A night blood survey was carried out among inhabitants aged over 1 year from the fifteen villages throughout Cheju-Do (Quelpart Island). Blood films from 2,139 persons were examined and 183(8.6 percent) showed microfilariae, the incidences varying according to geographical sources are from 0.8 to 19.5 per cent. All the microfilariae found in this survey were of the nocturnal periodic Brugia malayi. The microfilarial density was 1.9 per cent of blood. The age and sex distributions of microfilaria rate in Cheju-Do were not distinctly different. On the other hand, the intradermal test using Dirofilaria antigen (FPT antigen) and clinical survey of filariasis were also undertaken in same areas of microfilaria survey. Out of 2,449 inhabitants examined 1,434(58.6 percent) persons showed positive reaction of skin test, 503(20.5 percent) persons have clinical manifestations and 112 (4.6 percent) persons showed elephantiasis . It is assumed that Aedes togoi may be the most probable vector of B. malayi in the areas of Cheju-Do.
parasitology ; helminth ; nematoda ; Brugia malayi ; epidemiolgy ; filariasis ; intradermal test ; blood

No abstract available.
Abdomen, Acute* ; Aged* ; Geriatrics* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver* ; Polycythemia Vera* ; Polycythemia*

The traffic accident was one of most common cause for the facial bone fracture. When it involved the midfacial structures, the nasal bone fracture was usually shown. If the reduction was not done in time, it would result in facial deformity. Simple case could be corrected by simple rhinoplasty. However, severe cases would require more invasive technique. We used triangular osteotomy included the nasal bones, the vomer, and the medial wall of maxilla for the correction of post-traumatic nasal deformity and reported the result with the review of literatures.
Accidents, Traffic ; Congenital Abnormalities* ; Facial Bones ; Maxilla ; Nasal Bone ; Osteotomy* ; Rhinoplasty ; Vomer

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of Crohn's disease (CD) in patients who showed proximal small bowel involvement using a nationwide Korean CD cohort. METHODS: We reviewed the data from a cohort of patients diagnosed with CD. The clinical outcomes of patients were evaluated according to the presence of proximal small bowel involvement. RESULTS: Among 1,329 patients with CD for whom complete disease location data were available, 222 patients (16.7%) showed involvement of the proximal small bowel. Compared to patients without proximal small bowel involvement, those with small bowel involvement were more likely to display stricturing behavior (19.8% vs 12.7%, p=0.020). The surgery-free survival of patients who showed proximal small bowel involvement was inferior to that of patients without proximal small bowel involvement (10-year surgery-free survival: 58.4% vs 67.7%, respectively, p < 0.001). Additionally, upper gastrointestinal involvement was more common in patients with proximal small bowel involvement than in those without involvement (odds ratio, 1.643; 95% confidence interval, 1.008 to 2.677). CONCLUSIONS: Proximal small bowel involvement is a poor prognostic factor for the surgery-free survival of Korean patients with CD. Proximal small bowel involvement should be evaluated in patients with CD for predicting long-term clinical outcomes.
Cohort Studies ; Crohn Disease ; Humans ; Jejunum ; Prognosis

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study. OBJECTIVES: To analyze the mode of injury, associated lesions, time of injury, and the checking times of MRI/CT and Bone scans in multiple spine fractures SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: CT was predominantly used to discover and identify the fracture levels of the spine. However, fracture level identification in the entire spine was limited. CT, MRI and Bone scans were used for diagnosing multiple spine fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 1999 and 2004, 12 patients who had more than level 3 spine fractures were studied. The mode of injury, associated lesions, time of injury, and checking times of MRI/CT and Bone scans were analyzed. RESULTS: The causes of the spinal injuries were from a fall from height, from traffic accidents and from multi-complex forced trauma in 7, 4 and 1 cases, respectively. Most cases had no severe associated lesions. The accuracy of the plain roentgenograms was 26% and that of CT was 35.3%, and the average checking time was 1.5 days. The accuracy of MRI was 100% and the average checking time was 4.3 days. The accuracy of the bone scans was 100%, and the average checking time was 11.7 days. The fracture patterns consisted of 37, 7, 3 and 3 non-compression (74%), compression (14%), burst (6%) and fracture-dislocation types (6%), respectively. The major treatment methods used with these patients were conservative. The treatment methods in 4 cases were with the use posterior instrumentation. CONCLUSIONS: MRI produced more accurate and faster results than the other methods of detection. The accuracy of the plain roentgenograms was 26%, which was relatively inaccurate. Therefore, if the patient complains of multiple back pains, the surgeon must check other diagnostic tools.
Accidents, Traffic ; Back Pain ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Injuries ; Spine* ; Young Adult*

