We assessed the accuracy of clinical evaluation, arthrography, and arthroscopy in the diagnosis of meniscal lesions in twenty-nine knees in which arthrotomy and menisectomy were performed after evaluation by these three methods, At surgery, thirty menisci of twenty-nine knees were removed, of which twenty-eight were abnormal and two were normal. In these thirty menisci, a correct diagnosis was made clinically eighteen times, arthrographically twenty times, and arthroscopically twenty-seven times. Posterior horn tears of medial meniscus and discoid lateral meniscus were well visualized but lateral meniscal tears were poorly visualized on arthrogram. The errors of arthroscopy occurred in two tears confined to outer one half of medial menscal posterior horn, and in a normal meniscus as false positive. Based on this study, it was concluded that both the arthrography and arthroscopy are valuable techniques for the diagnosis of meniscal lesions, and that we can expect correct diagnosis of all the meniscal lesions by the use of complementary roles of the two and by the experiences.
Animals ; Arthrography ; Arthroscopy ; Diagnosis ; Horns ; Knee ; Menisci, Tibial ; Tears

Amputation through the epiphyseal plate is very rare. Authors experienced only one case of ankle amputation through the epiphyseal plate in one huadred seventeen replantation cases during last seven years. It can make severe growth disturbance after replantation especially if the bone shortening is carried out at epiphyseal plate. Authors have developed new idea to make boae shortening during replantation with preservation of the epiphyseal plate in amputation through the epiphyseal plate in three years old female. It is, so called, double osteotomy shortening. Bone shortening is performed at 5cm above amputated epipyaeal plate to avoid further damage in epiphyseal plate, and a bone segment 3cm in length is resected,by double osteotomy shortening technique. After then, bone reduction and internal fixation is followed. With above technique, authors succeeded in replantation without further damage in epiphysis. In three years and ten months follow-up, bony growth in replanted tibia shows normal pattern, and epiphyseal plate in replanted site is working and remained open. The patient can walk without pain, and motor-sensory function have almost completely recoverered.
Amputation ; Ankle ; Epiphyses ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Growth Plate ; Humans ; Osteotomy ; Replantation ; Tibia

In 257 open fracture patients, treated from 1972 to 1979 at Kyung Hee University Hospital and analysed retrospectively, the infection rate was 35.8%. The factors thought to be associated with post-operative infection in open fracture were statistically analysed and discussed. The conclusions of this study were follows: 1. Open fractures require adequate debridement and irrigation. 2. Antibiotics should be administered as early as possible, especially before operation. 3. Early determination of local blood clrculation and its improvement are importent. 4. Contaminated open wound should be treated open, but if wound considered clean by adequate debridement may be closed primarlly. 5. If primary bone fixation is required, external flxation is recommended. Internal fixation should be avoided In grade I & II, but in grade III internal fixatlon is not contraindication for Improvement of blood circulation and open wound management.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Blood Circulation ; Debridement ; Fractures, Open ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Wound Infection ; Wounds and Injuries

To achieve optimal decalcification in tissue and tissue preservation, we have tried magnetic field method and made some promising results. We used pulsed unipolar magnetic field obtained by rectification of 250 V-60 cycle, A.C. As a new method of bony decalcification, using 5% nitric acid, 10% formic acid and 10% formic acid+3% hydrochloric acid solutions, experimental groups were decalcified in the center of the magnetic field. The concentration of calcium ion in the decalcifying solution was measured by calcium-oxalate turbidity test by photometry method, and direct visualization of calcium radiopacity was obtained by soft X-ray view during the decalcification process. The pH change during decalcification was continuously checked and needle penetration method was also used. All the decalcification solution used in this study showed accelerated effect of bony decalcification in the strong magnetic field. Among them 5% nitric acid produced complete decalcification for the medium size bony specimen (less than 10x10x10 mm) within 24 hours, and the histologic feature was almost free of acid-chemical degeneration. The pH of all the decalcification solutions decreased in the strong magnetic field, maximum within 4~6 hours, and kept strong acidity throughout the decalcification procedure. After removal of the magnetic field the pH of all the decalcification solution returned to their original values after 24 hours. It was presumed that the cause of the accelerated decalcification in the magnetic field was due to combined effects of the rapid increase of acidity and the increased molecular resonance to stimulate the ionization of mineral elements.

To identify the central innervating the mammary nerve, viral retrograde transneuronal labelling methods were employed. Pseudorabies virus 6 microliter was injected into the mammary nerve of adult female Sprague-Dawley rats. After 4 days of survival, the animals were perfused with 4% paraformaldehyde-lysine periodate and their brains were processed for immunohistochemistry and double immunofluorescent staining of Pseudorabies virus or oxytocin using polyclonal antibodies. Several nuclei in brain were retrogradely labelled with Pesudorabies virus.Only a few magnocellular neurons of the paraventricular nucleus throughout whole brain showed double immunoreactivity to Pseudorabies virus and oxytocin. Approximately 11 percent of the oxytocinergic cells of the paraventricular nucleus,especially in three subnuclei[dorsomedial cap, lateral magnocelluar part and ventral part] showed double positive reaction to both Pseudorabies virus and oxytocin. These data demonstrate that some CNS cells projecting to the mammary nerve contained oxytocin and it may acts as a neurotransmitter in this pathway and a hormone targeting milk production and secretion.
Adult ; Animals ; Antibodies ; Brain ; Female ; Herpesvirus 1, Suid ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Milk ; Neurons ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Oxytocin ; Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus ; Pseudorabies ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Double aortic arch is the most common type of symptomatic vascular ring. In most patients, the symptoms are manifested at birth or in early infancy. Double aortic arch usually has more severe symptoms than other types of complete vascular rings. We experienced one case of complete duplicated double aortic arch with left descending aorta and left patent ductus arteriosus. A one-day-old female neonate was transferred to our hospital because of mild dyspnea and stridor. She showed intractable CO2 retention and respiratory difficulty with time in spite of ventilator therapy. She died of respiratory failure 23 hours after birth. On autopsy, we found that the diameter of the vascular ring was 0.7cm in maximum extent. It was ovoid and contained trachea and esophagus. The trachea was flattened due to allowing 0.1x0.2cm. The compression level of the trachea was approximately 1cm from the tracheal bifurcation.
Aorta, Thoracic* ; Autopsy* ; Ductus Arteriosus, Patent ; Dyspnea ; Esophagus ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Parturition ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Respiratory Sounds ; Trachea ; Ventilators, Mechanical

