausible extrapolation can be made to thalamic ataxia. It maybe related with dysfunction of dentatorubrothalamic and corticopontine pathway. Thus our case led us to conclude that thalamus could be engaged in balance control of human body.
Aged* ; Arteries ; Ataxia* ; Human Body ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Paresis ; Thalamus

No abstract available.
Giant Cell Tumors* ; Giant Cells* ; Spine*

We described 2 patients with Marchiafava-Bignami disease, a neurological disorder associated with chronic alcohol consumption. Patient 1 expressed general weakness and confusion, while patient 2 expressed dysphagia and seizures. Lesions involving the corpus callosum were identified with T2 weighted MR imaging in which there was a hyperintensity in the splenium of patient 1 and in the entire corpus callosum of patient 2. While the conditions of both patients were improved by with nutritional support, they were left with cognitive impairment.
Alcohol Drinking ; Corpus Callosum ; Deglutition Disorders ; Demyelinating Diseases ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Marchiafava-Bignami Disease* ; Nervous System Diseases ; Nutritional Support ; Seizures

PURPOSE: Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is thought to have not only low frequency of adverse side effects but also have equal efficacy to other conventional immunosuppressants (CIS). But It's hard to conclude that CIS may be replaceable with MMF. So we inquired into another aspect of MMF as 'Rescue therapy' in non-transplant renal diseases. METHODS: Twenty nine patients with non-transplant renal diseases received MMF therapy between January 2000 and April 2007. Eighteen patients who had received MMF more than 6 months were included. Sixteen of the 18 patients included were resistant to CIS and two were patients who maintained complete remission (CR) with MMF because of the adverse side effects of CIS. Treatment outcome was evaluated by dip-stick urine test. CR was defined by negative or trace, partial remission (PR) by 1 positive and treatment failure (TF) by more than 1 positive. RESULTS: Eleven of the resistant 16 patients had shown CR (69%) and maintained CR. Two of maintenance therapy with MMF had kept CR more than 12 months. The proportions of the patients who had shown decreased proteinuria in each treatment duration were 69% for 3 months (p=0.005), 81% for 6 months (p=0.001), 86% for 9 months (p=0.002) and 91% for 12 months (p=0.004), respectively. There were few adverse effects. CONCLUSION: We observed the efficacy of MMF in decreasing proteinuria and maintaining CR as 'Rescue therapy' for previously treated non-transplant renal disease patients with CIS. Large controlled clinical trials are expected for defining this effect.
Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; Kidney Diseases ; Mycophenolic Acid ; Proteinuria ; Treatment Failure ; Treatment Outcome

Rhabdomyomas are rare benign tumors. Most extracardiac rhabdomyomas are found in the head and neck region, especially in the pharynx and larynx. Herein, we have described the case of a 1-year-old boy presenting with recurrent otorrhea and postauricular swelling. His symptoms were due to a mass that was histologically diagnosed as fetal rhabdomyoma (FR). Here, we report the first case of FR in the postauricular area. Clinicians should keep in mind the possibility of FR if a child presents with external auditory canal mass associated with recurrent otorrhea and signs of mastoiditis.

A 12-year-old intact male Dalmatian dog presented hyporexia and vomiting for 1 week. Blood analysis revealed increased liver enzyme activity. Histopathological examination of the liver confirmed chronic hepatitis with fibrosis and necrosis. Copper staining revealed marked copper accumulation (2,770 ppm; normal range, 200 to 400 ppm), prominent in the centrilobular region, and compatible with copper-associated chronic hepatitis. However, copper metabolism domain containing 1 (COMMD1) mutation predisposing to copper accumulation in the liver tissue was not identified. The dog received medications but died 1 month after first visit. This is the first case of primary copper-associated hepatitis without COMMD1 mutation in a Dalmatian dog in South Korea.

The authors regret that, in the above article, one of the co-authors' names was incorrectly printed. It is now reproduced correctly above.

