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

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

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

Under normal circumstances, attempts are made to match the recipient of an orthotopic liver transplant with the best available donor in terms of organ and body size. Occasionally, it may happen that a child's liver is transplanted into an adult recipient, either because of the need for an urgent transplantation when only a small donor is available or because there is no child recipient transplantable with the graft. After a child-donor's liver was transplanted into an adult recipient, we had the opportunity to observe the change in the size of the allograft over time by using serial computed tomography scans to evaluate change in graft size. Reported here are the results of the small-for-size live transplantation at Asan Medical Center.
Adult* ; Allografts ; Body Size ; Child* ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Humans ; Liver* ; Tissue Donors* ; Transplants

BACKGROUND: In Korea, the number of patients enrolled in liver transplantation registry exceeds the supply of cadaveric donor. This donor shortage leads to living donor liver transplantation(LDLT). Due to wide prevalence of hepatitis B in Korea, many healthy donors for LDLT shows hepatitis B surface antigen-negative[HBsAg(-)] and core antibody-positive [HBcAb(+)]. However, the risk of using graft livers from HBsAg(-) and HBcAb(+) donors has not been clearly defined. The aim of this study is to identify the safety of using HBcAb(+) donor and the effectiveness of passive immunoprophylaxis with hepatitis B immunoglobulin(HBIG) in non-hepatitis B virus induced cirrhotic recipients. METHODS: From December 1994 to July 1998, 59 patients underwent living donor liver transplantation at the Asan Medical Center. Among them, 35 cases were non-hepatitis B virus induced cirrhotic recipients. Of these 35 recipients, 14 patients received liver graft from HBsAg(-) and HBcAb(+) donors and prophylactic passive immunoprophylaxis with HBIG. RESULTS: Eleven cases remained HBsAg(-) with HBIG immunoprophylaxis. Three of 14 recipients who were HBsAg(-) converted to HBsAg(+) serologically after receiving HBcAb(+) donor liver. All of these 3 cases did not receive HBIG therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Passive immunoprophylaxis with HBIG may prevent non-hepatitis B induced cirrhotic recipients from converting to HBsAg(+) status by using HBcAb(+) donor. Our experience suggests that HBcAb(+) donors can be accepted as potential donors in living donor liver transplantation.
Cadaver ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Herpesvirus 1, Cercopithecine ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver Transplantation* ; Liver* ; Living Donors* ; Prevalence ; Tissue Donors* ; Transplants

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