No abstract available.
Follow-Up Studies* ; Peripheral Nerve Injuries* ; Peripheral Nerves* ; Upper Extremity*

OBJECTIVES: This study compared foot arch height, plantar fascia thickness, a range of motion assessments of the ankle joint, strength of the ankle joint, plantar pressure, and balance between obese and normal weight young adults. METHODS: Fifty-two participants were required for the present study design to achieve 80% power, 0.8 effect size (η2), and an alpha level of 0.05. The participants were categorized to normal weight or obese groups based on BMI (≤ 24 kg/m2 and ≥ 25 kg/m2, respectively). The foot and ankle disability index and Sport survey were completed by the participants before the measurements. Foot arch height was measured using the navicular drop test, and plantar fascia thickness was measured using ultrasound. Plantar pressure and balance tests were also conducted, followed by ankle joint range of motion and strength tests. RESULTS: Foot arch height and plantar fascia thickness was significantly higher in the obese group compared with the normal weight group (p < 0.01). There were significant differences in eversion of ankle strength, plantar pressure in the big toe and heel and anterior-posterior balance between normal and obese weight groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Obese young adults had more abnormalities in the medial longitudinal arch, plantar fascia, and plantar pressure as well as weakened ankle eversion strength and balance problems compared with the normal weight group.
Ankle ; Ankle Joint ; Body Mass Index ; Fascia ; Foot ; Hallux ; Heel ; Humans ; Obesity ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Sports ; Ultrasonography ; Young Adult

Cervical pregnancy is a rare form of ectopic gestation in which the blastocyst implants in the cervical mucosa below the histologic cervical os. Because of the serious vaginal bleeding, hysterectomy was usually done in the management of cervical pregnancy. Howerver, conservative treatment is desirable for women who want to be pregnancy in the future. Methotrexate has been utilized recently for conservative management of cervical pregnancy. We report a case of cervical pregnancy which was treated succesfully with intramuscular methotrexate injection.
Blastocyst ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Methotrexate* ; Mucous Membrane ; Pregnancy* ; Uterine Hemorrhage

Goltz syndrome is known as a rare mesoectodermal hereditary disease, characterized by focal dermal atrophies with hernias of adipose tissue and also associated with a multitude of possible skeletal, dental, ophthalmological and other abnormalities. We experienced a case of Goltz syndrome. An one day old female newborn had focal atrophic and telangiectatic skin lesions, microphthalmia, syndactyly and urinary tract abnormality. The finding of skin biopsy was consistent with focal dermal hypoplasia. We report the case with a brief review and related literatures.
Adipose Tissue ; Atrophy ; Biopsy ; Female ; Focal Dermal Hypoplasia* ; Genetic Diseases, Inborn ; Hernia ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Microphthalmos ; Skin ; Syndactyly ; Urinary Tract

We report a monozygotic twins with temporal lobe epilepsy, almost concordant in the onset time of firt seizure, lateralization and localization of epileptiform discharges. Partial seizures with secondarily generalized seizure occurred 15 days apart. EEG showed frequent spike-slow wave complexes on the right temporal area but the findings of brain MRI were normal in both. Past medical, delivery, developmental and family history were unremarkable. They had no physical and mental handicaps, and any other underlying causes of epilepsy. They have been on monotherapy with seizure free, although follow up EEG showed frequent spike-slow wave complexes after medication. As seizures developed simultaneously, the localization and lateralization of epileptiform discharges were concordant in our monozygotic twins, we suggest that genetic factor might be the most probable etiology of epilepsy in our cases but needs to be elucidated.
Brain ; Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy ; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Seizures ; Temporal Lobe ; Twins, Monozygotic

