OBJECTIVE: This study is a retrospective cost-benefit analysis of cervical anterior interbody fusion and cervical artificial disc replacement, which are the main surgical methods to treat degenerative cervical disc disease.METHODS: We analyzed 156 patients who underwent anterior cervical disc fusion and cervical artificial disc replacement from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2009, diagnosed with degenerative cervical disc disorder. In this study, the costs and benefits were analyzed by using quality adjusted life year (QALY) as the outcome index for patients undergoing surgery, and a Markov model was used for the analysis. Only direct medical costs were included in the analysis; indirect medical costs were excluded. Data were analyzed with TreeAge Pro 2015™ (TreeAge Software, Inc, Williamstown, MA, USA).RESULTS: Patients who underwent cervical anterior fusion had a total cost of KRW 2501807/USD 2357 over 5 years and obtained a utility of 3.72 QALY. Patients who underwent cervical artificial disc replacement received 4.18 QALY for a total of KRW 3685949/USD 3473 over 5 years. The cumulative cost-effectiveness ratio of cervical spine replacement surgery was KRW 2549511/QALY (USD 2402/QALY), which was lower than the general Korean payment standard.CONCLUSION: Both cervical anterior fusion and cervical artificial disc replacement are cost-effective treatments for patients with degenerative cervical disc disease. Cervical artificial disc replacement may be an effective alternative to obtain more benefits.
Cervical Vertebrae ; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Quality-Adjusted Life Years ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Fusion ; Spine ; Total Disc Replacement

The brain consists of heterogeneous populations of neuronal and non-neuronal cells. The revelation of their connections and interactions is fundamental to understanding normal brain functions as well as abnormal changes in pathological conditions. Optogenetics and chemogenetics have been developed to allow functional manipulations both in vitro and in vivo to examine causal relationships between cellular changes and functional outcomes. These techniques are based on genetically encoded effector molecules that respond exclusively to exogenous stimuli, such as a certain wavelength of light or a synthetic ligand. Activation of effector molecules provokes diverse intracellular changes, such as an influx or efflux of ions, depolarization or hyperpolarization of membranes, and activation of intracellular signaling cascades. Optogenetics and chemogenetics have been applied mainly to the study of neuronal circuits, but their use in studying non-neuronal cells has been gradually increasing. Here we introduce recent studies that have employed optogenetics and chemogenetics to reveal the function of astrocytes and gliotransmitters.
Astrocytes* ; Brain ; In Vitro Techniques ; Ions ; Membranes ; Neurons ; Optogenetics*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It takes considerable time and effort to make decisions about management and follow up for the thyroid cancer. Also there are risks of incorrectness or confusion on the part of thyroid specialists. We developed a thyroid cancer calculator that does automatic thyroid cancer staging, prognosis predicting and suggesting follow-up strategies in order to reduce the burden of thyroid specialists who have to memorize a lot of guidelines and statistics, and to give consistency to the treatment plan. MATERIALS AND METHOD: An automatic thyroid cancer calculator was developed by using a computer program called 'Qt 5.2 version', based on patient demographics, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up status. This partly cited the history of prior thyroid cancer or other cancer registration, and focused on the specification of differentiated thyroid cancer. RESULTS: The program consisted of survival, recurrence and, dynamic re-stratification with follow-up. The patient registration form consisted of identification number, name and operation date, and patients needed to enter their thyroid cancer status, including clinical and pathologic information after registration. The entered information could be easily accessed in a few seconds. The program helped to update patient's current status, promptly collect data for clinical studies of thyroid cancers and provide better patient care. This program was simple, convenient and time-saving for users as it specifically contained important thyroid cancer items. CONCLUSION: Although this program is still in its primitive stage, the Kosin thyroid calculator reduces the workload of thyroid specialists and prevents the loss of clinical data. Furthermore, it could be a useful tool for the management and research of thyroid cancer.
Demography ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Neoplasm Staging ; Patient Care ; Prognosis* ; Recurrence ; Specialization ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms*

