The present study was carried out to clarify the anatomical changes of lumbar intervertebral discs by aging. Anterior height, posterior height, anteroposterior diameter of intervertebral discs were measured on 512 normal plain lateral radiographs of lumbosacral spine. And the indices of disc wedging and relative disc height were calculated. There was a cephalocaudal gradient of increase in the indices of disc wedging in all age groups. The indices of relative disc height were constant at all lumbar levels. These suggest that the lower disc is more wedge shaped and the height of discs changes in the constant ratio with that of vertebral body.
Aging* ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc* ; Spine

PURPOSE: The treatment of a clinically node-positive (cN+) neck is important in the management of oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, the extent of neck dissection (ND) remains controversial. The purpose of our study was to evaluate whether level IV or V can be excluded in therapeutic ND for cN+ OSCC patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review of 92 patients who underwent a comprehensive or selective ND as a therapeutic treatment of cN+ OSCC from January 1993 to February 2009. RESULTS: The incidence rate of metastasis to level IV or V was 22% (16 of 72) on the ipsilateral neck. Of 67 cases without clinically suspicious nodes at level IV or V, 11 cases (16%, 11 of 67) had pathologically proven lymphatic metastasis to level IV or V. Only a nodal staging above N2b was significantly relevant with the higher rate of level IV or V lymph node metastasis (p=0.025). In this series, selective ND, combined with proper adjuvant therapy, achieved regional control and survival rates comparable to comprehensive ND in patients under the N stage of cN2a OSCC. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, level IV and V patients can avoid recurrence under cN2a OSCC.
Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/mortality/*pathology/*surgery ; Chemoradiotherapy ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mouth Neoplasms/mortality/*pathology/*surgery ; Neck/surgery ; *Neck Dissection ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

Xanthii Fructus has been traditionally used for the treatment of rhinitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and eczema. In this study, a high-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array (HPLC-PDA) method was developed and then used for the simultaneous analysis of eight phenylpropanoids in Xanthii Fructus. The analytical column used for this separation was a SunFire™ C₁₈ column, maintained at 40℃. The mobile phase used was 1.0% acetic acid in distilled water and 1.0% acetic acid in acetonitrile with gradient elution. For identify of each component, the mass spectrometer (MS) was used a Waters triple quadrupole mass spectrometer requipped with electrospray ionization (ESI) source. The HPLC-PDA method showed good linearity: correlation coefficients were ≥ 0.9996. The limits of detection and quantification of the eight compounds were 0.02 – 0.04 and 0.06 – 0.14 µg/mL, respectively. The extraction recoveries ranged from 97.51 to 108.67%. The relative standard deviation values of intra- and inter-day precision were 0.06 – 1.55 and 0.09 – 1.68%, respectively. The validated HPLC-PDA method was applied to simultaneously analyse the amounts of eight phenlypropanoids in Xanthii Fructus.
Acetic Acid ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Eczema ; Limit of Detection ; Methods ; Rhinitis ; Water

Isopropylantipyrine is one of the pyrazolon derivatives which are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with potent antipyretic and pain-relieving properties. It has been known that pyrazolon-hypersensitive patients, in contrast to ASA-sensitive patients, could safely use other NSAIDs. We describe two Korean patients with isopropylantipyrine hypersensitivity without ASA/NSAID hypersensitivity.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity*

Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma(EH) is a rare vascular tumor of low-grade malignancy. It was previously described as intravascular bronchioloalveolar tumor (IVBAT). But electron microscopic study and immunohistochemical staining results have proved endothelial origin. Patients are usually asymptomatic and the tumors are found incidentally on routine chest X-rays. Most patients show a slowly progressive clinical course, even though some patients occasionally die as results of respiratory failure or extrathoracic complications. Confirmative diagnosis is made through thoracoscopic or open-lung biopsy. There is still no effective therapeutic modality for pulmonary EH. We have experienced a 55-year-old woman whose simple chest x-ray film revealed bilateral multiple small nodules. The nodules were histopathologically and immunohistochemically diagnosed as primary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the lung. The possibility of metastatic disease was excluded thorough clinical, laboratory and radiological studies. Comparison of radiographic chest film taken 3 years ago showed no significant progression of the pulmonary nodular lesions. Conservative management was instituted and careful 4 months follow-up showed no significant changes.
Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemangioendothelioma, Epithelioid* ; Humans ; Lung ; Middle Aged ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Thorax ; X-Ray Film

