Chronic alcohol use may have direct or indirect neurotoxic effects on the brain that can lead to cognitive impairment. However, the precise relationship between alcohol and dementia remains unclear. There are several epidemiological studies suggest that the protective effect of light-moderate alcohol drinking in dementia. But obviously the heavy alcohol drinking can lead to brain damage and increase the risk of various types of dementia. The clinicopathological issues and criteria regarding so-called 'alcoholic dementia' remain under debate. Alcohol-induced persisting amnestic disorder, alcohol-induced persisting dementia, and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (thiamine deficiency) may constitute distinct disease entities, but they may also share some common features. Based on this theory, Oslin and colleagues proposed the broader diagnostic scheme and criteria for Alcohol Related Dementia (ARD), which may include cases of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome and also other cases of dementia that appear to be alcohol-related. In pathogenesis of the alcoholic dementia, the chronic exposure to ethanol results in the adaptive up-regulation of NMDA receptor sensitivity, which can result in an increased vulnerability to glutamate induced excitotoxicity. Despite the clinical importance of ARD, few medical treatments for ARD have been proposed and studied. Most of all, the gold standard of the treatment in alcoholic dementia is the maintaining abstinence. Some therapeutic trials with cholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil and rivastigmine) and memantine (NMDA receptor antagonist) have been conducted for the patients with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome and alcohol-related dementia, and these studies reported favorable outcomes. Especially memantine can be a more effective agent in the treatment of alcoholic dementia because of anti-craving effect reported in several studies.
Alcohol Amnestic Disorder ; Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholics ; Brain ; Cholinesterase Inhibitors ; Cognition ; Dementia ; Ethanol ; Glutamic Acid ; Humans ; Korsakoff Syndrome ; Memantine ; N-Methylaspartate ; Up-Regulation

No abstract available.
Computer Simulation* ; Orthognathic Surgery*

No abstract available.
Computer Simulation* ; Orthognathic Surgery*

Subepidermal calcified nodule, a form of idiopathic calcinosis cutis, typically present as a hard, 3 to 11 mm, solitary lesion on the exposed area of the head and the extremities. Here we re-port an unusual case of subepidermal calcified nodule occurring on the buttock. A 15-year-old girl presented with a 6-month history of a 12 × 6 mm, oval, hard, erythematous nodule on the right buttock. Histopathologic examination of an excision biopsy specimen revealed extensive deposition of calcium in the whole dermis as large multilobulated masses.
Adolescent ; Biopsy ; Buttocks* ; Calcinosis ; Calcium ; Dermis ; Extremities ; Female ; Head ; Humans

Angioma serpiginosum is a rare vascular naevoid disorder due to progressive ectatic dilatation of capillaries in the papillary dermis. We report two cases of angioma serpiginosum. A 24-year-old woman presented with asymptomatic multiple deeply red macules arranged in a serpiginous pattern on the left posterior thigh. In the other case, an 8-year-old girl had asymptomatic red nonpalpable puncta that were grouped closely together in a linear pattern from the left lower abdomen to thigh. On the histopathological examination, both cases commonly showed grouped, dilated, ectatic vessels in the upper dermis. These clinical and histopathological findings were typical of angioma serpiginosum.
Abdomen ; Capillaries ; Child ; Dermis ; Dilatation ; Female ; Hemangioma* ; Humans ; Thigh ; Young Adult

Van Wyk-Grumbach Syndrome is an advanced sexual development in association with primary hypothyroidism. The clinical feature in this syndrome is more consistent with stimulation of the FSH receptor by the markedly elevated TSH levels. Treatment of the hypothyroidism results in a rapid return to normal of the biochemical and clinical manifestations. We experienced a case of Van Wyk-Grumbach Syndrome and report with the brief review of related literature.
Hypothyroidism ; Puberty, Precocious ; Receptors, FSH ; Sexual Development

No abstract available.
Ear, Middle*

Bowen's disease is a premalignant condition, which may evolve into invasive carcinoma. Most invasive carcinomas arising from Bowen's disease show squamous differentiation, but rarely basaloid, pilar, pilosebaceous or sebaceous differentiation. We herein describe two cases of invasive carcinoma arising from Bowen's disease. First case, a 78-year-old male, presented with an erythematous plaque with ulcerated and fungating changes on his back. Biopsy specimen revealed Bowen's disease transformed into invasive squamous cell carcinoma. Second one, a 67-year-old male who had been diagnosed histologically as Bowen's disease on the right inguinal area 5 months ago, complained of enlargement and infiltration of the previous lesion. Biopsy specimen showed invasive carcinomatous change of basosquamous differentiation. Our cases represent unusual invasive changes of Bowen's disease into squamous cell carcinoma and carcinoma of basosquamous differentiation.
Aged ; Biopsy ; Bowen's Disease* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Humans ; Male ; Ulcer

Eosinophilic pustular folliculitis(EPF) is a rare inflammatory follicular disorder of unknown etiology. EPF is characterized by recurrent clusters of pruritic, follicular, sterile papules and pustules on the seborrheic area of young men. Compared with classical adult type, infantile EPF reveals the distinctive clinical features, such as constant involvement of the scalp, self-healing recurrent crops, and the possibility of lasting until 3 years of age. We describe two patients with infantile EPF. Both patients commonly had recurrent crops of papules and pustules affecting the scalp only. Bacterial and fungal cultures were negative, and one patient showed an eosinophilia. Biopsy specimens revealed folliculitis with a predominant eosinophilic infiltrate. Clinical response to oral antihistamines and topical corticosteroids was noted, but the lesions have been recurrent during the long-term follow-up period of 1 year.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Adult ; Biopsy ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils* ; Folliculitis* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Histamine Antagonists ; Humans ; Male ; Scalp

OBJECTIVE: Premorbid demographic backgrounds of injured individuals are likely to reflect more accurately the status of patients with traumatic brian injury (TBI) than clinical factors. However, the concrete study about the relationship between the demographic factors and neurocognitive function in TBI patients has not been reported. The object of this study was to evaluate the effect of premorbid demographic factors on the recovery of neurocognitive function following TBI. METHODS: From July 1998 to February 2007, 293 patients (male: 228, female: 65) with a history of head injury, who had recovered from the acute phase, were selected from our hospital to include in this study. We analyzed the effect of premorbid demographic factors including age, sex, educational level and occupation on the recovery of neurocognitive function in each TBI subgroup as defined by Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score. Intelligence and memory are components of neurocognitive function, and the Korean Wechsler Intelligence Scale (K-WAIS) and the Korean memory assessment scale (K-MAS) were used in this study. The results were considered significant at p<0.05. RESULTS: The higher level of education was a good prognostic factor for intelligence regardless of GCS score and younger age group showed a better result for memory with an exception of severe TBI group. In the severe TBI group, the meaningful effect of demographic factors was not noted by the cause of influence of severe brain injury. CONCLUSION: The demographic factors used in this study may be helpful for predicting the precise prognosis and developing an appropriate rehabilitation program for TBI patients.
Brain Injuries ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Demography ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Humans ; Intelligence ; Memory ; Occupations ; Prognosis