BACKGROUND: This study was designed to evaluate the antihypertensive efficacy and safety of benidipine hydrochloride, a Ca(++)-channel blocker, in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension. METHODS: Benidipine was administered in 2-8mg once daily for 10 weeks in 16 hypertensive patients with diastolic blood pressure over 95mmHg and adverse effects were checked every two weeks after benidipine administration. Chest X-ray, ECG, funduscopy, and laboratory examination were performed before and after benidipine administration. RESULTS: The antihypertensive effect of benidipine was evaluated in 15 patients and the safety in 16 patients. The blood pressure significantly reduced from 170+/-12mmHg/102+/-5mmHg to 137+/-15mmHg/86+/-8mmHg at 10-week administration of benidipine and the overall effective rate was 100%. Heart rate was not affected by benidipine. The slight increase of total protein, BUN, potassium, and glucose was observed at 10 weeks of benidipine administration. Four cases of headache and 1 case of frequent urination were observed and the medication was discontinued in one patient due to headache. CONCLUSION: Benidipine proved effective and safe in the treatment of essential hypertension.
Blood Pressure ; Electrocardiography ; Glucose ; Headache ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Potassium ; Thorax ; Urination

PURPOSE: Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is a first-line treatment for pediatric urinary stone disease. We aimed to determine the factors affecting the outcome of ESWL for unilateral urinary stones in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 81 pediatric patients aged 0 to 16 years with urinary stones treated by ESWL from January 1995 through May 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. All patients were required to have unilateral urinary stone disease. Children who underwent other surgical procedures before ESWL were excluded. Outcomes evaluated after ESWL were the stone-free rate at 3 months after ESWL, success within a single session, and success within three sessions. Factors affecting the success within three sessions were also analyzed. RESULTS: The final analysis was for 42 boys and 22 girls (mean age, 9.2+/-5.2 years). Of these 64 patients, 58 (90.6%) were treated by ESWL without other surgical procedures and 54 (84.4%) were successfully treated within three ESWL sessions. In the multivariate analysis, multiplicity (odds ratio [OR], 0.080; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.012 to 0.534; p=0.009) and large stone size (>10 mm; OR, 0.112; 95% CI, 0.018 to 0.707; p=0.020) were significant factors that decreased the success rate within three ESWL sessions. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the pediatric urinary stone patients in our study (90.6%) were successfully treated by ESWL alone without additional procedures. If a child has a large urinary stone (>10 mm) or multiplicity, clinicians should consider that several ESWL sessions might be needed for successful stone fragmentation.
Aged ; Child ; Humans ; Lithotripsy ; Multivariate Analysis ; Pediatrics ; Retrospective Studies ; Shock ; Treatment Outcome ; Urinary Calculi

Laryngotracheal separation (LTS) is one of the treatment options for intractable aspiration. Here, we present two cases of LTS with successful prevention of intractable aspiration.The first case was a 60-year-old man with severe hypoxic brain damage caused by hydrogen sulfide (H2S) intoxication; he was admitted to our department for comprehensive rehabilitation. Frequent tracheal suction was required due to the excess secretion from saliva aspiration. Matters were complicated when he suffered frequent regurgitation and vomiting, which was followed by tracheal aspiration. In the second case, a 78-year-old man presented with a severe traumatic brain injury. He had experienced recurrent aspiration pneumonia, which was unresponsive to conventional therapy. In both cases, LTS was performed to prevent intractable aspiration pneumonia. Subsequent to the LTS procedure, videofluoroscopic swallowing study showed complete prevention of the aspiration in both patients. Moreover, tracheal secretion was reduced, and tracheal suction was no longer required. Post-surgery, there was no development of aspiration pneumonia during their hospital stays.

Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) has been found to be remarkably effective in the treatment of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Although evidences for the proapoptotic activity of As2O3 have been suggested in leukemic and other solid cancer cells, the nature of intracellular mechanisms is far from clear. In the present study, we investigated As2O3 affect on the stress-responsive signaling pathways and pretreatment with antioxidants using HepG2 cells. When treated with micromolar concentrations of As2O3, HepG2 cells became highly apoptotic paralleled with activation of caspase-3 and members of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) including extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) but not p38 MAP kinase. However, inhibition of each kinase activity failed to inhibit apoptosis by As2O3. Addition of n-acetyl cysteine (NAC) or diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) effectively protected cells from apoptosis and significantly lowered As2O3-induced activation of caspase-3. However, neither NAC nor DPI was able to effect ERK or JNK activation induced by As2O3. Guanidinoethyldisulfide dihydrochloride (GED) and 2-ethyl- 2-thiopseudourea (ETU), known inhibitors of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), also suppressed the apoptotic activity of As2O3. These results suggest that As2O3 induces caspase-mediated apoptosis involving a mechanism generating oxidative stress. However, activation of some stress- responsive signaling pathways by As2O3 may not be the major determinant in the course of apoptotic processes.
Antioxidants/administration & dosage/pharmacology ; Apoptosis/*drug effects ; Arsenicals/administration & dosage/*pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Enzyme Activation/drug effects ; Enzyme Inhibitors/*pharmacology ; Human ; Nitric-Oxide Synthase/*antagonists & inhibitors/metabolism ; *Oxidative Stress/drug effects ; Oxides/administration & dosage/*pharmacology ; *Signal Transduction/drug effects