Cavernous lymphangioma in mediastinum is a rare congenital malformation of lymphatic system and is caused by lack of adequate drainage from the sequestrated lymphatic vessels to the venous system due to insufficiency or atresia of the efferent lymphatic channels The authors experienced 10 month-old male patient with cavernous lymphangioma in mediastinum documented by chest CT and open biopsy The review of the literature was made briefly.
Biopsy ; Drainage ; Humans ; Infant ; Lymphangioma* ; Lymphatic System ; Lymphatic Vessels ; Male ; Mediastinum* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Background: Far-infrared (FIR) irradiation has been reported to improve diverse cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure, hypertension, and atherosclerosis. The dysregulated proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is well established to contribute to developing occlusive vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and in-stent restenosis. However, the effects of FIR irradiation on VSMC proliferation and the underlying mechanism are unclear. This study investigated the molecular mechanism through which FIR irradiation inhibited VSMC proliferation. Methods: We performed cell proliferation and cell death assay, adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) assay, inhibitor studies, transfection of dominant negative (dn)-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) α1 gene, and western blot analyses. We also conducted confocal microscopic image analyses and ex vivo studies using isolated rat aortas. Results: FIR irradiation for 30 minutes decreased VSMC proliferation without altering the cell death. Furthermore, FIR irradiation accompanied decreases in phosphorylation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) at Ser2448 (p-mTOR-Ser2448 ) and p70 S6 kinase (p70S6K) at Thr389 (p-p70S6K-Thr389 ). The phosphorylation of AMPK at Thr172 (p-AMPKThr172 ) was increased in FIR-irradiated VSMCs, which was accompanied by a decreased cellular ATP level. Similar to in vitro results, FIR irradiation increased p-AMPK-Thr172 and decreased p-mTOR-Ser 2448 and p-p70S6K-Thr389 in isolated rat aortas. Pre-treatment with compound C, a specific AMPK inhibitor, or ectopic expression of dn-AMPKα1 gene, significantly reversed FIR irradiation-decreased VSMC proliferation, p-mTOR-Ser2448 , and p-p70S6K-Thr389 . On the other hand, hyperthermal stimulus (39°C) did not alter VSMC proliferation, cellular ATP level, and AMPK/mTOR/p70S6K phosphorylation. Finally, FIR irradiation attenuated plateletderived growth factor (PDGF)-stimulated VSMC proliferation by increasing p-AMPK-Thr172 , and decreasing p-mTOR-Ser2448 and p-p70S6K-Thr389 in PDGF-induced in vitro atherosclerosis model. Conclusion These results show that FIR irradiation decreases the basal and PDGF-stimulated VSMC proliferation, at least in part, by the AMPK-mediated inhibition of mTOR/p70S6K signaling axis irrespective of its hyperthermal effect. These observations suggest that FIR therapy can be used to treat arterial narrowing diseases, including atherosclerosis and in-stent restenosis.

Background: Telmisartan, an angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker (ARB), is widely used to treat hypertension by blocking the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Although abnormal proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is a well-established contributor to the development of various vascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, the effect of telmisartan on VSMC proliferation and its mechanism of action have not been fully revealed. Herein, we investigated the molecular mechanism whereby telmisartan inhibits rat VSMC proliferation. Methods: We measured VSMC proliferation by MTT assay, and performed inhibitor studies and western blot analyses using basal and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-stimulated rat VSMCs. To elucidate the role of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), we introduced dominant-negative (dn)-AMPKα1 gene into VSMCs. Results: Telmisartan decreased VSMC proliferation, which was accompanied by decreased phosphorylations of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) at Ser2448 (p-mTOR-Ser2448 ) and p70 S6 kinase (p70S6K) at Thr389 (p-p70S6K-Thr389 ) in dose- and time-dependent manners. Telmisartan dose- and time-dependently increased phosphorylation of AMPK at Thr172 (p-AMPK-Thr172 ). Co-treatment with compound C, a specific AMPK inhibitor, or ectopic expression of the dn-AMPKα1 gene, significantly reversed telmisartan-inhibited VSMC proliferation, p-mTOR-Ser2448 and p-p70S6K-Thr389 levels. Among the ARBs tested (including losartan and fimasartan), only telmisartan increased p-AMPK-Thr172 and decreased p-mTOR-Ser2448 , p-p70S6K-Thr389 , and VSMC proliferation. Furthermore, GW9662, a specific and irreversible peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) antagonist, did not affect any of the telmisartan-induced changes. Finally, telmisartan also exhibited inhibitory effects on VSMC proliferation by increasing p-AMPK-Thr172 and decreasing p-mTOR-Ser2448 and p-p70S6K-Thr389 in a PDGF-induced in vitro atherosclerosis model. Conclusion These results demonstrated that telmisartan-activated AMPK inhibited basal and PDGF-stimulated VSMC proliferation, at least in part, by downregulating the mTOR/p70S6K signaling axis in a PPARγ-independent manner. These observations suggest that telmisartan could be used to treat arterial narrowing diseases such as atherosclerosis and restenosis.

Hemorrhagic cystitis is defined as diffuse mucosal inflammation of the urinary bladder that presents with gross hematuria. A variety of factors, including chemotherapeutic agents, radiation therapy and infection, can cause hemorrhagic cystitis. Among them, BK virus-associated hemorrhagic cystitis is common in patients who have undergone stem cell transplantation but relatively rare in kidney transplantation patients. Here, we present the case of a kidney-transplant patient with BK virus-associated hemorrhagic cystitis and interstitial nephritis who was successfully treated with leflunomide and ciprofloxacin.
BK Virus ; Ciprofloxacin ; Cystitis* ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Kidney Transplantation ; Kidney* ; Nephritis, Interstitial ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Urinary Bladder

Localized scleroderma is a disease of unknown origin and is characterized by circumscribed sclerotic skin changes. When occurring in a linear pattern, it is called linear scleroderma. 'En coup de sabre' is a subtype of linear scleroderma which is characterized by band-like, ivory-colored depressions on the frontoparietal scalp region. Several treatment modalities have been used. However, they have not been effective or safe. We report our experience of two patients with 'en coup de sabre' on the forehead, who were treated successfully with polymethylmethacrylate microspheres (PMMA-NewPlastic(R)).
Depression ; Forehead ; Humans ; Microspheres* ; Polymethyl Methacrylate* ; Scalp ; Scleroderma, Localized* ; Skin