PURPOSE: This study was performed to demonstrate a correlation among urinary 15d-PGJ2, proinflammatory cytokines (i.e. IL-23, IL-6, and TGF-beta1), and CRP, and to determinate the contributors to prognostic score and proteinuria in IgAN patients. METHODS: Fifty-four patients with biopsy-proven IgAN were enrolled. For comparison with IgAN, five MCD patients were also enrolled. Immunohistochemical staining for PPAR-gamma in kidney tissue and measurements of urinary IL-6, IL-23, TGF-beta1, 15d-PGJ2 and serum CRP were performed RESULTS: There was no difference according to PPAR-gamma staining. 15d-PGJ2 was negatively correlated with urinary IL-23, TGF-beta1, and CRP. Among proinflammatory cytokines and CRP, there were positive relationships with each other except for IL-23 and CRP. TGF-beta1 in the group having proteinuria more than 3 g/day was statistically higher than that in the sole hematuria group. However, in multivariate regression analysis, not a single relation was found between TGF-beta1 and proteinuria. Prognostic score was correlated with IL-6, IL-23, TGF-beta1, CRP, 15d-PGJ2, and 24hr proteinuria. 24hr proteinuria was correlated with IL-6 and 15d-PGJ2. In multivariate regression analysis, CRP, 15d-PGJ2, and 24hr proteinuria contributed to prognostic score, and only 15d-PGJ2 contributed to 24hr proteinuria. Last, urinary 15d-PGJ2 in IgAN was higher than that in MCD. CONCLUSION: Endogenous 15d-PGJ2 was associated with inflammation and might be considered as a material which could delay the damage of kidney in IgAN. In the future, larger cohort and long-term follow-up studies are needed to demonstrate the role of 15d-PGJ2 as prognostic indicator or marker of kidney damage.
Cohort Studies ; Corneal Dystrophies, Hereditary ; Cytokines ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-23 ; Interleukin-6 ; Kidney ; Prostaglandin D2 ; Proteinuria ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1

In end stage renal disease, the precise mechanism of metastatic calcification remains unclear, except that it occurs with hyperphosphatemia, increased Ca x P product, and secondary hyperparathyroidism. It involves various organs such as lung, eye, stomach, kidney, and so on. A 62-year-old male patient, who had acute renal failure (ARF), developed gastric calcification in our institution. The ARF had been result of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN), and the metastatic calcification seemed to be caused by increased Ca x P product and hyperphosphatemia. This case shows that metastatic calcification could arise even in ARF.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Eye ; Glomerulonephritis, Membranoproliferative ; Humans ; Hyperparathyroidism, Secondary ; Hyperphosphatemia ; Kidney ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Lung ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stomach

The selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and 5-lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitors might inhibit prostaglandin synthesis and reduce proteinuria. The present study was designed to investigate the anti-proteinuric effects of nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) as compared with celecoxib in puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN) nephrosis rats. Fifty five male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups; A, normal control; B, PAN group; C, PAN+COX-2 inhibitor (celecoxib) group; and D, PAN+5-LOX inhibitor (NDGA) group. After induction of PAN nephrosis through repeated injections of PAN (7.5 and 15 mg/100 g body weight), rats were treated with celecoxib, NDGA, or vehicle for 2 weeks. Twenty four hour urine protein excretions were significantly lower in PAN+celecoxib and PAN+NDGA groups than in PAN group. Serum creatinine (SCr) concentrations and 24 hr urine creatinine clearances (CCr) were not significantly different in the four groups. Electron microscopy showed that podocyte morphology was changed after the induction of PAN nephrosis and was recovered after celecoxib or NDGA administration. Celecoxib significantly recovered the expressions of nephrin, CD2AP, COX-2, and TGF-beta. NDGA also recovered TGF-betaexpression, but did not alter the expressions of nephrin, CD2AP and COX-2. The present study suggested that celecoxib and NDGA might effectively reduce proteinuria in nephrotic syndrome without impairing renal function.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/pharmacology ; Body Weight ; Creatinine/blood ; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors/pharmacology ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron ; Nephrosis/*chemically induced/drug therapy ; Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid/*pharmacology ; Podocytes/metabolism ; Puromycin Aminonucleoside/pharmacology/*toxicity ; Pyrazoles/*pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sulfonamides/*pharmacology ; Time Factors