No abstract available.
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors* ; Hemorrhage*

19 cases of non-pineal intracranial germ cell tumors were reviewed retrospectively with both radiologic andclinical featurses. The results were as follows: 1. The age distribution was 8 to 32 year old (16 year old of meanage) and the sex distribution shows male predominence(15:4). 2. The histopathologic diagnosis included 11 cases ofgeminoma, 2 cases of mixed germ cell tumor, 1 case of embryonal cell carcinoma and 5 cases of unknown. 3. Thelocation of tumors was the suprasellar region in 8 cases, the left basal ganglia and thalamus in 5 cases, and theright frontal lobe in 1 case. Among 11 cases of geminoma, 6 cases involve the suprasellar region and 3 cases theleft basal ganglia and thalamus. 4. In clinical features, there were visual disturbance, diabetes insipidus,increased ICP signs, motor weakness, hormonal disorders, and personal changes in order. 5. In tumor marker studyof 6 cases of geminoma, 5 cases show increase in HCG, titie, but all 6 cases were normal in AFP titer. 6. In brainCT, most of all revealed well-defined homogeneous high density with or without small central low density andhomogenous enhancement at solid portion,and there was calcification in only case with mixed germ cell tumor.
Age Distribution ; Basal Ganglia ; Brain ; Diagnosis ; Frontal Lobe ; Germ Cells ; Humans ; Male ; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal ; Retrospective Studies ; Sex Distribution ; Thalamus

For the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a sensory conduction study of median nerve is the most sensitive parameter, by either antidromic or orthodromic recording. Many different sensory recordings have been developed to detect the mild or early cases of carpal tunnel syndrome. A comparison of the median and ulnar sensory responses using the 4th digit either orthodromically or antidromically has been one of the methods. However, a simultaneous comparison of both antidromic and orthodromic methods on the 4th digit has not been documented. For the comparison between the median and the ulnar sensory nerve conduction of the 4th digit recorded antidromically or orthodromically, conduction studies of the median and ulnar sensory nerves were performed using standard methods in normal populations as well as in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. We studied 31 CTS patients (46 hands) with mean age of 54 years old (range, 25~70). Also, 51 subjects (102 hands) with mean age of 48 years old were studied as control. The difference of antidromic latencies between the median and the ulnar nerves was less than or equal to 0.4 msec in the control subjects and greater than or equal to 0.5 msec in the patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. The difference of orthodromic latencies was less than or equal to 0.5 msec in the control subjects and greater than or equal to 0.5 msec in the patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. By the antidromic and orthodromic methods, the mean difference between latencies of the median or ulnar nerve was not statistically significant. However the amplitude of median or ulnar nerve was 2 times larger by the antidromic method than by the orthodromic. We concluded that the latency difference of 0.5 msec or greater between the median and ulnar nerve sensory conductions from the 4th digit would be valuable for the diagnosis of CTS. The antidromic methods with larger amplitude may be more technically convenient to determine CTS than the orthodromic methods.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome* ; Diagnosis ; Fingers* ; Humans ; Median Nerve ; Middle Aged ; Neural Conduction ; Ulnar Nerve

No abstract available.
Myopathy, Central Core*

This study clarifies the causes of the repetitive occurrences of such phenomena as rinderpest, epidemic, famine, and tiger disasters recorded in the Joseon Dynasty Chronicle and the Seungjeongwon Journals in the period of great catastrophe, the late 17th century in which the great Gyeongsin famine (1670~1671) and the great Eulbyeong famine (1695~1696) occurred, from the perspective that they were biological exchanges caused by the new arrival of rinderpest in the early 17th century. It is an objection to the achievements by existing studies which suggest that the great catastrophes occurring in the late 17th century are evidence of phenomena in a little ice age. First of all, rinderpest has had influence on East Asia as it had been spread from certain areas in Machuria in May 1636 through Joseon, where it raged throughout the nation, and then to the west part of Japan. The new arrival of rinderpest was indigenized in Joseon, where it was localized and spread periodically while it was adjusted to changes in the population of cattle with immunity in accordance with their life spans and reproduction rates. As the new rinderpest, which showed high pathogenicity in the early 17th century, was indigenized with its high mortality and continued until the late 17th century, it broke out periodically in general. Contrastively, epidemics like smallpox and measles that were indigenized as routine ones had occurred constantly from far past times. As a result, the rinderpest, which tried a new indigenization, and the human epidemics, which had been already indigenized long ago, were unexpectedly overlapped in their breakout, and hence great changes were noticed in the aspects of the human casualty due to epidemics. The outbreak of rinderpest resulted in famine due to lack of farming cattle, and the famine caused epidemics among people. The casualty of the human population due to the epidemics in turn led to negligence of farming cattle, which constituted factors that triggered rage and epidemics of rinderpest. The more the number of sources of infection and hosts with low immunity increased, the more lost human resources and farming cattle were lost, which led to a great famine. The periodic outbreak of the rinderpester along with the routine prevalence of various epidemics in the 17thcentury also had influenced on domestic and wild animals. Due to these phenomenon, full-fledged famines occurred that were incomparable with earlier ones. The number of domestic animals that were neglected by people who, faced with famines, were not able to take care of them was increased, and this might have brought about the rage of epidemics like rinderpest in domestic animals like cattle. The great Gyeongsin and Eulbyeong famines due to reoccurrence of the rinderpest in the late 17th century linked rinderpester, epidemics and great famines so that they interacted with each other. Furthermore, the recurring cycle of epidemics-famines-rinderpest-great famines constituted a great cycle with synergy, which resulted in eco-economic-historical great catastrophes accompanied by large scale casualties. Therefore, the Gyeongsin and Eulbyeong famines occurring in the late 17th century can be treated as events caused by the repetition of various periodic disastrous factors generated in 1670~1671 and in 1695~1696 respectively, and particularly as phenomena caused by biological exchanges based on rinderpester., rather than as little ice age phenomena due to relatively long term temperature lowering.
Animals ; Cattle ; Communicable Diseases/epidemiology/etiology/*history ; Epidemics/*history ; History, 17th Century ; Korea/epidemiology ; Population Dynamics ; Rinderpest/epidemiology/*history/virology ; Starvation/epidemiology/etiology/*history ; Tigers/physiology

