OBJECTIVES: Attention deficity hyperactive disorder is known to be a disease with a high genetic trait. Recently the relationship between alleles frequency distribution and ADHD has been actively researched. In Korea, the relationship between the genetic type and alleles for dopamine transporter gene has been studied in ADHD patients. METHODS: Thirty five patients diagnosed with ADHD according to the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria were selected for study. The diagnosis and clinical features were confirmed by korean version Child behavior check list, korean version Conner's parent rating scale, Attention deficit Diagnostic System, korean version Spielberger state-trait anxiety scale etc. For the control group, the parents of patients were chosen. Blood samples were taken from the 105 subjects. DNA was extracted from blood lymphocytes, PCR was performed for dopamine transporter gene. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In comparing the ADHD transmitted group and the not transmitted group, significant difference was seen between the DAT1 genetic type and alleles distribution. As a result, it is viewed that there is relationship between ADHD and the dopamine transporter gene. Follow up studies with larger patient or pure subgroups are expected.
Alleles ; Anxiety ; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity ; Child ; Child Behavior ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; DNA ; Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins* ; Dopamine* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Lymphocytes ; Parents* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

Cardiac organoids have emerged as invaluable tools for assessing the impact of diverse substances on heart function.This report introduces guidelines for general requirements for manufacturing cardiac organoids and conducting cardiac organoid-based assays, encompassing protocols, analytical methodologies, and ethical considerations. In the quest to employ recently developed three-dimensional cardiac organoid models as substitutes for animal testing, it becomes imperative to establish robust criteria for evaluating organoid quality and conducting toxicity assessments. This guideline addresses this need, catering to regulatory requirements, and describes common standards for organoid quality and toxicity assessment methodologies, commensurate with current technological capabilities. While acknowledging the dynamic nature of technological progress and the potential for future comparative studies, this guideline serves as a foundational framework. It offers a comprehensive approach to standardized cardiac organoid testing, ensuring scientific rigor, reproducibility, and ethical integrity in investigations of cardiotoxicity, particularly through the utilization of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac organoids.

A fixed drug eruption (FDE) is not difficult to diagnose, given its clinical characteristics. However, the causative agent can be difficult to identify, particularly when the patient denies ingestion of any drugs. To the best of our knowledge, we present herein the first reported case of an FDE caused by antibiotics taken in food; doxycycline and erythromycin contained in pork and fish. A 57-year-old female experienced repeated episodes of well-demarcated erythematous patches covering her entire body. She denied taking any medications, but she thought that the lesions appeared after consuming pork and/or fish. An oral provocation test showed positive results for doxycycline and erythromycin, commonly used antibiotics in live-stock farming and in the fishing industry. Because of the antibiotics' thermostability, cooking does not guarantee the elimination of residual drugs. From the patient's history, we concluded that doxycycline and erythromycin contained in the pork and fish that she ate were the cause of the FDE.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Cooking ; Doxycycline ; Drug Eruptions ; Eating ; Erythromycin ; Female ; Humans

Papular elastolytic giant cell granuloma is an unusual variant of annular elastolytic giant cell granuloma, characterized by the development of asymptomatic, multiple, small erythematous papules on both sun-exposed and non-sun-exposed area. Histopathologically, it shows a granulomatous infiltration, accompanied by the absence of the elastic tissue and phagocytosis of elastic fibers by multinucleated giant cell. An 83-year-old man was presented with a 1 year history of multiple erythematous papules on his abdomen and lower legs. Histopathologic finding showed a non-palisading granulomatous infiltration with multinucleated giant cells and engulfing elastic fibers. We, herein, report an unusual case of papular elastolytic giant cell granuloma, which occurred on non-sun-exposed skin.
Abdomen ; Aged, 80 and over ; Elastic Tissue ; Giant Cells ; Granuloma, Giant Cell ; Humans ; Leg ; Phagocytosis ; Skin

