Optical coherence tomography is a new imaging technique analogous to ultrasound B scan that can provide cross sectional images of retina with approximately 10micrometer resolution. This study was designed to evaluate the quantification of nerve fiber layer [NFL] thickness in normal eyes using OCT. We studied 66 eyes of 66 subjects by conventional ophthalmoscopic physical examination, Humphrey central 30-2 visual fields, stereoscopic optic nerve head photography, retinal nerve fiber layer photography, HRT and OCT. Imaging with OCT was performed circumferentially around the optic nerve head with a circle diameter of 2.3mm & 3.4mm using an internal fixation technique. At a scan diameter of 2.3mm and 3.4mm, average, superior, inferior, nasal and temporal NFL thicknesses were 125.45 +/-19.05 micrometer, 150.33 +/-25.53micrometer, 154.55 +/-25.72 micrometer, 102.89 +/-29.13micrometer, and 92.65 +/-27.04micrometer and 109.02 +/-15.68 micrometer,135.53 +/-22.65 micrometer, 132.98 +/-20.19micrometer, 73.11 +/-26.85 micrometer and 89.70 +/-14.65 micrometer each. The NFL was thickest in the superior and inferior quadrants,thinnest in the nasal quadrant at a scan diameter of 2.3mm, and thinnest in the temporal quadrant at a scan diameter of 3.4 mm. In general the thickness for the 2.3 mm scans was greater than that for the 3.4mm scans.NFL thickness decreased significantly with age in the temporal quadrants [P<0.05]. At a scan diameter of 3.4 mm, NRA decreased significantly with decreased average NFL thickness and average NFL thickness decreased significantly with decreased disc area [P<0.05]. By direct investigation of the NFL with OCT, earlier diagnosis of glaucoma and earlier detection of glaucomatous progression can be made, before conventional signs such as visual field loss, cupping of the optic nerve head, and NFL defects are evident, thus allowing earlier treatment and reducing the damage.
Diagnosis ; Glaucoma ; Nerve Fibers* ; Optic Disk ; Photography ; Physical Examination ; Retina ; Retinaldehyde* ; Tomography, Optical Coherence* ; Ultrasonography ; Visual Fields

This study compared the pattern of purchasing nutritional supplements and obtaining nutrition information and the Nutrition Quotient of adults who exercise regularly according to the frequency of muscle training (LM, muscle training less than two days/week; MM, 2∼3 days/week; HM, more than three days/week). Compared to the other groups, significantly more men in the HM group answered that they had purchased supplements and would repurchase them. They presented “increasing muscle mass” as the purpose of buying them and “types and contents” as the major factor to consider before buying. The supplements that significantly more subjects in the HM group purchased than in the other groups were protein supplements, BCAA (Branched-chain amino acid), arginine, and caffeine supplements for men and protein supplements, BCAA and carnitine for women. Compared to the other groups, significantly more men and women in the HM group reported “trainer” as the major source of nutrition information, and significantly more men in the HM group reported “increasing muscle mass” as the 1st topic of nutrition education that they wanted to receive and were satisfied with the information that they obtained. Most of all, males and females in the HM group had significantly a higher Nutrition Quotient than in the other groups. The differences between males and females in variables regarding exercise, the patterns of using supplements and acquiring nutrition information, and Nutrition Quotient were also found. These results can provide basic data for developing educational materials emphasizing the wise consumption of nutrition information, including supplement intake.

Fibrous dysplasia is a developmental disease of bone in which the normal substance of the interior of the bone is replaced by fibro-osseous connective tissue. It exhibits varying degrees of osseous metaplasia histologically. Craniofacial fibrous dysplasia frequently affects the maxilla, frontal bone, and mandible. The nasal septum is rarely affected. There is only one reported case of fibrous dysplasia arising in the septum internationally. Hence, we report a case of fibrous dysplasia of the nasal septum with a review of literature.
Connective Tissue ; Frontal Bone ; Mandible ; Maxilla ; Metaplasia ; Nasal Septum

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Various phonation patterns yield various voice characteristics. Voice therapy using nasal stimulatory sounds seems to facilitate phonation in voice disodered patients. Under the hypothesis that nasalance may be influenced by the pattern of phonation, we studied the relationship between nasalance and voice disorders by observing abnormal supraglottic movements and vocol cord gaps in phonation. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: There were 143 patients who complained of voice problems and showed abnormal false vocal cord movements under stroboscopy. In addition to the four previously described types of MTD (muscle tension dysphonia), we described two more types of MTD (V: false vocal cord contracted posteriorly, VI: false vocal cord dilated laterally). We measured the vocal cord gaps in phonation and analyzed nasalance. RESULTS: Among those groups showing the pattern of false vocal cord (MTD 1, 2, 4), the vocal cord gaps in phonation were increased and nasalance was significantly decreased in MTD types, III and IV, and showed a tendency to decrease in MTD types, II and V, compared to the normal group. CONCLUSION: The supraglottis has a tendency to contract as the vocal cord gap in phonation increases, and this movement reduces nasalance.
Dysphonia ; Humans ; Phonation* ; Stroboscopy ; Vocal Cords ; Voice ; Voice Disorders