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the immunologic profile of children with postinfectious bronchiolitis obliterans (PIBO) in order to approach pathophysiology affected by host factors. Methods: A total of 10 children with PIBO were prospectively enrolled. We obtained information on demographics from their caregiver and electric medical records. Peripheral blood samples were collected before cyclic systemic methylprednisolone therapy and complete blood count, immunoglobulin level and lymphocyte subset were analyzed. Results: The white blood cell count and immunoglobulin level were within the normal range in children with PIBO. The CD4+/CD8+ ratio was not significantly different from those of the healthy control group. A decreased proportion of both central memory T cells (median [interquartile range]; 13.5% [8.3%–16.3%] vs. 18.5% [15.9%–24.1%], P = 0.01) and effector memory T cells (10.3% [5.0%–18.4%] vs. 20.9% [16.6%–26.3%], P = 0.03) in CD4+T cells was observed in the PIBO group compared with those in the control group. In CD8+T cells, the proportion of effector memory T cells (7.8% [4.2%–13.8%] vs. 24.3% [15.3%–27.9%], P = 0.02) and CD45RA+effector memory T cells (16.2% [11.0%–36.6%] vs. 24.2% [17.1%–39.7%], P = 0.04) was decreased in the patient group compared with the control group. Conclusion It is suggested that T lymphocyte subset abnormalities may be associated with a decrease in the ability to differentiate the T cells immediately upon reinfection and induce an effective response to infection. These results may partially explain the pathophysiological individual vulnerabilities to PIBO after lower respiratory tract infections in children.

Peripheral neuropathy constitutes a rare clinical manifestation in the neurofibromatosis. Eleven cases of peripheral neuropathy associated with the neurofibromatosis have been reported. We report a sensorymotor peripheral neuropathy in 2 cases of neurofibromatosis.
Electrodiagnosis ; Neurofibromatoses ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Polyneuropathies*

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the types of aphasia and the clinicoanatomic correlation in aphasic patients with subcortical lesions, and to investigate the change in the types of aphasia during the recovery stage. METHOD: Twenty-three stroke patients (16 men and 7 women) with left subcortical lesion was investigated. On the basis of the brain CT or MRI findings, the patients were divided into the 4 groups. Language dysfuntion was evaluated using the modified Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) and the type of aphasia and aphasia quotient were determined. Initial examination was performed within 2 months post-onset in all of the patients and the follow-up examination was done after 6 months post-onset in 9 patients. RESULTS: The most common type was anomic aphasia (39%). The type of subcortical aphasia was variable regardless of the sites of left subcortical lesion. Aphasia quotient was significantly related with the lesion size (gamma = 0.05, p<0.05) and the initial Barthel index (gamma = 0.65, p<0.05). The scores of all the subtests of the modified WAB and aphasia quotient were significantly decreased in the group with the cortical involvement or the history of operation. On the follow-up examination, the scores of fluency, information and naming subtests were significantly increased. CONCLUSION: The most common type of aphasia was anomic aphasia and the type of subcortical aphasia was not correlated to the anatomic lesion. Severity of subcortical aphasia would be related with the lesion size, the history of operation or the cortical involvement. The prognosis of subcortical aphasia was generally good.
Anomia ; Aphasia* ; Brain ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Prognosis ; Stroke

Lower gastrointestinal complications often develop in end stage renal disease patients, and among the more problematic is recurrent colon ulcer. The exact pathogenesis of this condition is not known and there were no specific therapeutic modalities concerning this type of disease entity. We report, with a literature review, a case of recurrent colon ulcer with intermittent hematochezia in an end stage renal disease patient on long term hemodialysis that improved after conversion to peritoneal dialysis.
Aspirin/therapeutic use ; Colon/pathology ; Colonic Diseases/complications/*diagnosis/drug therapy ; Colonoscopy ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/*complications ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peritoneal Dialysis ; Recurrence ; Ticlopidine/therapeutic use ; Ulcer/complications/*diagnosis/drug therapy