The end of this month is the 30th birthday of Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society. Since the first issue of Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society published in October, 1972, it has been developed in its quality as well as the quantity. More than 4000 articles have been published and tremendous contribution for the development of Korean Neurosurgical Society was made by the journal. The authors review the history of Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society including the problems in this situation and suggest the way to make the journal as an internationally famous one.
Korea ; Neurosurgery

This study was conducted to investigate whether administration of IH901, a ginseng intestinal metabolite, ameliorates exercise-induced oxidative stress while preserving antioxidant defense capability in rat skeletal muscles and lung. Eight adult male Sprague-Dawley rats per group were randomly assigned to the resting control, exercise control, resting with IH901 (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg) consumption (R/IH901), or exercise with IH901 (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg) consumption (E/IH901) group. The trained groups ran 35 min 2 days/week for 8 weeks. To analyze the IH901-training interaction, serum biochemical analysis, lipid peroxidation, citrate synthase, protein oxidation, antioxidant and superoxide dismutase in skeletal muscles and lung tissue were measured. Compared to the exercise control group, animals that consumed IH901 had significantly increased exercise endurance times (p < 0.05) and decreased plasma creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase levels (p < 0.05), while those in the E/IH901 groups had increased citrate synthase and anti-oxidant enzymes and decreased lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation (p < 0.05). In conclusion, IH901 consumption in aging rats after eccentric exercise has beneficial effects on anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities through down-regulation of pro-inflammatory mediators, lipid peroxidation, and protein oxidation and up-regulation of anti-oxidant enzymes.
Aging ; Animals ; Antioxidants/administration & dosage/*pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Lung/*drug effects/metabolism ; Male ; Muscle, Skeletal/*drug effects/metabolism ; Oxidative Stress/*drug effects ; Panax/chemistry ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sapogenins/administration & dosage/blood/*metabolism/*pharmacology ; Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms

Primary gastric squamous cell carcinoma represents a rare entity. Up to date, only seven cases have been reported in Korea. This paper reports a case of a 51-year-old male patient whose stomach cancer was diagnosed during general routine check-up. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed a large ulcero-fungating mass on the body of the stomach. Histological examination of biopsy confirmed squamous cell carcinoma. An extended total gastrectomy including splenectomy and segmental resection of the large bowel was conducted. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with capecitabine and oxaliplatin was followed. The patient has been following up the out patient's clinic after discharge.
Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Splenectomy ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Stomach* ; Capecitabine

Primary gastric squamous cell carcinoma represents a rare entity. Up to date, only seven cases have been reported in Korea. This paper reports a case of a 51-year-old male patient whose stomach cancer was diagnosed during general routine check-up. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed a large ulcero-fungating mass on the body of the stomach. Histological examination of biopsy confirmed squamous cell carcinoma. An extended total gastrectomy including splenectomy and segmental resection of the large bowel was conducted. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with capecitabine and oxaliplatin was followed. The patient has been following up the out patient's clinic after discharge.
Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Splenectomy ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Stomach* ; Capecitabine

BACKGROUND: With improvements in the performance of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in diagnosing hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases, anomalous unions of the pancreaticobiliary duct (AUPBD) have come to our attention in recent years. Such unions are thought to be a factor in the development of carcinomas of the pancreaticobiliary system. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the clinical analysis of AUPBD for proper treatment. METHODS: During the past 4 years from January 1, 1993, to December 31, 1997, 28 adult patients with AUPBD, in whom the pancreaticobiliary ductal union and terminal biliary tract were opacified by ERCP, were seen at Asan Medical Center. We divided the types of AUPBD according to Kimura's classification. RESULTS: The ages of the patients (20 women and 8 men) with this anomaly ranged from 16 to 68 years. The patients' main complaints were abdominal pain (16 cases), indigestion (10 cases), jaundice (4 cases), and fever (2 cases). The common channel measured on direct cholangiograms was 15 mm to 42 mm long. All of the patients whose anomalies were confirmed by ERCP had combined diseases (benign diseases 20 cases, malignant diseases 8 cases). Of the 20 patients with benign diseases, the 15 patients who underwent operative treatments had no recurrent findings or symptoms, but all of the 5 patients who underwent conservative treatments had recurrent pancreatitis or indigestion. These 5 patients will still need to be followed up. For the 8 patients with malignant diseases, the 3 who did not undergo operations died of far-advanced cancer. Among the remaining 5 patients who underwent operative treatments, 1 patient died of cancer recurrence, but 4 patients have been alive since their operations. CONCLUSIONS: We think that all ERCP examinations have to be carried out with AUPBD in mind. It is important to remove the place that causes bile stasis and to stop backflow of pancreatic juice intothe bile duct in managing patients with this anomaly. Therefore, a prophylactic cholecystectomy and reconstruction of the biliary tract are both necessary in treating AUPBD.
Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Bile ; Bile Ducts ; Biliary Tract ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Cholecystectomy ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Classification ; Dyspepsia ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Jaundice ; Pancreatic Diseases ; Pancreatic Juice ; Pancreatitis ; Recurrence

Midazolam is a type of anesthetic agent frequently used for conscious sedation during a variety of medical procedures. Anaphylactic reactions to midazolam are rarely reported. However, we observed a case of midazolam hypersensitivity in which emergency measures were required to ensure patient recovery after administration of midazolam as a sedative. The occurrence of the anaphylactic reaction to midazolam was confirmed by elevated serum tryptase levels. The current case report presents a discussion of our findings.
Anaphylaxis* ; Conscious Sedation ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Midazolam* ; Tryptases