Aplasia cutis congenita is a rare congenital condition, characterized by localized absence of epidermis, dermis, and in some cases, subcutaneous tissues. About 80% of the patients with aplasia cutis congenita have involvement of the scalp. Aplasia cutis congenita, not involving the scalp, appears to be linear lesions with a symmetrical pattern of distribution on the trunk and limbs. Most reported cases are sporadic, but a few cases have been reported to have familial occurrence. There is no unifying theory for the pathogenesis and etiology. Herein, we report a 1-day-old female infant and her 4-year-old sister with unilateral aplasia cutis congenita on their legs. No similar conditions and other associated congenital anomalies were found in their family. There was no sign of teratogenic causes, such as intrauterine infections, drugs or chemical agents.
Dermis ; Ectodermal Dysplasia ; Epidermis ; Extremities ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Leg ; Preschool Child ; Scalp ; Siblings ; Subcutaneous Tissue

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term oncologic outcomes after concurrent chemoradiation treatment for anal cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 1979 and December 2008, the records of 50 consecutive patients with anal cancer and who were treated by chemoradiation or radiation only with a curative intent were retrospectively reviewed. The oncologic outcomes and the risk factors for recurrence were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 50 patients, 49 underwent concurrent chemoradiation and one underwent radiation only. After these definitive treatments, 43 (86.0%) achieved a clinical complete response. During the median follow-up of 60 months (range: 2-202 months), the 5-year overall survival, disease-free survival, and locoregional recurrence-free survival were 84.2%, 72.7%, and 69.9%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that the performance status (p=0.031) and a clinical complete response (p=0.039) were the independent predictors for overall survival; lymph node involvement (p=0.031) was the only independent predictor for disease-free survival. CONCLUSION: The performance status and a clinical complete response may be reliable predictors of survival after chemoradiation for anal cancer. The addition of irradiation to the inguinal area may not be significantly associated with the outcomes.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anus Neoplasms/*drug therapy/*radiotherapy ; Chemoradiotherapy/*methods ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Recurrence ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome

PURPOSE: Smoking elicits airway inflammation and airflow obstruction in patients with asthma, even after smoking cessation. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of smoking cessation on lung function and quality of life (QOL) in asthmatic patients. METHODS: Thirty-two patients with asthma who were active smokers were recruited. After education on the effects of smoking on asthma, 22 patients continued to smoke, and 10 quit smoking. All patients were treated with inhaled fluticasone propionate (1 mg/day) for 3 months. We compared forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory flow between 25 and 75% FVC (FEF(25-75%)), and scores on a QOL questionnaire at baseline, 1, 2, and 3 months. RESULTS: Quitters showed a greater percent change in FEV1 (19.1+/-6.3 vs. 7.9+/-2.4%, P=0.024) and FEV1/FVC (6.5+/-4.14 vs. 3.5+/-1.5%, P=0.05) than smokers. Both quitters and smokers showed improved QOL scores after 1, 2, and 3 months of fluticasone treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with asthma who quit smoking showed less airway obstruction, suggesting that smoking cessation is crucial in the management of asthma.
Airway Obstruction ; Androstadienes ; Asthma ; Diethylpropion ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Lung ; Quality of Life ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Smoking Cessation ; Vital Capacity ; Fluticasone ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: Isolated leukopenia is rare, but it has important clinical implications during antituberculosis treatment. Inadvertent discontinuation of short-course regimen drugs for fear of leukopenia inevitably will extend the duration of treatment, and the treatment completion rate will decrease completion of treatment will be delayed. However no guidelines concerning proper management for leukopenia during antituberculosis treatment have been presented. So we performed this Therefore, this study in order was performed to confirm whether or not it is possible to continue evaluate the possibility of continuing the same short-course regimen in case of the development of if a mild-to-moderate degree of isolated leukopenia was to develop during antituberculosis treatment. METHOD: Thirty-six patients who had been prescribed a short-course antituberculosis regimen between January 1997 and August 1999, had newly developed, mild-to-moderate degree, isolated leukopenia during medication, and who had continued the same drug regimen in spite of despite leukopenia were enrolled. One patient had been lost to was not available for the follow-up, so the remaining thirty-five (twenty-five prospectively and ten retrospectively) patients were analyzed. Patients who had other known causes of leukopenia were excluded. A mild-to-moderate degree of isolated leukopenia was arbitrarily defined as having a peripheral blood leukocyte count between 2,000 and 3,499 mm3 and no evidence of coexisting hematologic abnormalities. RESULTS: 1) All thirty-five patients could were able to complete short-course anti-tuberculosis treatment without complication or a further decrease of leukocytes count to less than 2,000/mm3 in spite of despite continuous treatment with the same regimen. 2) The mean duration from start of antitituberculosis medication to detection of leukopenia was 6465 days. 3) The mean leukocyte count was 5,0351,583/mm3 before treatment, and the its lowest count was 2,908390/mm3 during treatment. Leukopenia recovered after completion of treatment (4,2831,269/mm3). 4) The main component of leukopenia was a the decrease in neutrophil count ( 3,361 1,732 vs. 1,512 423 mm3, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: In a case of a For mild-to-moderate degree of isolated leukopenia (2,000/mm3 WBC < 3,500/mm3) developed (,) developing during short-course antituberculosis treatment, it is suggested that we can continue the short-course antituberculosis regimen may be continued without complications.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Leukocyte Count ; Leukocytes ; Leukopenia* ; Neutrophils ; Prospective Studies ; Tuberculosis

