Sarcoidosis is a rare d:sease in Korea and its association with erythema nodosurn is even rarer. Recently we saw a patient of bihilar adenopathy, who had arthralgia and erythematous nodules of both lower legs. A skin biopsy obtained from the erythematous nodule of the lower leg showed septal panniculitis, consitent with erythema nodosum, and a biopsy from the mediastinal lymph node revealed a pathology consistent with sarcoidosis. This is the first case of Lofgrens syndrome confirmed by histology ir, Korea.
Arthralgia ; Biopsy ; Erythema ; Erythema Nodosum ; Humans ; Korea ; Leg ; Lymph Nodes ; Panniculitis ; Pathology ; Sarcoidosis ; Skin

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a disease of unknown etiology. Disturbances in lipid metabolism have been suggested as a possible pathogenetic mechanism. OBJECTIVE: The study was performed to investigate the blood lipid, lipoprotein and apolipo-protein levels and their difference according to family history in Korean psoriasis patients. METHODS: Blood samples from seventy three psoriasis patients and twenty three normal persons were measured for total ciolesterol(TC), VLDL-cholesterol(VLDL-C), LDL-cholesterol(LDL-C), HDL-cholesterol(HDL-C), lipoprotein(a) (LPA), triglyceride(TG), apolipoprotein A-I(APO-AI), and apolipoprotein B(AFO-B). Psoriasis patients were divided according to their family history of psoriasis. RESULTS: Compared to ccntrols, TC, LDL-C, LPA, TG, APO-B were significantly elevated in psoriasis patients. Mean varues of LPA and APO-B in psoriasis group were above normal range. VLDL-C were significasitly elevated only in female patients. There was a tendency for psoriasis patients with family history to have higher values than those without family history. CONCLUSION: TC, LDL-C, L,PA, TG, APO-B was increased in psoriasis, especially in the patients with family history, cornpared to control. It is recommended that we must pay attention to the possible risk for the development of cardiac or cerebral vascular disease in psoriasis patients, especially in the presence of family history of psoriasis.
Apolipoproteins ; Apolipoproteins B ; Female ; Humans ; Lipid Metabolism ; Lipoprotein(a) ; Lipoproteins* ; Psoriasis* ; Reference Values ; Vascular Diseases

BACKGROUND: Oral etretinate treatment is associated with the changes in serum lipid concentration and the elevation of serum liver enzymes. In Korea, chronic degenerative diseases like diabetes and hypertension are increasing and the prevalences of HBsAg and chronic liver diseases are much higher than those in western countries. Therefore these changes in serum lipids and liver enzymes during etretinate treatrment are important in Korea as risk factors for atherosclerosis and aggravation of preexisting liver diseases. OBJECTIVE: We tried to observe the sequential pattern, frequency, severity, and relationship between pretreatment value and posttreatment values in the changes of serum lipids and liver enzymes in patients with psoriasis luring etretinate treatment. METHODS: Fourty-one patients with psoriasis were studied during etretinate treatment with the starting dose of 0.5-1.0mg/kg/day. The levels of serum triglyceride, serum cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and sGOT, sGPT was repeatedly determined until the 16th week of etretinate treatment. RESULTS: l. In serum triglyceride and cholesterol, the average of concentrations in each treatment period was usually higher than pretreatment value during the 16 weeks of treatment, but no sequential pattern of changes was observed 2. The number of patients with the maximum of posttreatment values higher than the normal limit were 12(29.3%) in triglyce side, 6(14.6%) in cholesterol, 0 in sGOT, and 5(12.5%) in sGPT. The number of patients with the minimum of posttreatment values lower than the normal limit were 15(36.6%) in HDL-cholesterol. 3. In serum cholesterol, patients with an abnormal pretreatment value are more prone to elevation above the normal limit duriing etretinate treatment than patients with a normal pretreatment value. CONCLUSION: In patients with psoriasis the increases in serum triglyceride, serum cholesterol, sGOT, sGPT and the decrease in HDL-cholesterol were occurred frequently during etretinate treatment. Therefore monitoring of serum lipid concentration and serum liver enzyme levels on a regular basis during etretinate treatment is essential for its safe use in patients with psoriasis, es- pecially in cases of long term etretinate treatment.
Acitretin* ; Alanine Transaminase ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Atherosclerosis ; Cholesterol ; Etretinate* ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Korea ; Liver Diseases ; Liver* ; Prevalence ; Psoriasis* ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides

Massive hemorrhage into an intracranial neurinoma is a rare event. A 42-year old man noticed hearing loss, nystagmus, diplopia and paresthesia on the left side of the face. A computerized tomography scan demonstrated a large high density mass in the left cerebellopontine angle. The tumor was successfully removed and postoperative course was favorable. Such a case of acoustic neurinoma which revealed itself through intratumoral hemorrhage has not been previously reported in Korea.
Adult ; Cerebellopontine Angle ; Diplopia ; Hearing Loss ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Korea ; Neurilemmoma* ; Neuroma, Acoustic ; Paresthesia

