Primary amenorrhea due to intrasella arachnoid cyst is a very rare disease and require careful and frequent evaluation because may produce intracranial hemorrhage, elevated intracranial pressure and rapid expansion. Surgical intervention is needed only when visual disturbance, hypopituitarism or enlarging lesion is shown. Thus, we present a case of primary amenorrhea due to intrasella arachnoid cyst which was resected through the transsphenoidal approach.
Amenorrhea ; Arachnoid* ; Female ; Hypogonadism* ; Hypopituitarism ; Intracranial Hemorrhages ; Intracranial Hypertension ; Rare Diseases

PURPOSE: We evaluated the MR and CT findings of the masticator space lesions in order to identify the differences among the malignant and benign tumors and infectious conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MR and CT findings in 46 cases with proven masticator space lesions were reviewed retrospectively. We analysed the involvement of masticator muscles, adjacent spaces, orbit and intracrahium, homogeneity, necrosis, cystic changes, growth patterns, calcifications, enhancement patterns, MR signal intensity, and CT attenuation. RESULTS: Among the 29 cases of malignant tumors, seven cases were mandibular tumors including four chondrosarcomas, and 22 cases were extramandibular tumors. Malignant tumors of mandibular origin showed large masses with severe bone destruction and epicenter of mandible. Extramandiblular malignant tumors showed the epicenter out of the mandible and less severe bone destruction than mandibular tumors: Among the nine benign tumors, four cases were ameloblastomas which showed the well-defined masses and the expansion of the mandible, and four cases were extramandibular tumors which showed well-marginated extramandibular masses with no bone destruction. Among the eight infectious conditions, five cases were mandibular osteomyelitis with or without abscess formations, and the other three cases were infections from adjacent soft tissue or limited to the soft tissue. CONCLUSION: By careful observations of growth patterns, involvement of the masticator and adjacent spaces, bone changes, and epicenter of the lesions, one can discriminate a mandibular lesion from an extramandibular lesion. With this approach, it is thought to be easier to suggest a dignosis among a wide spectrum of masticator lesions.
Abscess ; Ameloblastoma ; Chondrosarcoma ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Mandible ; Muscles ; Necrosis ; Orbit ; Osteomyelitis ; Retrospective Studies

Diploic arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) or intraosseous dural AVFs are rare arteriovenous shunts. A diploic AVF is formed between a meningeal artery and an intraosseous diploic vein or the transosseous emissary vein, and the nidus is located exclusively within the bone. Currently, endovascular embolization with a transvenous approach is considered the treatment of choice for most dural AVFs. However, in the absence of an accessible venous channel, an alternate treatment approach should be considered. Herein, we report a case of a diploic AVF that was treated using embolization with transosseous direct cannulation.

Sonography with a high-frequency transducer is the modality of choice for imaging the scrotum. Most intratesticular lesions are hypoechoic. Differentiation of intratesticular hypoechoic lesions as either malignant or benign is important because the treatment of these lesions vary. In this paper, we review the sonographic features of different types of intratesticular hypoechoic lesions, such as testicular cysts, testicular tumors, testicular inflammatory lesions, segmental testicular infarction, and testicular trauma.

PURPOSE: To better understand the performance of four commercially available neurovascular stents in intracranial aneurysm embolization, the stents were compared in terms of their basic morphological and mechanical properties. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four different types of stents that are currently being used for cerebral aneurysm embolization were prepared (two stents per type). Two were laser-cut stents (Neuroform and Enterprise) and two were braided from a single nitinol wire (LEO and LVIS stents). All were subjected to quantitative measurements of stent size, pore density, metal coverage, the force needed to load, push, and deploy the stent, radial force on deployment, surface roughness, and corrosion resistance. RESULTS: Compared to their nominal diameters, all stents had greater diameters after deployment. The length generally decreased after deployment. This was particularly marked in the braided stents. The braided stents also had higher pore densities than the laser-cut stents. Metal coverage was highest in the LEO stent (14%) and lowest in the Enterprise stent (5%). The LIVS stent had the highest microcatheter loading force (81.5 gf). The LEO stent had the highest passage force (55.0 gf) and deployment force (78.9 gf). The LVIS and LEO stents had the highest perpendicular (37.1 gf) and circumferential (178.4 gf) radial forces, respectively. The Enterprise stent had the roughest stent wire, followed by the LVIS, LEO, and Neuroform stents. CONCLUSION: The four neurovascular stent types differed in terms of morphological and physical characteristics. An understanding of this diversity may help to decide which stent is most suitable for specific clinical situations.
Corrosion ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Stents*

No abstract available.
Adult* ; Humans ; Korea* ; Prevalence* ; Seoul* ; Urolithiasis*

OBJECTIVES: Although enhanced appetite and weight gain are potential side effects of treatment with antipsychotic agents, the mechanism is poorly understood. Ghrelin is a newly discovered appetite-stimulating peptide that has a role in the regulation of feeding behavior. Ghrelin is synthesized principally in the stomach, and the concentration of circulating ghrelin is negatively correlated with body fat mass. This study was designed to investigate the correlation between plasma ghrelin levels and weight gain following risperidone treatment. METHOD: Thirty-six schizophrenia patients, according to DSM-IV criteria, who did not take any antipsychotic medications for the previous two months were recruited. All the patients were administrated with 2-6 mg/day of risperidone for 8 weeks. Plasma ghrelin levels, weight and height of these subjects were measured before and after 2, 4, 6, 8 weeks administration of risperidone. The concentrations of growth hormone, insulin, glucose and lipid metabolic parameters were measured before and after 8 weeks administration of risperidone. RESULTS: The body mass index (BMI) and body weight increased, whereas the plasma level of total and active ghrelin decreased significantly after risperidone treatment (p<0.01). The changes in total and active ghrelin level were negatively correlated with the changes in BMI and body weight (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Plasma ghrelin concentration decreased, whereas body weight and body mass index (BMI) increased in schizophrenia patients treated with risperidone. Our results suggest that ghrelin is negatively correlated with risperidone induced weight gain.
Adipose Tissue ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Appetite ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Feeding Behavior ; Ghrelin* ; Glucose ; Growth Hormone ; Humans ; Insulin ; Plasma* ; Risperidone* ; Schizophrenia ; Stomach ; Weight Gain*