Intradialytic hypotension during dialysis adversely affects a patient's prognosis and increases mortality. We report a case in which intradialytic hypotension that persisted after the administration of midodrine was relieved after the use of fludrocortisone. Administration of 0.2 mg of fludrocortisone occurred 30 minutes before dialysis. We compared 45 sessions of dialysis without fludrocortisone administration and 45 sessions of dialysis with fludrocortisone administration in one patient. The number of times in which systolic blood pressure became lower than 80 mmHg and the number of early terminations of dialysis due to a decrease in systolic blood pressure were higher in the sessions without fludrocortisone administration than in the sessions with fludrocortisone administration (P < 0.05). Fludrocortisone may be helpful for the treatment of intradialytic hypotension that does not respond to midodrine administration.
Blood Pressure ; Dialysis ; Fludrocortisone* ; Humans ; Hypotension* ; Midodrine ; Mortality ; Prognosis ; Renal Dialysis

Lichen planus (LP) is an inflammatory dermatosis of an idiopathic origin that can involve the skin, mucous membranes, hair and nails. Nail involvement occurs in 10% of patients with LP and permanent damage of at least one nail occurs in approximately 4% of these patients. LP limited to the nails without cutaneous involvement has rarely been reported in the literature. We report here on six cases of LP limited to the nails. The two patients presented as 20 nail dystrophy characterized by nail roughness and excessive longitudinal ridges. The other patients presented with typical nail LP that was characterized by nail plate thinning with longitudinal ridges and fissures.
Hair ; Humans ; Lichen Planus ; Lichens ; Mucous Membrane ; Nails ; Skin ; Skin Diseases

BACKGROUND: Tranexamic acid (TXA), a plasmin inhibitor, has been used orally or via intradermal injection to treat melasma; however, there are limited studies regarding efficacy and safety of topical application of TXA. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of topical tranexamic acid in treatment of melasma. METHODS: We enrolled 25 female volunteers with melasma in a split-face trial lasting 10 weeks. Patients were instructed to apply cream containing tranexamic acid on only the right side of their face every night without application on the other side. The pigmentary index (PI) using API-100 and Melasma Area and Severity Index (MASI) were measured at 0, 5, and 10 weeks. Patient satisfaction questionnaires and safety evaluation by a dermatologist were performed at each follow-up visit. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients completed the study, and we noted reduction in both, mean MASI and PI scores. The mean MASI score was 7.75±5.10 at baseline, 6.72±4.25 at week 5, and 6.26±3.76 at week 10 p=0.008). The mean PI score on the right side of the face was 40.56±22.51 at baseline, 29.96±16.62 at week 5, and 26.88±15.97 at week 10. The PI on the right side of the face decreased by 26.1% (p<0.001) at week 5 and 33.7% (p<0.001) at week 10 compared to the baseline. Mean PI score on the unaffected side of the face was 40.56±22.60 at baseline, 37.48±17.79 at week 5, and 34.68±16.44 at week 10, although this reduction was not statistically significant (p=0.146). Only mild irritation occurred in two patients, no other serious adverse events were noted, and patients were generally satisfied with their results. CONCLUSION: Topical TXA can be considered a safe and effective option in the treatment of melasma.
Antifibrinolytic Agents ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Injections, Intradermal ; Melanosis* ; Patient Satisfaction ; Tranexamic Acid* ; Volunteers

Parry Romberg Syndrome (PRS), also known as idiopathic progressive hemifacial atrophy, is a rare neurocutaneous disorder characterized by loss of skin and subcutaneous fat of face, muscles, and bones causing unilateral atrophy. Most patients require only soft tissue augmentation although syndrome has varying grades of severity. In the majority of reported cases, it has been treated with surgical flap or autologous fat transplantation. However, these treatments need complicated surgical skills which take a lot of time and cost. Herein we report the first case of PRS augmented by hyaluronic acid (HA) filler in a 42-year-old female patient to suggest that HA filler could be a safe, simple, and even rational economic alternative to surgical treatment.
Adult ; Atrophy ; Facial Hemiatrophy* ; Female ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid* ; Muscles ; Neurocutaneous Syndromes ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Fat ; Surgical Flaps

