No abstract available.
Intracranial Hypotension*

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to analyze outcomes and identify prognostic factors in patients with cerebral metastases from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with gamma knife radiosurgery (GKS) particularly, focusing on associations of biomarkers and systemic treatments. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 134 patients who underwent GKS for brain metastases due to NSCLC between January 2002 and December 2012. Representative biomarkers including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation, K-ras mutation, and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) mutation status were investigated. RESULTS: The median overall survival after GKS was 22.0 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.8–35.1 months). During follow-up, 63 patients underwent salvage treatment after GKS. The median salvage treatment-free survival was 7.9 months (95% CI, 5.2–10.6 months). Multivariate analysis revealed that lower recursive partition analysis (RPA) class, small number of brain lesions, EGFR mutation (+), and ALK mutation (+) were independent positive prognostic factors associated with longer overall survival. Patients who received target agents 30 days after GKS experienced significant improvements in overall survival and salvage treatment-free survival than patients who never received target agents and patients who received target agents before GKS or within 30 days (median overall survival: 5.0 months vs. 18.2 months, and 48.0 months with p-value=0.026; median salvage treatment-free survival: 4.3 months vs. 6.1 months and 16.6 months with p-value=0.006, respectively). To assess the influence of target agents on the pattern of progression, cases that showed local recurrence and new lesion formation were analyzed according to target agents, but no significant effects were identified. CONCLUSION: The prognosis of patients with brain metastases of NSCLC after GKS significantly differed according to specific biomarkers (EGFR and ALK mutations). Our results show that target agents combined with GKS was related to significantly longer overall survival, and salvage treatment-free survival. However, target agents were not specifically associated with improved local control of the lesion treated by GKS either development of new lesions. Therefore, it seems that currently popular target agents do not affect brain lesions themselves, and can prolong survival by controlling systemic disease status.
Biomarkers ; Brain ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymphoma ; Medical Records ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Phosphotransferases ; Prognosis ; Radiosurgery* ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Salvage Therapy

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia is an age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. Coffee has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that have been shown to be inversely related to the mechanism of sarcopenia. While there have been some studies on the effect of coffee on sarcopenia in animals, studies on the topic in humans are rare. Therefore, we investigated this relationship in elderly Korean men. METHODS: The cross-sectional data were derived from the 2008–2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. After applying the exclusion criteria, the study sample consisted of 1,781 men who were at least 60 years of age. Study participants were identified as having sarcopenia if their appendicular skeletal muscle mass divided by height squared was less than two standard deviations below the gender-specific mean of this value for young adults. Daily coffee consumption amounts were categorized as <1 cup, 1 cup, 2 cups, and ≥3 cups. RESULTS: Compared to the group of individuals who drank less than one cup of coffee a day, people who consumed at least 3 cups (adjusted odds ratio, 0.43; 95% confidence interval, 0.20 to 0.94) showed significantly decreased sarcopenia; however, the decrease was not significant when the daily coffee consumption was 1 or 2 cups. In multivariate logistic regression models, significant associations were observed between sarcopenia and coffee consumption (P for trend=0.039). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that consuming at least 3 cups of coffee per day was associated with a lower prevalence of sarcopenia in elderly Korean elderly men.
Aged* ; Animals ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Coffee* ; Humans ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Sarcopenia* ; Young Adult

Although tubal pregnancy is increasing, primary ovarian ectopic pregnancy has remained a rare event. However, recent reports suggest an increasing incidence to both tubal and term pregnancies. Ovarian pregnancy occurs within the ovary and on the corpus luteum. Earlier diagnosis is now possible, owing to the availability of highly specific radioimmunoassay for human chorionic gonadotrophin and the development of transvaginal ultrasonography. Clinical and even intraoperative diagnosis is difficult and confirmation may be made only by microscopic examination of the tissue specimen. Current understanding of the etiological factors, classification, possible pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnostic steps, reevaluation of diagnostic criteria, preferred management and future fertility are detailed. The therapy is surgical and currently more conservative than in the past, because of improvement in operative laparoscopy. We report a case of primary ovarian pregnancy treated conservatively under laparoscopic surgery with a brief review of literature.
Chorion ; Classification ; Corpus Luteum ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Fertility ; Humans ; Incidence ; Laparoscopy ; Ovary ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Ectopic* ; Pregnancy, Tubal ; Radioimmunoassay ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors of metabolic syndrome (MS) and to analyze the relationship between the risk factors of MS and medical cost of major diseases related to MS in Korean workers, according to the scale of the enterprise. METHODS: Data was obtained from annual physical examinations, health insurance qualification and premiums, and health insurance benefits of 4,094,217 male and female workers who underwent medical examinations provided by the National Health Insurance Corporation in 2009. Logistic regression analyses were used to the identify risk factors of MS and multiple regression was used to find factors associated with medical expenditures due to major diseases related to MS. RESULT: The study found that low-income workers were more likely to work in small-scale enterprises. The prevalence rate of MS in males and females, respectively, was 17.2% and 9.4% in small-scale enterprises, 15.9% and 8.9% in medium-scale enterprises, and 15.9% and 5.5% in large-scale enterprises. The risks of MS increased with age, lower income status, and smoking in small-scale enterprise workers. The medical costs increased in workers with old age and past smoking history. There was also a gender difference in the pattern of medical expenditures related to MS. CONCLUSIONS: Health promotion programs to manage metabolic syndrome should be developed to focus on workers who smoke, drink, and do little exercise in small scale enterprises.
Female ; Health Expenditures ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Insurance, Health ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Male ; National Health Programs ; Physical Examination ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking

