BACKGROUND: For the treatment of generalized vitiligo patients with oral PUVA, we can use two different methods; one is to treat the lesions while the whole body is exposed. Another one is to treat the lesions while only the lesions are exposed. PURPOSE: This study was performed to determine whether lesional and whole body exposure in oral PUVA for generalized vitiligo show any therapeutic differences in effectiveness. METHODS: The vitiligo lesions were distributed over the whole body skin of the subjects and the lesion area was less than 6% of the whole skin area. PUVA was done to the subjects more than 20 times after oral administration of psoralen. The patients were classified into two different groups. One is the lesional exposure group in which the patient exposed only the vitiligo lesion. The other is the whole body exposure group in which the patient exposed almost their whole body. RESULTS: Our results show that there is no statistical difference of the therapeutic effectiveness between the two methods. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend lesional treatment rather than whole body treatment to prevent the oral PUVA side effects.
Administration, Oral ; Ficusin ; Humans ; Skin ; Vitiligo*

Diffuse alopecia due to occult syringoma of the scalp has rarely been reported but the authors of the cases presented different opinions about which one is the primary event between the two conditions and if the syringoma is true or a reactive ductal proliferation. We have found a case whose diffuse alopecia is believed to be due to true syringoma of the scalp. A 43-year old woman showed simultaneous and gradual development of diffuse alopecia and multiple papular elevations on the face and neck adjoining the frontal and temporal hair lines. Histopathology of the scalp and the facial papular elevations all revealed typical syringomatous infiltrations with epithelial comma-tails and sclerotic stroma. All of the clinicopathological findings supported that the diffuse alopecia of the patient was due to the occult syringoma of the scalp.
Adult ; Alopecia* ; Female ; Hair ; Humans ; Neck ; Scalp ; Syringoma*

A nine year old boy presented asymptomatic multiple papular lesions for 6 months. Biopsy revealed typical features of xanthogranuloma with Touton type giant cells. Authors observed natural course of the lesions for about 2 years thereafter, which showed shrinkage of the existing papules in general in spite of newly appearing lesions. Review of the previous cases reported by the name of juvenile xanthogranuloma showed that the age of the onset of the most of the cases with multiple lesions was before one year after birth, but adolescent cases were rare. It was also noted that previous cases with such multiple lesions had a course of spontaneous regression regardless of the onset of its age.
Adolescent* ; Biopsy ; Giant Cells ; Humans ; Male ; Parturition ; Xanthogranuloma, Juvenile

We report a case of a tick bite by Ixodes nipponensis found on the neck of a 75-year-old female. The tick was thought to be in the lesion for 10 days. Till now 31 cases of tick bites were reported in Korea including the present case. The review of the Korean cases revealed that the ratio of female/male was 1.3 : 1, its age distribution was from 1st to 8th decade, sites of the invasion were trunk, head and neck, extremities, and anogenital area in order of frequency. Its prevalent season was spring and summer and the most common species(17/31) was Ixodes nipponensis.
Age Distribution ; Aged ; Extremities ; Female ; Head ; Humans ; Ixodes ; Korea ; Neck ; Seasons ; Tick Bites* ; Ticks*

Nevus sebaceus is a congenital cutaneous hamartoma which has a potential to develop both benign and malignant neoplasm in late life. The most common benign tumor developed within the nevus is syringocystadenoma papilliferum and the most common malignant tumor basal cell epithelioma. Although two different tumors often develop simultaneously on the lesion, it is rare to see more than two different tumors developing on the lesion of nevus sebaceus. In Korean literatures only three such cases were reported. We report an additional case of nevus sebaceus developing three different tumors, syringocystadenoma papilliferum, sebaceous epithelioma, and basal cell carcinoma, in a 67-year-old female patient.
Aged ; Carcinoma* ; Carcinoma, Basal Cell* ; Female ; Hamartoma ; Humans ; Nevus*

Sebaceous trichofolliculoma, which is a variant of trichofolliculoma, is a rare disease that clinically show a centrally depressed lesion usually singly on the nose, and histologically a centrally located cavity, lined by squamous epithelium, with numerous sebaceous lobules connected to them. We describe a case of sebaceous trichofolliculoma in a 27-year-old woman who had several brown papules on the nose. We think that this is the first report of sebaceous trichofolliculloma in Korean literature.
Adult ; Epithelium ; Female ; Humans ; Nose ; Rare Diseases