Pathologic diagnosis of antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) in ABO-incompatible (ABOi) transplantation patients is often challenging because patients without ABMR are frequently immunopositive for C4d. The aim of this study was to determine whether C4d positivity with microvascular inflammation (MVI), in the absence of any detectable donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) in ABOi patients, could be considered as ABMR. Methods: A retrospective study of 214 for-cause biopsies from 126 ABOi kidney transplantation patients was performed. Patients with MVI score of ≥2 and glomerulitis score of ≥1 (n = 62) were divided into three groups: the absolute ABMR group (DSA-positive, C4d-positive or C4d-negative; n = 36), the C4d-positive group (DSA-negative, C4d-positive; n = 22), and the C4d-negative group (DSA-negative, C4d-negative; n = 4). The Banff scores, estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs), and graft failure rates were compared among groups. Results: C4d-positive biopsies showed higher glomerulitis, peritubular capillaritis, and MVI scores compared with C4d-negative specimens. The C4d-positive group did not show significant differences in eGFRs and graft survival compared with the absolute ABMR group. Conclusion: The results indicate that C4d positivity, MVI score of ≥2, and glomerulitis score of ≥1 in ABOi allograft biopsies may be categorized and treated as ABMR cases.

A primary right atrial (RA) mass is not common; instead, most tumors in the right atrium originate from metastasis through the caval route. Here we describe a patient with a huge RA tumor that showed contiguous spread from the inferior vena cava. This 60-year-old patient, positive for hepatitis B surface antigen, visited the emergency department of our institution due to recently aggravated dyspnea. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography clearly demonstrated a huge RA mass, 6.5x6.0 cm, causing flow disturbance. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and dynamic computed tomography of the liver showed multiple large hepatic masses that extended into the right atrium, with tumor thrombi in the inferior vena cava. Given the enhancement pattern in dynamic computed tomography of the liver, the hepatic mass was diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma. Due to the risk of spontaneous rupture of the mass, emergency transarterial chemoembolization was performed, without complications. Thereafter, thalidomide, which has been shown to have anti-angiogenic effects, was prescribed to the patient.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Dyspnea ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; Emergencies ; Heart Atria ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Humans ; Liver ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Rupture, Spontaneous ; Thalidomide ; Vena Cava, Inferior

Anti-erythropoietin antibodies usually cross-react with all kinds of recombinant erythropoietins; therefore, erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA)-induced pure red-cell aplasia (PRCA) is not rescued by different ESAs. Here, we present a case of ESA-induced PRCA in a 36-yr-old woman with chronic kidney disease, whose anemic condition improved following reintroduction of darbepoetin-alpha. The patient developed progressive, severe anemia after the use of erythropoietin-alpha. As the anemia did not improve after the administration of either other erythropoietin-alpha products or erythropoietin-beta, all ESAs were discontinued. Oxymetholone therapy failed to improve the transfusion-dependent anemia and a rechallenge with ESAs continuously failed to obtain a sustained response. However, her anemia improved following reintroduction of darbepoetin-alpha at 3 yr after the initial diagnosis. Interestingly, anti-erythropoietin antibodies were still detectable, although their concentration was too low for titration. In conclusion, darbepoetin-alpha can improve ESA-induced PRCA when the anti-erythropoietin antibody titer declines and its neutralizing capacity is lost.
Adult ; Anemia/drug therapy/etiology ; Antibodies/*blood/immunology ; Bone Marrow Cells/pathology ; Drug Hypersensitivity/immunology ; Erythropoietin/*analogs & derivatives/therapeutic use ; Erythropoietin, Recombinant/adverse effects/*immunology/therapeutic use ; Female ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA/complications ; Hematinics/adverse effects/immunology/*therapeutic use ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/complications ; Oxymetholone/therapeutic use ; Red-Cell Aplasia, Pure/chemically induced/*drug therapy/immunology