No abstract available.
Abscess* ; Bacteria, Aerobic* ; Quinolones* ; Virulence*

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is characterized by histological findings of an immunoinflammatory destruction of small- and medium-sized bile ducts with progressive portal fibrosis, and the presence of anti-mitochondrial antibody (AMA) with a laboratory evidence of chronic cholestasis. The term "autoimmune cholangitis" (AIC) is used for a disease with the clinical and pathologic features of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) but with negative AMA and positive anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) tests. Eight cases of AIC and ten cases of PBC were reviewed in order to determine whether there was any difference between two diseases in clinico-pathologic aspects. All of the patients were female and the mean ages of AIC and PBC patients were 48 and 47 years, respectively. ANA test was positive in six of ten PBC paients and their mean titer was lower than that of AIC patients. IgM level was significantly higher in PBC group than in AIC group. No significant difference was found between two groups with respect to biochemical and histopathological features. Since the only consistently distinguishing features between these two conditions are the autoantibody profile (AMA vs ANA) and immunoglobulin level (IgM), these two conditions might be part of a spectrum. PBC can be considered to be the same as AMA-positive AIC or alternatively AIC to be the same as AMA-negative PBC.
Bile Ducts ; Cholangitis* ; Cholestasis ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin M ; Immunoglobulins ; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary*

DNA microarray is a high-throughput biomedical technology that monitors gene expression for thousands of genes in parallel. The abundance and complexity of the gene expression data have given rise to a requirement for their systematic management and analysis to support many laboratories performing microarray research. On these demands, we developed Xperanto for integrated data management and analysis using user-friendly web-based interface. Xperanto provides an integrated environment for management and analysis by linking the computational tools and rich sources of biological annotation. With the growing needs of data sharing, it is designed to be compliant to MGED (Microarray Gene Expression Data) standards for microarray data annotation and exchange. Xperanto enables a fast and efficient management of vast amounts of data, and serves as a communication channel among multiple researchers within an emerging interdisciplinary field.
Biomedical Technology ; DNA* ; Gene Expression ; Information Dissemination ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis*

Although its high successability in numerous corneal diseases, penetrating keratoplasty in certain conditions, such as chemical burn, ocular pemphigoid, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, severe dry eye, and recurrent graft rejection still has had poor outcomes. So far, many keratoprostheses have been developed, but none of them showed consistent successful results. The authors made two models of keratoprosthesis using expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) as a skirt and these models were implanted to 30 and 5 rabbit corneas by intralamellar fixation respectively. Expanded PTFE was well-known for its biocompatibility and porous structure which fibrovascular tissue can grow in. However, both of the models extruded from the cornea in all cases and retention period was 1 month in average. These poor results are thought to be mainly due to previously known enzymatic degradation. To obtain better result, modification of the models and surgical techniques are needed. Several possible modifications are described in this article.
Burns, Chemical ; Cornea ; Corneal Diseases ; Graft Rejection ; Keratoplasty, Penetrating ; Pemphigoid, Bullous ; Polytetrafluoroethylene ; Stevens-Johnson Syndrome

Since the first description of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) secondary to lumbar disc surgery by Linton and White in 1945, many cases of the accidental injury to the great vessels anterior to the lumbar area have been reported. We experienced a unique case of AVF between the internal iliac artery and internal iliac vein following disc surgery. Diagnosis of traumatic AVF in a patient with multiple varicose dilatation of vein in the left thigh and inguinal area was heralded by the presence of unique, unusual arterial signals in the area of dilated veins during the leg Doppler scan. 3D-CT angiography clearly confirmed the presence of a fistular tract between the internal iliac artery and vein. Using the Seldinger technique, a PTFE stent graft was inserted into the internal iliac artery to cover the fistular site nonsurgically. After the procedure, venous dilatation decreased and the patient felt comfortable. Follow-up 3D-CT angiography one month after procedure showed complete obliteration of fistuar tract and patent blood flow through PTFE stent graft in the internal iliac artery.
Angiography ; Arteriovenous Fistula* ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis* ; Diagnosis ; Dilatation ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Iliac Artery ; Iliac Vein ; Leg ; Polytetrafluoroethylene* ; Stents* ; Thigh ; Veins

Although discal cysts are a rare cause of low back pain and radiculopathy. Currently, surgical excision is usually the first-line treatment for discal cysts. However, alternative treatment methods have been suggested, as in some cases symptoms have improved with interventional therapies. A 27-year-old man presented with an acute onset of severe pain, and was found to have a discal cyst after an open discectomy. The patient underwent cyst aspiration and steroid injection through the facet joint under C-arm guidance. After the procedure, the patient's pain improved to NRS 0-1. On outpatient physical examination 1 week, and 1 and 3 months later, no abnormal neurological symptoms were present, and pain did not persist; thus, follow-up observation was terminated. When a discal cyst is diagnosed, it is more appropriate to consider interventional management instead of surgery as a first-line treatment, while planning for surgical resection if the symptoms do not improve or accompanying neurologic deficits progress.
Adult ; Diskectomy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc ; Low Back Pain ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Outpatients ; Physical Examination ; Radiculopathy ; Zygapophyseal Joint