The authors experienced 2 cases of medulloblastoma in which active hemorrhage occurred after external ventricular drainage(EVD). A 5 year-old girl suffered from cerebellar fit and brain CT scan showed severe hydrocephalus. So EVD was performed and the pressure was measured about 80 cm H2O. After a gradual reduction of EVD pressure for 15 minutes, fresh blood gushed out through the EVD catheter. The other case was a 7 year-old girl whose tumor bled after intraoperative EVD, just before dural incision. Both tumors were highly vascular in operative field. The first case was bed-ridden at 5 months after surgery and the second case was on postoperative chemotherapy in a good general condition with minimal neurological deficits. Previous reports in the literatures including 2 cases of hemorrhage associated with EVD in medulloblastoma were reviewed. The relatively high incidence of tumor hemorrhage in medulloblastoma and its detrimental influence on the outcome are emphasized.
Brain ; Catheters ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Drainage* ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Incidence ; Medulloblastoma* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: This study aims to investigate the relationship between cement leakage into the disc during percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty and subsequent compression fractures in adjacent vertebrae during treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 103 patients (118 vertebrae) who have been treated with balloon kyphoplasty due to osteoporotic compression fracture from June 2007 to July 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. The group was composed of 13 males and 90 females. The mean age was 75 years (57~95 years). The mean follow-up period was 10 months (6~30 months). Patients were divided into two groups; one with cement leakage into the disc and the other without cement leakage into the disc. The study was performed to determine whether subsequent compression fractures in adjacent vertebrae were related to several factors. RESULTS: The cement leakages into the disc occurred in 16 of 118 vertebrae. Of the 16 vertebrae with cement leakage into the disc, 5 (31%) had subsequent adjacent vertebral compression fractures; however, of the 102 vertebrae in which cement leakage did not occur, only 11 (11%) had subsequent adjacent vertebral compression fractures (p<0.05). Of the 16 vertebrae with cement leakage into the disc, subsequent adjacent vertebral compression fractures occurred 1 vertebrae of 10 vertebrae with definite trauma history. Out of the 6 vertebrae with cement leakage and no definite trauma history, 4 vertebrae (67%) had subsequent adjacent vertebral compression fractures (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The cement leakage into the disc significantly increases the incidence of subsequent adjacent vertebral compression fractures. Most of the subsequent fractures occurred in the early post-operative period. When cement leakage into the disc occurred in patients with no definite trauma history such as slip down, the incidence of subsequent adjacent vertebral compression fracture increased significantly.
Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fractures, Compression ; Humans ; Incidence ; Kyphoplasty ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Spine

Local allergic rhinitis (LAR) is a localized nasal allergic response in the absence of systemic atopy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of LAR in Korean rhinitis patients compared to allergic rhinitis (AR) and non-allergic rhinitis (NAR). A total of 304 rhinitis patients were enrolled from November 2014 to March 2016. A skin prick test, serum total and specific immunoglobulin E, and a nasal provocation test (NPT) with house dust mite (HDM) were performed on all patients. Subjects also documented changes in rhinitis symptoms before and after NPT. Seventy-four patients with nasal hyper-reactivity and 80 patients with subclinical allergy were excluded. AR was diagnosed in 69 (46.0%) patients, NAR in 75 (50.0%) patients, and LAR to HDM in 6 (4.0%) patients. The average medication score and disease duration of each group were 14.5 points and 77.6 months in AR, 12.1 point and 51.1 months in NAR, and 17.7 point and 106.0 months in LAR, respectively. There were no significant differences in the baseline nasal symptom score of the three groups. However, after NPT with HDM, the score of rhinitis, itching, and obstructive were 4.83±1.47 vs. 1.95±2.53, 3.00±2.10 vs. 1.45±2.06, and 5.50±1.38 vs. 2.57±2.84 in LAR and NAR, respectively (p<0.05). LAR patients had longer duration of disease and tended to be older and have higher medication score than other rhinitis patients.
Dust* ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunoglobulin E ; Immunoglobulins ; Nasal Provocation Tests ; Prevalence* ; Pruritus ; Pyroglyphidae* ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic* ; Skin