Background/Aims: Germline mutations of the rearranged during transfection (RET) gene cause multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2). About 85% of RET mutations in MEN2 occur in codon Cys634. The RET D631Y mutation has recently been discovered, and we have studied its molecular expression and clinical consequences. Methods: We analyzed the clinical characteristics of a total of 34 D631Y variant MEN2 individuals from seven families. We also constructed wild-type and mutant C630Y, D631Y, and C634R/W expression vectors and investigated their effects on signaling pathways and ability to correct the phenotypes of RET mutant cells. Results: The median ages at diagnosis of pheochromocytoma and medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) were higher in patients with RET D631Y variant MEN2 than in those with the C634R/W variant (49:53.5 years vs. 33.5:27 years, respectively), and the penetration of the D631Y mutation with respect to MTC was lower than that of the C634R/W mutation (32.3% vs. 90%). The effects of the mutant vectors on phosphorylation of RET signaling molecules and focus formation were significantly different from those of wild type, but there were no significant differences between the mutants. D631Y scored significantly higher for chemotaxis and wound healing than C630Y, but lower than C634R and C634W. Conclusions We suggest that the tumorigenic potential conferred by the D631Y mutation is lower than that conferred by the C634R/W mutation, but higher than that conferred by C630Y. Thus, the risk level of the RET D631Y variant appears to be higher than that of C630Y and lower than that of C634R/W.

Clinical presentations associated with acute human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are various and nonspecific. Neurologic manifestations may accompany acute HIV infection. Aseptic meningitis has been described in several reports; however, acute encephalitis during acute HIV infection is rare. Some studies have suggested that antiretroviral therapy for treatment of symptomatic acute HIV infection could be beneficial, especially in severe cases. Encephalitis is life-threatening; therefore, early diagnosis and antiretroviral therapy may be needed. We report on a case of encephalitis associated with acute HIV infection. The patient received early antiretroviral therapy and recovered from encephalitis without neurological sequelae.
Early Diagnosis ; Encephalitis ; HIV ; HIV Infections ; Humans ; Meningitis, Aseptic ; Neurologic Manifestations

Medullary thyroid carcinoma accounts for 3% of all thyroid gland malignancies. It commonly metastasizes to liver, lung, and bone. It rarely metastasizes to skin, and only a few such cases have been documented. Cutaneous metastasis suggests a poor prognosis, with a mean survival of 7.5-19 months. The most effective treatment for skin metastasis is complete surgical removal of all local and regional lesions. The response to systemic chemotherapy is typically poor. We report a case of medullary thyroid carcinoma with cutaneous metastases, which responded to chemotherapy.
Liver ; Lung ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Skin ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms

PURPOSE: Lipobean(R)s, widely used in lipodissolving techniques, contain phosphatidylcholine and sodium deoxycholate as its main substances. They have been approved only as medication for liver disease by the FDA. However, they have been used under various clinical settings without exact knowledge of its action mechanism. The authors designed an in vitro study to analyze the effects of different concentrations of phosphatidylcholine and sodium deoxycholate on adipocytes and other types of cells. METHODS: Human adipose-derived stem cell were cultured and induced to differentiate into adipocytes. Fibroblasts extracted from human inferior turbinate tissue, and MC3T3-E1 osteoblast lines were cultured. Phosphatidylcholine solution dissolved with ethanol was applied to the culture medium at differing concentrations (1, 4, 7, 10 mg/mL). The sodium deoxycholate solution dissolved in DMSO applied to the medium at differing concentrations (0.07, 0.1. 0.4. 0.7 mg/mL). Cells were dispersed at a concentration of 5 x 10(3) cells/well in 24 well plates, and surviving cells were calculated 1 day after the application using a CCK-8 kit. RESULTS: The number of surviving cells of adipocytes, fibroblasts and osteoblasts decreased as the concentration of sodium deoxycholate increased. However, all types of cells that had been processed in a phosphatidylcholine showed a cell survival rate of over 70% at all concentrations. CONCLUSION: This study shows that sodium deoxycholate is the more major factor in destroying adipocytes, and it is also toxic to the other cells. Therefore, we conclude that care must be taken when using Lipobean(R)s as a method of reducing adipose tissue, for its toxicity may destroy other nontarget cells existing in the subcutaneous tissue layer.
Adipocytes ; Adipose Tissue ; Cell Survival ; Deoxycholic Acid ; Dimethyl Sulfoxide ; Ethanol ; Fibroblasts ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; Osteoblasts ; Phosphatidylcholines ; Sincalide ; Sodium ; Stem Cells ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; Turbinates