A 56-year-old man presented with right coronary arterial spasm accompanied by ST segment elevation in the inferior leads. A reperfusion arrhythmia, accelerated idioventricular rhythm (AIVR), developed 1 hour after a nitroglycerin infusion. The AIVR was sustained for 5 days without hemodynamic instability, and resolved spontaneously during hemodynamic monitoring in the coronary intensive care unit.
Accelerated Idioventricular Rhythm ; Angina Pectoris ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; Nitroglycerin ; Reperfusion ; Spasm

Primary esophageal melanoma is a rare disease with a poor prognosis. To date, 18 cases have been reported in Korea. Four patients visited the Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital with dysphagia, followed by epigastric pain and discomfort, odynophagia, and weight loss. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed a black pigmented polypoid mass, protruding mass, or black-pigmented flat lesions. Two patients had distant metastases and lymphadenopathies in imaging studies. Two patients underwent esophagectomy and intrathoracic esophagogastrostomy. One patient was treated with chemotherapy and interferon-alpha. The other patient declined further treatment. The routine histology using H&E revealed brown-colored atypical melanocytes. Immunohistochemical staining exhibited strong reactivity for Melan-A, S-100, and HMB-45 proteins. The biopsy specimens were interpreted to be malignant melanoma.One patient had multiple distant metastases 13 months after surgery. The other patient had no recurrence for 33 months after surgery. The patient treated with chemotherapy and interferon-alpha showed disease progression in the follow-up examination. Primary esophageal melanoma in Korea is a rare disease characterized by aggressive behavior, early metastasis, and poor prognosis.

Background: Accurate measurement of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is crucial for a diabetes diagnosis and subsequent patient management. The detection method and presence of variant Hb can interfere with HbA1c measurements. We evaluated the HbA1c-measuring performance of the DxC 700 AU (Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA, USA) immunoassay-based device in comparison with another immunoassay device and the reference method. Methods: A total of 120 normal and 14 variant Hb samples were analyzed using the Cobas c 513 (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) and DxC 700 AU analyzers. Variant Hb samples were also analyzed using the reference method, along with 20 normal samples. The accuracy, precision, linearity, and carryover were determined. Results: DxC 700 AU results strongly correlated with those of Cobas c 513 and exhibited accuracy in comparison with the reference method. The within-run, between-run, between-day, and total imprecision (%CV) values for the low- and high-concentration control materials were below 2%. The results of DxC 700 AU were linear over a wide HbA1c range (3.39%–18.30%). Although DxC 700 AU performed well in the presence of variant Hb, the HbA1c concentration was underestimated in the presence of fetal Hb. The possibility of interference from a high HbH proportion could not be ruled out. Conclusions The overall analytical performance of DxC 700 AU was acceptable. The device is accurate, precise, and linear over a wide HbA1c concentration range. Although DxC 700 AU results highly correlated with those of Cobas c 513, caution should be exercised in cases of high HbF and HbH concentrations.

PURPOSE: Missing subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) can cause catastrophic results. We aimed to find clinical factors for predicting SAH in neurologically intact patients with acute non-traumatic headache visiting the emergency department (ED). METHODS: This was a retrospective chart review study. Data were collected from September 2006 until October 2011. We included patients aged over 16 with acute non-traumatic headache who had brain imaging work up results during ED visits. Information on candidate clinical predictor variables was obtained from previous reports, and the outcome was confirmed SAH in brain imaging work up or cerebrospinal fluid study. We found the predictors for SAH through multivariable analysis with variables chosen in univariable analysis considering clinical application. Then we simulated possible SAH prediction scoring models using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and assessed model fit through the Hosmer-Lemeshow test. RESULTS: A total of 3294 patients were enrolled. Seven clinical characteristics were proven for relation of SAH; age, visiting emergency department within six hours from symptom onset time, visiting mode, vomiting, neck pain or neck stiffness, blood pressure, and respiratory rate. We constructed six available SAH prediction scoring models. The area under the ROC curves of each model ranged from 0.810 to 0.834 and all simulated models were good-fit. With these models, we can expect to reduce unnecessary computed tomography use. CONCLUSION: Seven clinical predictors could be helpful in selection of high risk patients of SAH. The proposed SAH prediction models using these characteristics will have to be tested prospectively for external validation.
Blood Pressure ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Decision Support Techniques ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Headache* ; Humans ; Neck ; Neck Pain ; Neuroimaging ; Respiratory Rate ; Retrospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage* ; Vomiting