PURPOSE: To describe the imaging findings of traumatic intracranial aneurysms (TICA) in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five boys aged 3-15 (mean, 7) years with surgically confirmed TICA were included in this study. All had a history of nonpenetrating head trauma, and they underwent precontrast CT imaging immediately after the injury and follow-up CT or MRI. In all cases, angiography revealed the presence of aneurysms, which at surgery were shown to be pseudoaneurysms with severe adhesions. RESULTS: Angiography demonstrated that all aneurysms were located in the anterior cerebral artery (ACA) or its branches. The precise locations were the A2 segment of the ACA, the site of origin of the callosomarginal artery or its first branch, or of the anterior internal frontal artery, or between the first and second branch of the pericallosal artery. In all patients, precontrast CT performed immediately after trauma depicted subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in the anterior interhemispheric fissure (AIHF). Follow-up precontrast CT showed nodular high density around the anterior falx in three, recurrent SAH in the AIHF in two, and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) with intraventricular hemorrhage in two. In two patients with a nodular high-density lesion, nodular enhancement was demonstrated at postcontrast CT, and in one, follow-up MRI revealed a nodular signal void around the anterior falx; nodular enhancement was seen at postcontrast imaging, and MR angiogram depicted a saccular aneurysm. In one patient, MRI demonstrated infarction in the caudate nucleus and ACA territory. CONCLUSION: If, after head injury, an area of nodular high density is revealed by CT, or a signal void by MRI, or if SAH or ICH is present around the anterior falx, the possibility of TICA should be considered.
Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, False ; Angiography ; Anterior Cerebral Artery ; Arteries ; Caudate Nucleus ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Child* ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Infarction ; Intracranial Aneurysm* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

BACKGROUND AND OBJECT: We want to know reference values of mitral annulus velocity by Doppler tissue imaging which has been thought as a new parameter of left ventricular diastolic function. Including mitral inflow parameters, many parameters which have been used in the evaluation of left ventricular diastolic function are affected by several conditions, so sometimes they can not provide information about left ventricular diastolic function. The knowledge of mitral annulus velocity by Doppler tissue imaging will provide new guidelines for evaluation of diastolic function. However, reference values in normal and changes according to an age have not been fully evaluated. METHODS: We examined 246 patients with no symptoms related to the cardiac systolic and diastolic dysfunction and 80 healthy volunteers according to an age. Early ( E ) and late ( A ) transmitral flow velocity and the ratio of early to late peak velocity ( E/A ) were obtained by pulsed Doppler echocardiography. Early diastolic velocity of mitral annulus ( E' ) and peak atrial systolic velocity of mitral annulus ( A' ) were obtained from the medial ( or septal ) corner of the mitral annulus and subsequently from lateral corner by Doppler tissue imaging. We obtained E', A' and the ratio of E' to A' ( E'/A' ) and E/ E' according to an age. RESULTS: E' from medial corner was the highest in subjects in their twenties and declined gradually and A' from medial corner was the lowest in a same age group and increased gradually. E'/A' ratio from medial corner was the highest in subjects in their twenties and declined gradually and reversed in subjects in their forties. E', A' and E'/A' from lateral corner were showed like as medial corner similarly but E'/A' was reversed in the subjects in their fifties. E/ E' from medial and lateral corner was the lowest in subjects in their twenties and increased gradually with age. In comparison between transmitral flow velocity and mitral annulus velocity, there are good relationship in E/A and E'/A' ( p=0.01 ). CONCLUSION: We measured reference values of mitral annulus velocity by Doppler tissue imaging and E/ E' according to an age.
Echocardiography, Doppler, Pulsed ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Reference Values