Townes-Brocks syndrome is an uncommon autosomal dominant condition first described by Townes and Brocks in 1972. We experienced a newborn female who presented with clinical findings of Townes-Brocks syndrome in an otherwise unaffected family. The patient showed the full spectrum of anomalies including anterior placed anus, triphalangeal thumb, preaxial polydactyly, pre-auricular tags, microtia without opening, sensorineural hearing loss and unilateral renal agenesis.
Anal Canal ; Female ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Polydactyly ; Thumb

PURPOSE: Polyethylene glycol(PEG) with electrolytes has been used for intestinal clearance for colonoscopy and operations in children. But its efficacy and safety for disimpaction in children with chronic functional constipation has been studied little. METHODS: This study enrolled 26 patients with chronic functional constipation(11 children had failed to disimpaction by conventional management at OPD) who were admitted to the Eul-Ji Hospital between May 2000 and July 2003. PEG with electrolytes was administered per oral and/or rectal enema. We observed the effects for disimpaction by measuring the frequency and consistency of stools, and by simple abdominal X-ray. We evaluated the safety by measuring serum electrolytes and osmolarity in three hours after PEG with electrolytes administration, and by observation of the clinical status of the patients. The protocol of PEG with electrolytes was a dose of 60-80 mL/kg within three hours per oral and/or of 15-25 mL/kg by rectal enema. RESULTS: In all patients, simple abdominal X-ray films showed improvements of fecal impaction. Consistency and frequency of stool were improved in all patients except one. As for side effects, diarrhea developed in three patients(11.5% of all patients). Headaches developed in one patient(3.8% of all patients) but it improved without treatment. Serum electrolytes was checked in 16 patients after PEG with electrolytes management and mild hypernatremia(146 mmol/L) was checked in one patient. Serum osmolarity was checked in 11 patients after PEG with electrolytes management and was normal in all patients. CONCLUSION: PEG with electrolytes was effective and safe for disimpaction in children with chronic functional constipation, including patients who had failed in disimpaction by conventional management.
Child* ; Colonoscopy ; Constipation* ; Diarrhea ; Electrolytes* ; Enema ; Fecal Impaction ; Headache ; Humans ; Osmolar Concentration ; Polyethylene Glycols ; Polyethylene* ; X-Ray Film

Galectin-4 (Gal-4) is a β-galactoside-binding protein mostly expressed in the gastrointestinal tract of animals. Although intensive functional studies have been done for other galectin isoforms, the immunoregulatory function of Gal-4 still remains ambiguous. Here, we demonstrated that Gal-4 could bind to CD14 on monocytes and induce their differentiation into macrophage-like cells through the MAPK signaling pathway. Gal-4 induced the phenotypic changes on monocytes by altering the expression of various surface molecules, and induced functional changes such as increased cytokine production and matrix metalloproteinase expression and reduced phagocytic capacity. Concomitant with these changes, Gal-4-treated monocytes became adherent and showed elongated morphology with higher expression of macrophage markers. Notably, we found that Gal-4 interacted with CD14 and activated the MAPK signaling cascade. Therefore, these findings suggest that Gal-4 may exert the immunoregulatory functions through the activation and differentiation of monocytes.
Animals ; Antigens, CD14 ; Cell Differentiation ; Galectin 4 ; Galectins ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Macrophages ; Monocytes ; Protein Isoforms

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to objectively and systematically investigate the effect of Kinesio taping by organizing and analyzing the research results using effect size. Methods: A total of 1,000 papers was searched, and 100 of them were selected the first time. Afterward, the effects of taping were analyzed and classified papers that studied balance, muscle strength, and pain, and finally 34 papers were selected. The effect size was calculated using the Effect Size Calculators (University of Colorado, USA) program. Statistical analysis was performed by using PASW Statistics software version 23.0 (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA). Descriptive statistics were used to obtain the effect size and confidence interval for each group. Results: In a study related to balance control ability, the effect size was 1.519 in the young subjects group (20-39 years old), and the effect size in the elderly group (65 years or older) was 0.360. In a study related to muscle strength, the effect size was 0.469 in the group of young subjects and 0.250 in the middle-aged group (40-65 years old), and the effect size of the elderly group was 0.848. In the study related to pain control, the effect size was 0.469 in the young group, the effect size of the middle-aged group was 0.972, and the effect size of the elderly group was 1.040. Conclusion Kinesio taping differed in the degree of effect according to the age group of the subjects, but it was effective in balance control ability, muscle strength, and pain.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to objectively and systematically investigate the effect of Kinesio taping by organizing and analyzing the research results using effect size. Methods: A total of 1,000 papers was searched, and 100 of them were selected the first time. Afterward, the effects of taping were analyzed and classified papers that studied balance, muscle strength, and pain, and finally 34 papers were selected. The effect size was calculated using the Effect Size Calculators (University of Colorado, USA) program. Statistical analysis was performed by using PASW Statistics software version 23.0 (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA). Descriptive statistics were used to obtain the effect size and confidence interval for each group. Results: In a study related to balance control ability, the effect size was 1.519 in the young subjects group (20-39 years old), and the effect size in the elderly group (65 years or older) was 0.360. In a study related to muscle strength, the effect size was 0.469 in the group of young subjects and 0.250 in the middle-aged group (40-65 years old), and the effect size of the elderly group was 0.848. In the study related to pain control, the effect size was 0.469 in the young group, the effect size of the middle-aged group was 0.972, and the effect size of the elderly group was 1.040. Conclusion Kinesio taping differed in the degree of effect according to the age group of the subjects, but it was effective in balance control ability, muscle strength, and pain.