We report a case of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with pulmonary metastases treated with repeated hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) comprising epirubicin and cisplatin, and systemic infusion of 5-fluorouracil (a modified EC/F protocol), which led to complete remission. A 49-year-old man with compensated liver cirrhosis experienced intrahepatic recurrence of HCC with extensive lung metastases. The modified EC/F therapeutic protocol, which was applied at the tenth cycle every 4-5 weeks, resulted in disappearance of the pulmonary metastases and normalization of serum alpha-fetoprotein levels. A single small HCC lesion was found in the left lobe of the liver 13 months after the final chemotherapy session. HAIC with the same regimen was conducted again, followed by percutaneous intratumoral chemoinjection therapy with 5-fluorouracil and interferon-gamma. Thereafter, there was no evidence of recurrence in either the liver or the lung, as evidenced by image analysis and expression of tumor markers. The disease-free intervals for the liver and lung were 41 and 54 months, respectively.
alpha-Fetoproteins ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cisplatin ; Epirubicin ; Fluorouracil ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Lung ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence ; Biomarkers, Tumor

Genetically engineered mouse models are used in high-throughput phenotyping screens to understand genotype-phenotype associations and their relevance to human diseases. However, not all mutant mouse lines with detectable phenotypes are associated with human diseases. Here, we propose the “Target gene selection system for Genetically engineered mouse models” (TarGo). Using a combination of human disease descriptions, network topology, and genotype-phenotype correlations, novel genes that are potentially related to human diseases are suggested. We constructed a gene interaction network using protein-protein interactions, molecular pathways, and co-expression data. Several repositories for human disease signatures were used to obtain information on human disease-related genes. We calculated disease- or phenotype-specific gene ranks using network topology and disease signatures. In conclusion, TarGo provides many novel features for gene function prediction.
Animals ; Computational Biology ; Genes, vif ; Genetic Association Studies ; Humans ; Mice ; Phenotype ; Systems Biology

Objective: : Surgical site infection is the most detrimental complication following cranioplasty. In other surgical fields, intrawound vancomycin powder application has been introduced to prevent surgical site infection and is widely used based on results in multiple studies. This study evaluated the effect of intrawound vancomycin powder in cranioplasty compared with the conventional method without topical antibiotics. Methods: : This retrospective study included 580 patients with skull defects who underwent cranioplasty between August 1, 1998 and December 31, 2021. The conventional method was used in 475 (81.9%; conventional group) and vancomycin powder (1 g) was applied on the dura mater and bone flap in 105 patients (18.1%; vancomycin powder group). Surgical site infection was defined as infection of the incision, organ, or space that occurred after cranioplasty. Surgical site infection within 1-year surveillance period was compared between the conventional and vancomycin powder groups with logistic regression analysis. Penalized likelihood estimation method was used in logistic regression to deal with zero events. All local and systemic adverse events associated with topical vancomycin application were also evaluated. Results: : Surgical site infection occurred in 31 patients (5.3%) and all were observed in the conventional group. The median time between cranioplasty and detection of surgical site infection was 13 days (range, 4–333). Staphylococci were the most common organisms and identified in 25 (80.6%) of 31 cases with surgical site infections. The surgical site infection rate in the vancomycin powder group (0/105, 0.0%) was significantly lower than that in the conventional group (31/475, 6.5%; crude odds ratio [OR], 0.067; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.006–0.762; adjusted OR, 0.068; 95% CI, 0.006–0.731; p=0.026). No adverse events associated with intrawound vancomycin powder were observed during the follow-up. Conclusion : Intrawound vancomycin powder effectively prevented surgical site infections following cranioplasty without local or systemic adverse events. Our results suggest that intrawound vancomycin powder is an effective and safe strategy for patients undergoing cranioplasty.

Sparganosis is a zoonosis caused by the migrating larvae of cestode genus Spirometra. We report a rare form of sparganosis that invades the lung. A 44-year-old man presented with newly appeared pulmonary nodules that were found accidentally on regular medical checkup, and on sequential chest CT, which we checked at an interval of every 2 months, revealed that the pulmonary lesion had migrated. The patient had a medical history of having undergone surgical excisions for sparganosis in muscles and in subcutaneous tissues of the lower abdomen, perianus, thigh, right axilla, and scapula area, several times over 7 years. A right middle lobectomy was performed and the lesion was diagnosed as sparganosis based on the characteristic histological findings.
Abdomen ; Adult ; Axilla ; Cestoda ; Humans ; Larva ; Lung ; Muscles ; Recurrence ; Scapula ; Sparganosis ; Sparganum ; Spirometra ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; Thigh ; Thorax

Non-traumatic exertional rhabdomyolysis (exRML) occurs in individuals with normal muscles when the energy supplied to the muscle is insufficient. Here, we report 11 cases of spinning-induced rhabdomyolysis and review related literature. Spinning is a kind of indoor bicycle sport. The 11 patients who were diagnosed with exRML and admitted to CHA Bundang Medical Center were female and their ages ranged from 15 to 46 years. Two to three days prior to the presentation, the patients had attended a spinning class for the first time. All the patients had been otherwise healthy without any known medical illnesses. They were successfully treated without any complications, except mild non-symptomatic hypocalcemia. However, in the literature, severe complications such as compartment syndrome or acute kidney injury had been reported in relation to exRML including spinning-induced rhabdomyolysis. This spinning exercise needs prior guidelines and specific warnings to prevent exertional rhabdomyolysis.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Compartment Syndromes ; Creatine Kinase ; Female ; Humans ; Hypocalcemia ; Muscles ; Rhabdomyolysis* ; Sports