BACKGROUND: Majority of hypertension is essential in type, so its clear cue usually is not found, and the patients are tend to be persisted of psychopathy such as emotional tension, depression, anger, anxiety and psychologic conflict, also not to be adapted to stressful event. So we decide to survey the personality characteristics of essential hypertensive patients and factors of psychopathology. METHODS: Patient group-50 persons(male 23, female 27) are selected in the course of antihypertensive medication, being in or outpatient treatment at the dept. of F.M. or I.M. in Kae-jung, Dae-sung or Jung-ang Hospital from August 1, 1995 to July 31, 1996. Control group 52 persons(male 25, female 27) are selected. Exclusision criteria are any clinical disease hystory, over 140/90mmHg of BP, under 20-year old age or no cooperation. We assessment of the MMPI, BDI and STAI results about both group. RESULTS: Comparing hypertensive group with normal control group, significantly higher F, Hs, D, Hy, Pd, Pt and Sc scales of MMPI and BDI(p<0.01), and anxiety scale of STAI(p<0.05). There were no significant differences in all scales comparing between both sexs in the hypertensive and control groups, except comparing hypertensive male with hypertensive female in Pt scale(p<0.05) and control female with control male in Hy scale(p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Comparing essential hypertensive group with normal control group, significant higher score was found in scales of Hypochondriasis, Depression, Hysteria, Psychopathic deviate, Psychasthenia, Schizophrenia and anxiety. And in the treatment of hypertensive patient with antihypertensive drugs, appropriate additive psychotherapy appears useful in the case of revealing psychopathy.
Anger ; Antihypertensive Agents ; Anxiety* ; Cues ; Depression* ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Hypochondriasis ; Hysteria ; Life Change Events ; Male ; MMPI ; Outpatients ; Psychopathology ; Psychotherapy ; Schizophrenia ; Weights and Measures ; Young Adult

Anthracnose symptoms severely occurred up to 50% on leaves of English ivy growing in greenhouses in Cheongwon area of Korea during disease survey in April, 2000. The symptoms developed as concentric spots with dot-like acervuli on leaves of the plant. A total of 24 isolates of Colletotrichum sp. were obtained from the spotted lesions and identified as Colletotrichum trichellum based on the morphological and cultural characteristics. Leaf spots similar to the original anthracnose symptoms were induced on the host leaves by artificial inoculation with the isolates of the fungus. This is the first record of C. trichellum causing anthracnose of English ivy in Korea.
Colletotrichum* ; Cultural Characteristics ; Fungi ; Hedera* ; Korea* ; Plants

Use of the rigid ureteroscope has become widely accepted for the removal of ureteral calculi. We evaluated retrospectively the experience with rigid ureteroscopy from March 1992 to February 1993. We performed 68 ureteroscopies for the removal of stone in 67 patients, overall success rate was 86,8%. 52 stones were treated with sedatives only and l6 stones under the anesthesia. The success rates were 86.5% ( 45/52) and 87.5% (l4/l6) each. We failed to remove ureteral stones in 9 case, the failure of ureteroscope introduction was the most common cause of failure. The most common complication was the ureteral mucosal trauma, that was treated by indwelling of ureteral stent. We conclude that ureteroscopy may be an effective and useful procedure for the treatment of 1ower ureter stone (smaller than 10mm in size) under non-anesthesia.
Anesthesia* ; Humans ; Hypnotics and Sedatives ; Retrospective Studies ; Stents ; Ureter* ; Ureteral Calculi ; Ureteroscopes ; Ureteroscopy

No abstract available.
Abruptio Placentae* ; Female ; Pregnancy

PURPOSE: We report the results of embolization in 42 cases of brain arteriovenous malformation and discuss the technical problems. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Flow-guided microcatheter for the superselection of the feeding arteries and nbutyl cyanoacrylate as an embolic agent were used. Wire guided microcatheter and microparticle were used in two exceptional cases. As preembolization functional evaluation, 30--50mg of thiopental sodium solution was injected into the feeding arteries through superselected microcatheters in 40 cases with supratentorial lesions. RESULTS: There was no local arterial complication by injection of thiopental solution. Embolization caused a permanent neurologic deficit(mild to moderated hemiparesis) in 2 patients (4.8%) by a reflux of embolic agent or probable spasm of main arterial trunk. In 8 patients(19%), the AVMs were completely obliterated and 25 patients(60%) showed anglographic obliterations of 50--90% of the lesions. Embolization induced venous occlusion was demonstrated at post-embolization angiography in 6 patients, and 3 patients of them showed delayed and transient neurologic deficits. CONCLUSION: Embolization of cerebral AVM can be performed effectively and safely by a superselective method and appropriate functional evaluation. Superselective thiopental sodium injection is a safe and reliable test for the evaluation of local brain function before embolization.
Angiography ; Arteries ; Arteriovenous Malformations ; Brain* ; Cyanoacrylates ; Humans ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Spasm ; Thiopental

Several therapeutic methods, expectant management, endourology and ESWL can be used in the treatment of ureteral calculi. In a retrospective analysis during a 3-year period, 96 patients showed spontaneous passage of stones. 164 patients treated with endourologic procedures and 168 who underwent ESWL with a Wolf Piezolith 2300 were analysed as to the success rate in stone removal, complication rate, anesthesia and hospitalization. The mean stone size was 5mm in the expectant management group and 6mm in both endourology and ESWL groups. 11mm was the mean size in the surgical group. Complete removal of all stone fragments was achieved in 52.5% of the expectant managed patients. The overall success rate were comparable with modalities which were 94.5% in endourology and 91.4% in ESWL and 100% in ureterolithotomy. The group treated endourologically had a better success rate but no significant difference to ESWL group. On the other hand, the group treated with ESWL had a shorter hospitalization, lower complication rate, no need for anesthesia. These observations showed that in situ ESWL provides a optimal first line therapy for distal ureteral calculi larger than 5mm, while ureteroscopy is better reserved as a salvage procedure should ESWL fail. Expectant management is more efficient for distal ureteral calculi less than 5mm.
Anesthesia ; Hand ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Ureter* ; Ureteral Calculi ; Ureteroscopy ; Wolves