PURPOSE: This study compared the response evaluation using the WHO (World Health Organization) criteria for patients with breast cancer with that of the RECIST (Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumor) criteria in order to determine the significance of the RECIST criteria in breast cancer. METHODS: Between 2001 and 2005, 42 patients with measurable lesions radiologically receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy for a breast carcinoma were enrolled in this study. The results were compared using a kappa test as a concordance measure between the two response criteria. RESULTS: With the WHO criteria, the overall response and progression rate were 35.7% (CR 0, PR 15) and 16.6% (PD 7) respectively. On the other hand, the overall response and progression rate using the RECIST criteria were 38.0% (CR 0, PR 16) and 7% (PD 3) respectively. The kappa value as a concordance measure between two response criteria was 0.718. CONCLUSION: The RECIST criteria are comparable to the WHO criteria in evaluating the response of breast cancer patients who have undergone neoadjuvant chemotherapy. A comparison of these results with other studies of more common tumor types supports the implementation of RECIST as the standard criteria for evaluating the treatment response but also for monitoring progression.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Drug Therapy* ; Hand ; Humans ; World Health Organization

One hundred and eighty one cases, which comfirmed tobe intussusception, were reviewed retrospectively to identify the differences between radiologic findings of reduced and nonreduced intussusceptions by barium enema. The number of cases of reduced intussusception was 148 and nonreduced was 33, so the rate of reduction was 82%. On conventional radiographs, air-fluid levels were seen in 23 cases(15.5%) of the reduced intussusception and in 18 cases(54.6%) of the nonreduced intussusception, and soft tissue masses were seen in 20 cases(13.5%) of the reduced intussusception and in 2 cases(36.4%) of the nonreduced intussusception. The mean value of a ratio of maximal diameter of small bowel to interpedicular distance of L3vertebral body was 0.93 in the reduced intussusception and 1.25 in the nonreduced intussusception. On barium enema, the dissection sign was seen in 33.1% of the reduced intussusception and in 75.8% of the nonreduced intussusception. The morphologic abnormalities of ascending colon were seen in 11.5% of the reduced intussusception and in 38.7% of the nonreduced intussusception. So, the findings of the air-fluid level soft tissue mass, marked small bowel dilatation, dissection sign and morphologic abnormality of ascending colon were more frequently seen in the nonreduced intussusception than the reduced cases. There was no correlation between the location of intussusceptum and the reduction rate.
Barium* ; Colon, Ascending ; Dilatation ; Enema* ; Intussusception* ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Early tumor detection is crucial for the prevention of colon cancer. Near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging using a target-activatable probe may permit earlier disease detection. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) participate in tumorigenesis and tumor growth. The aim of this study was to determine whether NIRF imaging using an MMP-activatable probe can detect colon tumors at early stages. METHODS: We utilized two murine colon cancer models: a sporadic colon cancer model induced by azoxymethane (AOM), and a colitis-associated cancer model induced by a combination of AOM and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS). Colonic lesions were analyzed by histologic examination, Western blotting, immunohistochemical staining, and NIRF imaging using an MMP-activatable probe. RESULTS: Multiple variable-sized tumors developed in both models and progressed from adenomas to adenocarcinomas over time. At the early stage of the AOM/DSS model, diffuse inflammation was observed within the tumors. MMP expression increased progressively through normal, inflammation, adenoma, and adenocarcionoma stages. NIRF signal intensities were strongly correlated with each tumor stage from adenoma to adenocarcinoma. NIRF imaging also distinguished tumors from inflamed mucosa. CONCLUSIONS: NIRF imaging using a protease-activatable probe may be a useful tool for early tumor detection. This approach could translate to improve the endoscopic detection of colon tumors, especially in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
Adenocarcinoma ; Adenoma ; Azoxymethane ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Colon ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Dextrans ; Fluorescence ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Matrix Metalloproteinases ; Optical Imaging ; Sodium ; Sulfates

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Advances in endoscopic technology seek to improve the accuracy of neoplastic tumor detection. Recently developed endoscopy devices such as narrow-band imaging (NBI) nevertheless have limitations in morphologic diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a novel imaging technique-near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging using a protease-activatable nanoprobe-could provide more accurate neoplastic tumor detection, compared to NBI. METHODS: Images of the intestines of Apc(Min/+) mice were obtained by NIRF using a matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-sensing probe, which was based on a nanoparticle platform. Immediately after imaging, endoscopy with NBI capability was performed on the same excised intestine. Macroscopic and microscopic findings in the intestines were assessed, and MMP expression was analyzed by Western blotting and real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Numerous tiny polypoid lesions were present in the intestines of aged Apc(Min/+) mice. These lesions included adenomas, lymphoid follicles, and protruding normal tissues. When using NIRF imaging with an MMP-activatable nanoprobe, adenomatous polyps showed higher fluorescence, compared to lymphoid follicles or adjacent normal tissues. The expression of MMP was higher in the adenomatous tissue than in the other tissues. The sensitivity and specificity for adenoma detection were 88.9% and 82.2%, respectively, when using NIRF imaging with a MMP-nanoprobe, compared to 77.8% and 66.7%, respectively, when using NBI (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Near-infrared fluorescence imaging with a protease-activatable nanoprobe could aid in the differentiation of tumor characteristics. Clinical application of this approach may improve the endoscopic detection of neoplastic tumors.
Adenoma ; Adenomatous Polyps ; Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Endoscopy ; Fluorescence* ; Intestines ; Mice ; Molecular Imaging ; Nanoparticles ; Narrow Band Imaging ; Optical Imaging* ; Sensitivity and Specificity