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: ovastatin, a HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, is known to show antiproliferative effects on VSMC after vessel injury, but a large amount of the drug is needed orally for this purpose. This study investigated the effects of lovastatin given locally to injured carotid arteries of rats on reducing neointimal hyperplasia. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Lovastatin was given perivascularly to balloon-injured carotid arteries of 21 rats in 1 microM to the low-dose group, and 30 microM to the high-dose group. The control group was treated with pluronic gel only. Two weeks later, the lumen area, neointimal areas and the number of actively proliferating cells were obtained and compared. RESULTS: eointimal area was 0.113+/-0.032 mm2, 0.065+/-0.017 mm2, 0.072+/-0.017 mm2 in the control, low-dose and high-dose groups respectively. The area was significantly smaller in the treatment groups (p<0.05), but no significant difference was observed between the treatment groups. The number of actively proliferating cells per mm2 of neointimal area were 714.5+/-227.4, 688.4+/-333.7, and 1526.3+/-744.0 in the groups respectively, and the number was significantly high in the high-dose group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Local administration of lovastatin is effective in reducing neointimal hyperplasia after vascular injury, but extremely high doses are not needed locally for this purpose.
Animals ; Carotid Arteries* ; Carotid Artery Injuries* ; Hyperplasia* ; Lovastatin* ; Oxidoreductases ; Rats* ; Vascular System Injuries

X-linked Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMTX) disease is a clinically heterogeneous hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy. The X-linked inheritance showed an absence of male-to-male transmission and a more severe disease phenotype in affected males compared to that in affected female. A missense mutation, Cys168Arg, was found in connexin 32 gene (Cx32/GJB1) from a patient with CMTX neuropathy. The familial history of this patient also suggested that the disease is X-linked CMT. Thus, we report a CMTX family having the novel Cys168Arg mutation in the Cx32 gene.
Female ; Genes, X-Linked ; Hereditary Sensory and Motor Neuropathy ; Humans ; Male ; Mutation, Missense* ; Phenotype

Granular cell tumors (GCT), previously termed granular cell myoblastorna, was first described as a myoblastic myoma of the tongue in 1926 by Abrikossoff and has been reported in many different locations throughout the body. In 1931, Abrikossaff described the first granular cell tumor of the esophagus. The gastrointestinal tract is one of the more uncommon locations for granular cell tumors. Until recently, granular cell tumors had been considered rare but, the incidence of granular cell tumors has been slowly raising since endoscopy has been used more commonly as a diagnostic tool. In this study, we report three cases of esophageal granular cell tumors which were successfully diaganosed by an esophagoscopy and an endoscopic ultrasonography and confirmed using an endoscopic esophageal mucosal resection (EEMR).
Endoscopy ; Endosonography ; Esophagoscopy ; Esophagus ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Granular Cell Tumor* ; Incidence ; Myoblasts ; Myoma ; Tongue

BACKGROUND: A hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an awesome malignancy; survival time is usually less than 1 year once symptoms and signs appear, irrespective of treatment. Screening tools are now available that make it possible to detect a preclinical HCC, which is usually small and surgically resectable. We studied the prognosis after hepatic resections of HCCs smaller than 5 cm and tried to clarify which effective treatments correlated with high survival rates by comparing the outcomes of major hepatic resections with those of limited hepatic resections. METHODS: Of the 105 cases treated from January 1, 1990, to December 31, 1998, at Asan Medical Center, all proved surgically to be small HCCs and pathologically to be HCC types. There were two categories of patients: those receiving a major hepatic resection (n=48) and those receiving a limited hepatic resection (n=57). RESULTS: The median age was 53 (range, 33-69), and the male:female ratio was 42:6 in the major resection group. The median tumor size was 3.4 cm, and the median resection margin was 2.6 cm. Major resections were done in 48 cases, including right lobectomies (32 cases), left lobectomies (9 cases), central bisegmentectomies (3 cases), extended left lobectomies (3 cases) and extended right lobectomy (1 case). The median age was 52 (range, 30-76), and the male:female ratio was 46:11 in the limited resection group. The median tumor size was 3.2 cm, and the median resection margin was 1.2 cm. Limited resections were done in 57 cases, including left lateral segmentectomies (12 cases), right posterior segmentectomies (10 cases), #6 subsegmentectomies (7 cases), left medial segmentectomies (7 cases), right anterior segmentectomies (6 cases), nonanatomical partial hepatectomies (5 cases), #5 #6 subsegmentec-tomies (2 cases), #8 subsegmentectomies (2 cases), caudate lobectomies (2 cases), #5 subsegmentectomies (2 cases), #5 subsegmentectomy caudate lobectomy(1 case), and #2 subsegmentectomy (1 case). The cumulative 5-year survival rate of the two groups was 69%. The cumulative 5-year disease-free survival rate of the major resection group was better than that of the limited resection group (80% vs 53%, p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Problems, including the relatively high recurrence rate after a limited hepatic resection, remain to be solved. It is necessary to perform adjuvant therapy to prevent recurrence in patients receiving a limited hepatic resection. We advocate a major hepatic resection for primary small hepatocellular carcinomas in order to prevent recurrence. Preoperative portal vein embolization can be a good modality in patients who will undergo major hepatic resections.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Disease-Free Survival ; Hepatectomy ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Mastectomy, Segmental ; Portal Vein ; Prognosis* ; Recurrence ; Survival Rate