BACKGROUND: With the development of bioengineering techniques for noninvasive characterization of skin pathophysiology, the induction of irritant dermatitis by surfactants has been extensively studied. OBJECTIVE: We performed this study to compare the skin responses in terms of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and erythema induced by benzalkonium chloride (BAC), a well-known non-corrosive irritant, in comparison with sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), a representative corrosive irritant. METHOD: We applied 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, and 2% solutions of BAC and SLS on volar forearm skin for 24 hours using a large Finn chamber with filter paper disc on 19 normal healthy subjects. TEWL and erythema index (E-index) were measured prior to testing, then at 30 minutes, one day, two days, three days, one week, and two weeks after the removal of the patches. RESULTS: TEWL values of BAC and SLS patch areas increased with concentration. However, BAC induced a significantly lower TEWL increase than SLS did at the corresponding concentrations. TEWL induced by BAC was highest at 30 minutes after the removal of the patch, whereas TEWL induced by SLS was highest at one day. TEWL values had recovered with the passage of time to baseline values at 2 weeks after removal of the patch at lower concentrations (0.1, 0.2, 0.5%) of SLS, but still showed significantly high TEWL values at 1% and 2% concentration SLS patch areas. TEWL values of BAC in 0.1, 0.2, 0.5 and 1% concentrations had recovered to the baseline values at 2 weeks after the removal of the patch, but not in 2% concentration BAC patch areas. E-indices of BAC and SLS increased with concentration in a similar reaction pattern. E-index induced by BAC was highest at 30 minutes after the removal of the patch, and E-index induced by SLS was highest at 30 minutes or 1 day after the removal of the patch. E-index of each concentration, except 2%, had recovered with the passage of time to baseline values on both BAC and SLS patch areas at 2 weeks, but E-indices of both 2% BAC and SLS did not recover at 2 weeks. CONCLUSION: Benzalkonium chloride showed much less damage to the skin barrier function compared to the corresponding concentration of SLS, whilst they showed a similar degree of erythema. Skin barrier function affected by the corrosive irritant SLS would need a more prolonged recovery time than skin barrier disruption by non-corrosive irritant BAC.
Benzalkonium Compounds* ; Bioengineering ; Dermatitis, Irritant ; Erythema ; Forearm ; Skin* ; Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate* ; Sodium* ; Surface-Active Agents

OBJECTIVE: Delirium is defined as an alteration in mental status characterized by brief disturbances in consciousness and attention, cognition, and perception that tend to fluctuate during the course of the day. Traditionally, haloperidol has been used to treat agitation as it may occur in delirium. However, atypical antipsychotics are increasingly used to treat delirium itself. A comparative study was undertaken to compare the clinical efficacy of haloperidol and aripiprazole for the treatment of delirium. METHODS: Forty patients (20 patients assigned to haloperidol and 20 to aripiprazole) diagnosed with delirium by DSM IV-TR were recruited and randomly assigned to receive a flexible-dose regimen of haloperidol or aripiprazole over 7 days. The severity of delirium was assessed by using the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 scores (DRS-R-98). RESULTS: DRS-R-98 severity scores for each group decreased significantly over the study period (p<0.01), but no statistically significant difference was detected between the two groups (p=0.607). CONCLUSION: These data show no statistically significant difference in efficacy between haloperidol and aripiprazole in the treatment of delirium. Since haloperidol has great potential for causing extrapyramidal symptoms(EPS), aripiprazole, a medication with known low side effects, may be an effective alternative agent in the treatment of delirium.
Antipsychotic Agents ; Cognition ; Consciousness ; Delirium* ; Dihydroergotamine ; Haloperidol* ; Humans ; Aripiprazole

Neuroblastomas are sometimes associated with abnormal constitutional karyotypes, but the XYY karyotype has been rarely described in neuroblastomas. Here, we report a case of an esthesioneuroblastoma in a boy with a 47, XYY karyotype. A 6-year-old boy was admitted to our hospital because of nasal obstruction and palpable cervical lymph node, which he first noticed several days previously. A polypoid mass in the right nasal cavity was detected through sinuscopy. Biopsy of the right nasal polyp was performed. Based on the result, the patient was diagnosed with a high-grade esthesioneuroblastoma. Nuclear imaging revealed increased uptake in both the right posterior nasal cavity and the right cervical IB-II space, suggesting metastatic lymph nodes. Cytogenetic analysis revealed a 47, XYY karyotype. Twelve courses of concurrent chemotherapy were administered. Three years after the completion of chemotherapy, the patient had had no disease recurrence. He manifested behavioral violence and temper tantrums, so we started methylphenidate for correction of the behavior.
Biopsy ; Child ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Cytogenetic Analysis ; Drug Therapy ; Esthesioneuroblastoma, Olfactory* ; Humans ; Karyotype ; Lymph Nodes ; Male* ; Methylphenidate ; Nasal Cavity ; Nasal Obstruction ; Nasal Polyps ; Neuroblastoma ; Recurrence ; Violence ; XYY Karyotype*