No abstract available.
Myopathy, Central Core*

Venous thrombectomy and temporary arteriovenous (AV) fistula are performed for the treatment of iliofemoral venous thrombosis. The theory behind creation of an AV fistula is to increase venous flow, thereby maintaining patency. But AV fistula might induce severe peripheral venous hypertension in the condition of proximal venous segment reocclusion. A 62-year-old woman who developed severe peripheral venous hypertension after postthrombectomy AV fistula visited our clinic. We treated this patient with simple ligation of the AV fistula.
Arteriovenous Fistula ; Female ; Fistula ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Ligation ; Middle Aged ; Thrombectomy ; Venous Thrombosis

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to provide a basic data of female alcoholics by understanding the gender differences of the clinical characteristics including demographic characteristics, alcoholic history, family history, drinking patterns, reasons for drinking, and comorbidity in male and female alcoholics. It also ained to establish the therapeutic plans through understanding the patterns of disease and the patterns of family cooperation in female alcoholics. METHODS: The study subjects consisted of 51 male and female alcoholics admitted to a mental hospital from January 1, 1991 to May 31, 1996. Subjects were age- and sex-matched. We reviewed patients' charts and administered questionaires. Mean age of female alcoholics was 44.45+/-11.02 years and that of male alcoholics was 44.17+/-10.08 years. All male and female patients met with the DSM-III-R criteria of alcohol dependence. RESULTS: Female alcoholics were later in drinking-onset age, and to had shorter duration of previous drinking history and less average amount of daily drinking than male alcoholics. And female alcoholics were found to seek treatment more voluntarily, and to have less frequent delirium tremens after admission and less medical complications such as hepatitis and diabetes mellitus. Also female alcoholics had more frustration experiences of separation such as death of family member, divorce, and husband's physical abuse. Female alcoholic's families had more uncooperative attitude toward treatment such as threat to divorce after admission. CONCLUSIONS: There were many differences between male and female alcoholics of demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, and patterns of family cooperation. Female alcoholics were found to have more experiences of psychosocial frustration including death of family member and marital conflicts, and more uncooperative attitude of her family members. Therefore, it is required that therapists consider the characteristics of female alcoholics upon treatment and prevention, and have more concern about female alcoholics.
Alcohol Withdrawal Delirium ; Alcoholics* ; Alcoholism ; Comorbidity ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Divorce ; Drinking ; Family Conflict ; Female* ; Frustration ; Hepatitis ; Hospitals, Psychiatric* ; Humans ; Inpatients* ; Male

The obturator foramen bypass has been described as an alternative procedure to solve complicated vascular problems in the groin. This extra-anatomical bypass has been used successfully in cases of infection, mycotic aneurysm, traumatic ulcer, irradiation ulcer, and excessively scarred tissues in the femoral region. We experienced two cases of iliopopliteal bypass through obturator foramen in femoral artery mycotic aneurysm and graft infection after femoral-femoral bypass.
Aneurysm, Infected ; Cicatrix ; Femoral Artery ; Groin ; Transplants ; Ulcer

Twenty patients with Buerger's disease who were not candidates for reconstructive arterial surgery were treated by PGE1(Lipo PGE1(R) ) for 1 Month. All patients were injected with 50microgram of alprostadil intravenously once a day. Clinical effects were evaluated by improvement of ischemic symptom and healing rate on gangrenous foot and side effects. Clinical efficacy by combined assessment of markedly improved, improved, slightly improved was 70%. 5 of 8 patient who had gangrenous foot showed improved healed state. Adverse effect was found in only one patient who had minimal gum bleeding. However there was no deterioration on chemical profile including CBC, liver function test, urinary analysis, CRP and ESR. The results suggest that Lipo PGE1(R) has a beneficial effect on Buerger's disease without significant adverse effect.
Alprostadil ; Foot ; Gingiva ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Liver Function Tests ; Thromboangiitis Obliterans

Acoustics ; Adult ; Humans ; Malocclusion ; Mandible ; Noise ; Osteotomy, Sagittal Split Ramus

PURPOSE: Free-floating thrombus (FFT) of the aorta is very rare but has a high risk of distal embolization. While the necessity of treating such a condition is evident, the diagnostic and therapeutic modalities remain controversial. Thus, we reviewed seven cases of FFT of the aorta. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed usings even patients diagnosed with FFT of the aorta at the Catholic University of Korea between January 1999 and December 2008. We excluded those patients who had thrombi with concomitant atherosclerotic or aneurysmal aorta. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 59.6+/-13.6 years old. The male-to-female ratio was 3:4. Embolization to arteries of the extremities occurred in two patients and to visceral arteries in four patients. Of these seven patients, four were initially treated with anticoagulation, and two were initially treated with thrombectomy; one patient refused any kind of treatment. Of the four patients treated with anticoagulation, three experienced complete dissolution of the thrombi while anticoagulation proved ineffective in the remaining patient who subsequently underwent thrombectomy. In all of the three patients who had received thrombectomy, postoperative anticoagulation was employed. There was no recurrence of FFT of the aorta during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Were commend systemic anticoagulation with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) as the first line of treatment for FFT of the aorta. If the thrombus persists or recurrent embolism occurs during anticoagulation therapy, surgery should be undertaken.
Aneurysm ; Aorta* ; Arteries ; Embolism ; Extremities ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight ; Humans ; Korea ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Thrombectomy ; Thrombosis*