PURPOSE: To report a case of bleb dysesthesia successfully treated after Baerveldt tube implantation. CASE SUMMARY: A 37-year-old woman presented with a history of persistent foreign body sensation and pain in the left eye. The patient was referred to our hospital and was diagnosed as having had plateau iris syndrome. Having shown no improvement with conservative management, she eventually received trabeculectomy in the left eye six months prior to her current presentation. Under the impression of bleb dysesthesia, she received artificial tears and a bandage contact lens. These, however, failed to alleviate her symptoms. She then had a compression suture of the bleb and bleb revision. These were performed sequentially but neither was effective. Finally, a Baerveldt tube implantation was performed successfully, and, three months later, bleb revision was performed using a donor sclera, which resulted in no further complaint of ocular discomfort. CONCLUSIONS: Bleb dysesthesia, although not a common postoperative complication, can occur after trabeculectomy and can be successfully treated with Baerveldt tube implantation. Patients should receive appropriate counseling and advice on bleb dysesthesia prior to undergoing trabeculectomy.
Adult ; Bandages ; Blister ; Counseling ; Eye ; Female ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Iris ; Ophthalmic Solutions ; Paresthesia ; Postoperative Complications ; Sclera ; Sensation ; Sutures ; Tissue Donors ; Trabeculectomy

Angiography is the gold standard for the diagnosis and complete resection of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). The absence of residual AVM after surgery is commonly believed to reduce the risk of future hemorrhage. However, AVMs can recur after proven complete angiographic resection can occur, albeit rarely, especially in the pediatric population. We report a rare case of a recurrent AVM two years after complete resection in an adult patient. This case report shows that AVMs in adults can recur despite their rarity and despite postoperative angiography confirming complete removal. Moreover, in this case, the recurrent AVM involved a new feeding vessel that was not involved with the initial lesion.
Adult ; Angiography ; Arteriovenous Malformations* ; Diagnosis ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Palate* ; Recurrence

PURPOSE: To find the optimal parameter of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) analysis in optical coherence tomography (OCT) for diagnosing glaucoma in children. METHODS: The study was comprised of 127 eyes of 84 patients (aged 6 to 18 years) who visited our institute between March 2006 and February 2008. Subjects were classified into normal, glaucoma suspect and glaucoma groups, and each eye was scanned using Stratus 3.0 OCT. Routine ophthalmic examinations including fundus examination, visual field test and OCT RNFL analysis were performed. RESULTS: There were 55 normal eyes, 27 glaucoma suspect eyes and 45 glaucomatous eyes. The average RNFL thickness was the most useful parameter to differentiate between the glaucoma and non-glaucoma groups. The next most useful parameter was inferior average thickness, followed by superior RNFL thickness. The sensitivity and specificity of the new discriminant of the formula used were 78%, and 68.6%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In OCT analysis, the average RNFL thickness is the most useful parameter in the diagnosis of glaucoma in children. The new discriminant of the formula is useful in the diagnosis of pediatric glaucoma patients.
Child ; Eye ; Glaucoma ; Humans ; Nerve Fibers ; Retinaldehyde ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Visual Field Tests

We describe a 54-year-old woman with isolated pulmonary arterial hypertension accompanied by hyperthyroidism due to Graves' disease. Her pulmonary artery hypertension resolved spontaneously after restoration of euthyroidism. This case suggests that hyperthyroidism should be considered a reversible cause of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Female ; Graves Disease ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Hyperthyroidism ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Artery

Aortic intramural hematoma(AIH) is known as a variant of acute dissection due to rupture of the vasa vasorum without a intimal tear. In elderly hypertension patients patients with aortic dissection but without the characteristic echocardiographic findings of a double-channel aorta, this disease entity should be suspected and attention should be given to find segmental wall thickening of the aorta >0.7cm. AIH may progress to typical dissection or to rupture in considerable number of the patients, so careful follow-up is necessary and the same management principles for the patients with dissection can be applied in this variant. We report two cases of AIH showing typical eccentric mural thickening without dissection membrane with transesophageal echocardiographic follow-up.
Aged ; Aorta ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematoma* ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Membranes ; Rupture ; Vasa Vasorum

BACKGROUND: Observation on the hemodialysis treatment; whether there are any different effects on mortality rate, side effects, or effectiveness of the treatment depending on patients' age. METHODS: Chronic renal failure patients who started hemodialysis treatment between 2002 and 2003 were separated in two groups, 33 patients of 60 and older and 76 patients under 60. We investigated mortality rate difference, A-V shunt re-operation, and total protein and albumin level. Also, comparing and analyzing the urea reduction ratio, we examined whether effectiveness is different depending on the patients' age. RESULTS: The 3 year survivor rate of patients who initially started hemodialysis treatment over 60 was 66.7%, and that of the patients under 60 resulted as 73.1%. The average total protein lefel for over 60 was 6.48g/dL and for under 60 was 6.80g/dL, and albumin for over 60 was 3.15g/dL and under 60 was 3.46g/dL. We identified that the patients who repeated shunt operation in over 60 group was 4(12%) and in under 60 group was 4(5.2%). Effectiveness of the treatment, Urea Reduction Ratio(URR), for both groups was 71%. CONCLUSION: The 3 year survivor rate of patients who initially started hemodialysis treatment over 60 was lower than the control group, but considering the remaining life expectancy, it seems to be no significant difference between the groups; and the treatment effectiveness was same in both groups.
Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Life Expectancy ; Prognosis ; Renal Dialysis ; Survivors ; Treatment Outcome ; Urea