Since 1920, when Harvey Cushing first used radiofrequency in electrosurgery, the procedural technique has developed rapidly. Even though this procedure is minimally invasive and safer than other neurodestructive procedures, it is still not free of complications. A 72-year-old female patient had constant facial pain, despite several operations and radiotherapies for her maxillary cancer. The region innervated ophthalmic branch and maxillary branch of the trigeminal nerve was involved, with radiofrequency procedure of the gasserian ganglion for pain control also performed at the area. After the procedure, her blood pressure became elevated and she complained of a headache, and six hours later, she became irritable and distracted. Bacterial meningitis was diagnosed by a spinal tap, with third-generation cephalosporin administered as the treatment. The following day, her symptoms had improved and the pain was also reduced. She was discharged from hospital after 14 days, without any sequelae.
Aged ; Blood Pressure ; Electrosurgery ; Facial Pain ; Female ; Headache ; Humans ; Meningitis ; Meningitis, Bacterial* ; Radiotherapy ; Spinal Puncture ; Trigeminal Ganglion ; Trigeminal Nerve

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF) is a fatal progressive fibrous disease of the lung of unknown etiology. Recently it has been classified into several distinct entities of the basis of pathologic and clinical characteristics, ie : usual interstitial pneumonia(UIP), desquamative interstitial pneumonia(DIP), acute interstitial pneumonia(AIP), bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia(BOOP), and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia(NSIP). IPF is now applied only for UIP, which has the worst prognosis. The previous reports of 3-5 year median survival apears to be overoptimistic because other types with better prognosis like NSIP or BOOP might have been included. Therefore, this study was performed to determine the clinical course and the prognostic factors of UIP as diagnosed by surgical lung biopsy. METHODS: The subjects were 72 UIP patients (age 58.2±11.6 years, M:F=45:27, median follow up period:18.1 months (0.7-103.6) diagnosed by surgical lung biopsy at the Asan Medical Center (68 patients) and the Paik Hospital in Seoul (4 patients). Clinical scores (level of dyspnea:1-20 points), radiologic score (honey-combing : HC score 0-5 points, ground glass : GG score 0-5 points), and physiologic scores (FVC:1-12 points, FEV1:0-3 points, TLC:0-10 points, DDLC:0-5 points, AaDO2:0-10 points) were summed into a total CRP score. RESULTS: 1) The one year survival rate was 78.3%, while the rate for three year survival was 58.1%, and the median survival period was 42.5 months. 2) Short term (1 year) prognosis : The patients who died within one year of diagnosis (14 patients) had the higher initial total CRP score (28.6±8.3 vs. 16.6±9.7) than those who lived longer than one year (46 patients). The difference in the total CRP score was attributed to the symptom score (8.4±2.1 vs. 5.7±3.9) and the physiologic score (15.7±7.1 vs. 6.7±5.7) including FVC, DLCO, and AaDO2. 3) Long-term (3 year) prognosis : The total CRP score (12.2±6.7 vs. 28.7±7.9:including symptom score, FVC, DLCO, and AaDO2) at the time of diagnosis were also different for the long-term survivors and those who lived less than 3 years. 4) Cox regression analysis showed LCO (≥60%) (Hazard ratio:4.56, 95% CI:2.30-16.04) was the independent prognostic factors of UIP (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that DLCO at the time of diagnosis seem to be a prognostic markers of biopsy-proven UIP.
Biopsy ; Bronchiolitis Obliterans ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glass ; Humans ; Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis* ; Lung ; Prognosis ; Seoul ; Survival Rate ; Survivors