A deep vein thrombosis(DVT) is responsible for a number of significant medical problems including pulmonary embolisms. The factors that cause DVT have been studied by many investigators. The cases of 31 DVT patients, 19 males and 12 females, who were treated from January 1994 through January 1996, were reviewed. The mean age was 47.3 15.9 years. Four cases(12.9%) affected the right leg, 25 cases(80.6%) on the left leg, and 2 cases(6.5%) the portal vein and the mesenteric vein. Among the 29 lower extremity DVT cases, 16 cases(51.6%) showed ipsilateral iliac vein thromboses and 1 case(3.2%) showed an inferior vena cava thrombosis. Five cases(16.1%) had a history of an explo-laparotomy, 2 cases(6.5%) had a history of immobilization, 1 case(3.2%) had a history of trauma to the involved leg, and 2 cases(6.5%) had a history of collagen disease. However, 21 cases(67.7%) had no history of any predisposing factors. Five cases(16.1%) were confirmed as protein C deficiency, 3 cases(9.7%) as protein S deficiency, 4 cases(12.9%) as antithrombin III deficiency, 3 cases(9.7%) as plasminogen deficiency, and 6 cases(19.4%) as -2 antiplasmin deficiency. Ten(32.3%) of the 31 cases had multiple coagulation factor deficiency. Three patients(9.7%) had been inserted with Greenfield filter into the inferior vena cava. Initially, unfractionated heparin was injected intravenously under the control of the activated partial thromboplastin time(aPTT) until the warfarin effect reached INR 1.75~2.0. Only 5 of the 31 cases agreed to a family to study to detect any possible coagulation factor abnormality. Three of these 5 families showed coagulation factor abnormality. Our results show that more extensive study on DVT is needed in the Korean population.
Antithrombin III ; Antithrombin III Deficiency ; Blood Coagulation Factors* ; Causality ; Collagen Diseases ; Female ; Heparin ; Humans ; Iliac Vein ; Immobilization ; International Normalized Ratio ; Korea* ; Leg ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Mesenteric Veins ; Plasminogen ; Portal Vein ; Protein C ; Protein C Deficiency ; Protein S ; Protein S Deficiency ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Research Personnel ; Thromboplastin ; Thrombosis ; Veins ; Vena Cava, Inferior ; Venous Thrombosis* ; Warfarin

PURPOSE: RUNX3, a novel tumor suppressor, is frequently inactivated in gastric cancer. In the present study, we examined the pattern of RUNX3 expression in gastric cancer cells from gastric cancer specimens and the impact of its alteration on clinical outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 124 samples of both gastric cancer and normal tissue were obtained from 124 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy at the Seoul Medical Center from January 2001 to December 2005. RUNX3 expression was determined by immunohistochemical staining, and the results were analyzed. Statistical analysis wabased on clinicopathological findings and differences in survival rates. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 61 years, and the male:female ratio was 1.9:1. The expression rate of RUNX3 was 59.7% (74/124). The expression rate was higher in differentiated gastric cancers (nucleus: 9.1%, cytoplasm: 57.6%) than in the undifferentiated types (nucleus: 5.2%, cytoplasm: 46.6%) (P=0.133). The 5-year survival rates according to RUNX3 expression determined from cancer tissue were 88.9% for the nucleus +/- cytoplasm(+) group of patients, 76.1% for the cytoplasm only (+) group of patients, and 65.3% for the RUNX3 negative expression group of patients (P=0.626). Only UICC TNM staging showed statistical significance related to the survival rate, as determined by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: The RUNX3 expression rate was higher in differentiated gastric cancer than in the undifferentiated types without significance. Although RUNX3 expression predicted better survival, based on multivariate analysis, the finding was not statistically significant. More cases should be further evaluated.
Cytoplasm ; Gastrectomy ; Humans* ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Seoul ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Survival Rate

Ceramide has emerged as a novel second messenger for intracellular signalling. It is produced from sphingomyelin and is involved in the control of cell differntiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. C2- ceramide, short chain ceramide, plays a role in mediating contraction of cat esophageal smooth muscle cells. We examined the effect of synthesized ceramide analogues on the C2-ceramide and ACh-induced contraction in esophageal smooth muscle cells isolated with collagenase. CY3523, CY3525, or CY3723 inhibited C2-ceramide induced contraction, in a time dependent manne. Each analogue also inhibited the contraction in concentration dependent manners. CY 3523, CY 3525, and CY 3723 had no effect to the contraction induced by PMA. The inhibition with CY3523, CY3525 and CY3723 on the C2- ceramide induced contraction was recovered by PMA. These analogues decreased the density of MAPK bands (p44/42 or p38) in the western blot. These results suggest that ceramide analogues can inhibit C2-ceramide induced contraction via PKC and MAPK dependent pathway.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Cats ; Collagenases ; Contracts ; Muscle, Smooth ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Negotiating ; Protein Kinase C ; Relaxation ; Second Messenger Systems ; Sphingosine