PURPOSE: To investigate the usefulness of urine cytology in the detection of tumor recurrence in terms of practicality and cost-effectiveness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 393 patients who underwent transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) from January 2010 to June 2013. All patients underwent cystoscopy, urine cytology, urinalysis, and computed tomography (CT) at 3 and 6 months after TURBT. In 62 cases, abnormal bladder lesions were identified on cystoscopy within 6 months. Suspicious lesions were confirmed pathologically by TURBT or biopsy. Patients were grouped by modalities: group I, urine cytology; group II, CT; group III, urinalysis; group IV, urine cytology plus CT; group V, urine cytology plus urinalysis; group VI, CT plus urinalysis; group VII, combination of all three modalities. Each group was compared by cost per cancer detected. RESULTS: Forty-nine patients were confirmed to have tumor recurrence and 13 patients were confirmed to have inflammation by pathology. The overall tumor recurrence rate was 12.5% (49/393) and recurrent cases were revealed as NMIBC. Sensitivity in group I (24.5%) was lower than in group II (55.1%, p=0.001) and group III (57.1%, p<0.001). However, in group VII (77.6%), the sensitivity was statistically similar to that of group VI (75.5%, p=0.872). Under the Korean insurance system, total cost per cancer detected for group VII was almost double that of group VI (p=0.041). CONCLUSIONS: Routine urine cytology may not be useful for follow-up of bladder cancer in terms of practicality and cost-effectiveness. Application of urine cytology needs to be adjusted according to each patient.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Cystoscopy/economics ; Cytodiagnosis/economics/methods ; Female ; Health Care Costs/*statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/*diagnosis/economics/pathology ; Neoplasm Staging ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/economics ; Urinalysis/economics/methods ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/*diagnosis/economics/pathology/surgery ; Urine/*cytology

PURPOSE: In order to evaluate the spectrum of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations in the patients with suspected Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). METHODS: We investigated 14 primary mtDNA mutations at nucleotide positions (nps 3460A, 4160C, 5244A, 9101C, 9804A, 10663C, 11778A, 13730A, 14459A, 14482G, 14484C, 14495G, 14498T, and 14568T) and one common secondary mutation (np15257A) in 82 Korean patients with suspected LHON. RESULTS: Among them, only three kinds of LHON mutations were identified in 60 (73%) of 82 probands, which were comprised of 46 (56%) cases with the 11778A, 13 (16%) with the 14484C, and 1 (1%) with the 3460A. None of the other mtDNA mutations was detected. Of the 60 probands with LHON positive mutations, 19 (32%) had relevant family histories. Heteroplasmy was determined in 2 (4%) of the 46 probands with the 11778A and 1 (8%) of 13 probands with the 14484C. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the 11778A was the most common cause (56%), and higher prevalence of the 14484C and the lower prevalence of the 3460A were characteristic in Korean patients with LHON. Especially, the 3460A had a remarkable racial difference compared with Caucasians. Except 3460A, 11778A, and 14484C, the other mutations screened may not be involved in pathogenesis and not have a synergistic effect on the clinical expression of LHON in Koreans.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; DNA, Mitochondrial* ; Humans ; Molecular Biology* ; Optic Atrophy, Hereditary, Leber* ; Prevalence

A low iodine diet (LID) is the recommended preparation for radioactive iodine treatment. However, the recommended duration and stringency of LID are different among each recommendation. More stringent LID is expected in Korea because Korea is a iodine-rich region. We investigated the decrement of urine iodine excretion by two-week stringent LID for remnant thyroid ablation with radioactive iodine in Korean patients with thyroid cancer, prospectively. MATERIAL AND METHOD: From November 2006, patients who referred to our hospital for remnant ablation after total thyroidectomy were included in this study. To decrease total body iodine, our protocol included three strategies. First, we checked medication which could inhibit the radioactive iodine uptake. Second, the date of I-131 treatment was scheduled at least 3 months later if contrast agent had been used. The last strategy was two-week stringent LID education by specialized nutritionist. Before and after two-week stringent LID, 24hr-urine iodine was analyzed respectively. 24hr-urine creatinine was also analyzed for determining more valid 24hr urine sampling subgroup. RESULTS: Total 51 patients were finally enrolled. Average of 24hr-urine iodine excretion was significantly lowered (787+/-2242 -> 85+/-85 microgram/d, p=0.03) after LID and 74.4% of patients reached below the recommended urine iodine excretion level (<100 microgram/d). In subgroup (n=14), similar results was showed (505+/-666 -> 99+/-116 microgram/d, p=0.05) and 78.6% of patients met the criteria. CONCLUSION: Most patients could reach below the recommended urine iodine level after two-week stringent LID. Therefore, in our opinion, at least two-week stringent LID should be recommended in Korea.
Creatinine ; Diet ; Humans ; Iodine ; Korea ; Prospective Studies ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rapidly growing malignant neuroendocrine tumor with a high rate of recurrence and metastasis for which wide excision is recommended. About 10 cases of spontaneous regression have been reported in the world. We report a case of Merkel cell carcinoma which showed spontaneous regression. The patient was a 68-year-old woman with a two-month history of a rapidly enlarging dusky red tumor on her right cheek. Microscopically, the tumor cells were uniform with round to oval shaped nucleus and scanty cytoplasm, and showed trabecular arrangement. Ultrastructually, dense core neurosecretory granules 100 to 200nm in diameter were found in the cytoplasm of tumor cells. As far as we know, this is the first case of the spontaneous regression of the tumor in the country.
Aged ; Carcinoma, Merkel Cell* ; Cheek ; Cytoplasm ; Female ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neuroendocrine Tumors ; Recurrence