We report on a case of malignant pleural effusion as initial metastatic presentation of occult gastric cardia cancer in a young woman. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of gastric adenocarcinoma metastasized to pleura as an initial presentation. Location of cardia and signet ring cell histology may contribute to the manifestation. Utilization of positron emission tomography-computed tomography was helpful for proper diagnosis. For patients with such distinct clinical presentations, it would be appropriate to consider gastric cancer as one of the possible primary sites.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoma, Signet Ring Cell ; Cardia* ; Diagnosis* ; Electrons ; Female ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Pleura ; Pleural Effusion, Malignant ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Stomach Neoplasms

Non-typhoid salmonella infection frequently associated with bacteremia has rarely been reported in immunocompromized patients with malignant neoplasms, diabetes or extended use of corticosteroids. Especially, concomitant pleural empyema and pericarditis due to non-typhoid salmonella infection is extremely rare. Here, we report a case of concomitant empyema and pericarditis in malignant thymoma with pleural metastasis complicated by salmonella group D infection with brief review of literature.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Bacteremia ; Empyema* ; Empyema, Pleural ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Pericarditis* ; Salmonella Infections ; Salmonella* ; Thymoma*

Background: Although patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience high morbidity and mortality worldwide, few biomarkers are available for COPD.Here, we analyzed potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of COPD by using word embedding. Methods: To determine which biomarkers are likely to be associated with COPD, we selected respiratory disease-related biomarkers. Degrees of similarity between the 26 selected biomarkers and COPD were measured by word embedding. And we infer the similarity with COPD through the word embedding model trained in the large-capacity medical corpus, and search for biomarkers with high similarity among them. We used Word2Vec, Canonical Correlation Analysis, and Global Vector for word embedding. We evaluated the associations of selected biomarkers with COPD parameters in a cohort of patients with COPD. Results: Cytokeratin 19 fragment (Cyfra 21-1) was selected because of its high similarity and its significant correlation with the COPD phenotype. Serum Cyfra 21-1 levels were determined in patients with COPD and controls (4.3 ± 5.9 vs. 3.9 ± 3.6 ng/mL, P = 0.611). The emphysema index was significantly correlated with the serum Cyfra 21-1 level (correlation coefficient = 0.219,P = 0.015). Conclusion Word embedding may be used for the discovery of biomarkers for COPD and Cyfra 21-1 may be used as a biomarker for emphysema. Additional studies are needed to validate Cyfra 21-1 as a biomarker for COPD.

Background: Although patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience high morbidity and mortality worldwide, few biomarkers are available for COPD.Here, we analyzed potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of COPD by using word embedding. Methods: To determine which biomarkers are likely to be associated with COPD, we selected respiratory disease-related biomarkers. Degrees of similarity between the 26 selected biomarkers and COPD were measured by word embedding. And we infer the similarity with COPD through the word embedding model trained in the large-capacity medical corpus, and search for biomarkers with high similarity among them. We used Word2Vec, Canonical Correlation Analysis, and Global Vector for word embedding. We evaluated the associations of selected biomarkers with COPD parameters in a cohort of patients with COPD. Results: Cytokeratin 19 fragment (Cyfra 21-1) was selected because of its high similarity and its significant correlation with the COPD phenotype. Serum Cyfra 21-1 levels were determined in patients with COPD and controls (4.3 ± 5.9 vs. 3.9 ± 3.6 ng/mL, P = 0.611). The emphysema index was significantly correlated with the serum Cyfra 21-1 level (correlation coefficient = 0.219,P = 0.015). Conclusion Word embedding may be used for the discovery of biomarkers for COPD and Cyfra 21-1 may be used as a biomarker for emphysema. Additional studies are needed to validate Cyfra 21-1 as a biomarker for COPD.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The reported frequency of stress-induced cardiomyopathy (SCMP, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy) is increasing; however, there are no data regarding predictors of in-hospital mortality and the recovery of left ventricular (LV) systolic function in patients with SCMP. Therefore, in this study, we sought to identify clinical predictors of in-hospital mortality and of the recovery of LV dysfunction in Korean patients with SCMP. METHODS: From November 2004 to November 2010, 155 patients who fulfilled the clinical diagnostic criteria of the Mayo clinic for SCMP were enrolled retrospectively from eight medical centers in Korea. We checked in-hospital deaths and compared the LV ejection fraction (LVEF) and wall-motion score index (WMSI) upon enrollment for each patient with that after 1 week using echocardiograms. A total of 55 continuous variables and 52 nominal variables were analyzed to find variables associated with in-hospital mortality and the recovery of LV dysfunction. All significant variables were entered into a logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 64 +/- 15 years; 118 (76.1%) patients were female. The in-hospital mortality rate was 5.2% (n = 8). An elevated initial platelet count was identified as a predictor of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [95% CI]: 0.99 [0.99-1.00]). There were no predictors of the recovery of LVEF. Predictors of the recovery of WMSI were an absence of arrhythmic events (odds ratio [95% CI]: 22.89 [1.98-265.34]) and an elevated initial LV end-systolic diameter (odds ratio [95% CI]: 0.86 [0.74-1.00]). CONCLUSIONS: An initial absence of arrhythmic events and elevated LV end-diastolic pressure in patients with SCMP may be predictors of the timely recovery of LV dysfunction.
Cardiomyopathies ; Female ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Platelet Count ; Retrospective Studies ; Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy ; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left