Cervical incompetence is one of the main contributors to repeated pregnancy loss and preterm delivery. Typically it results in progressive cervical dilatation, leading to a painless second or early third trimester abortion. Emergency cerclage can be used in the setting of advanced cervical incompetence, even when fetal membranes bulge through the dilated cervix. To facilitate the procedure, various techniques have been developed to replace the fetal membranes into the uterine cavity. We performed six successful cases of emergency cerclage combined with amnioreduction in advanced incompetent internal os of cervix (IIOC). Interval from emergency cerclage to delivery was 8.1 +/- 2.4 weeks (range 4-10 weeks) and we delivered viable fetuses in all but one. Hereby we report our experiences with a brief review of literature.
Cervix Uteri ; Emergencies* ; Extraembryonic Membranes ; Female ; Fetus ; Humans ; Labor Stage, First ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third

Bilateral cervical spondylolysis with spondylolisthesis is a rare congenital anomaly involving a complex malformation of the posterior elements of the cervical vertebra accompanied by a spondylolisthesis. It is a part of the spectrum of cervical spondylolysis and usually occurs at C-6. It is important to recognize this anomaly, particularly in trauma or other pathological conditions, to avoid mistaking it with the other more serious entities such as fractures, locked facets, and bony erosions by tumor. We report a case of congenital spondylolisthesis of the sixth cervical vertebra and outline the radiographic findings for differential diagnosis. A 41-year-old male was presented with a di-fficulty in moving his neck for one and a half months. He also complained of tingling sensation in both upper extremities. Clinical and radiological evaluations showed that he had congenital cervical spondylolisthesis. On the plain cervical spine films, there was an anterior displacement of the sixth cervical vertebra on the seventh vertebra. CT scan demonstrated bilateral defects of pars interarticularis of the sixth vertebra. There was also a lengthening antero-posterior(AP) diameter in the central canal at C6 level. The spinous process of C6 showed a spina bifida. We perfo-rmed an anterior interbody fusion using an autologous iliac bone, plate and screw fixation. It is important for the physicians to recognize the difference between the congenital cervical spondylolisthesis and fracture or other pathological conditions to institute an appropriate therapy. This anomaly may have clinical implications and may even require surgical interventions. We report a rare case of a congenital spondylolisthesis of the 6th cervical vertebra successfully treated with surgical intervention with a review of pertinent literature.
Adult ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Male ; Neck ; Sensation ; Spinal Dysraphism ; Spine* ; Spondylolisthesis* ; Spondylolysis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Upper Extremity

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Individual genetic susceptibilities to chemical carcinogens have been recognized as a major important host factors in human cancers. The cytochrome P450 family (CYPs) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) have been reported to be associated with risks to the smoking-related human cancers. The purpose of this study is to determine the frequencies of the genotypes of CYP1A1 and GSTM1 genes in healthy control of Koreans and to identify the high-risk genotypes of these metabolic genes in head and neck cancer patients. MAERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety-six healthy controls and 93 head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients are analysed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). RESULTS: The distributions of CYP1A1 and GSTM1 in healthy controls according to the MspI site and absence or presence of PCR products were as following: m1/m1:m1/m2:m2/m2=39.6%:47.9%:12.5%, GSTM1 (-):GSTM1 (+)=45%:55%. GSTM1 (-) type and CYP1A1 m2/m2 types were more frequent in cancer patients than healthy controls. Among the combined genotypes of CYP1A1 and GSTM1 genes, the relative risk of CYP1A1 m1/m2, GSTM1 (-) genotypes was 2.13 times of relative odds' ratio in head and neck cancer patients. According to the tumor location, CYP1A1 m2/m2, GSTM1 (-) genotypes of larynx and CYP1A1 m1/m2, GSTM1 (-) genotypes of oral and pharynx were the highest risk groups to cancers in their locations. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the genetic polymorphisms of CYP1A1 and GSTM1 were an important major factor to determine the individual susceptibility to head and neck cancers in Korean. And these polymorphisms and cancers susceptibile genotypes of CYP1A1 and GSTM1 in Korean population are very unique in comparison with the other ethinics.
Carcinogens ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System ; Cytochromes* ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease* ; Genotype ; Glutathione Transferase* ; Glutathione* ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Head* ; Humans ; Larynx ; Neck* ; Pharynx ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic

Recently, combination of surgery and radiation therapy (RT) has been recommended in the treatment of craniopharyngioma. RT could be associated with late complications, including vasculopathy. We report two cases of the moyamoya syndrome seen in children with craniopharyngioma who received RT after surgical resection. Thirty-five patients in pediatric age with craniopharyngioma were surgically treated. Fifteen out of 35 patients underwent surgical resection followed by RT or gamma knife surgery. Two of the 15 were found to have symptoms of transient ischemic attack and were diagnosed as moyamoya syndrome through the cerebral angiography. Age at RT was 4 and 13 years, respectively. The latent period for development of the moyamoya syndrome was 27 months and 3 years, respectively, after RT. The RT dose of both patients was 54 Gy. These two patients received bilateral encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis procedures. We report here these two cases of radiation-induced moyamoya syndrome in pediatric craniopharyngioma. Pediatric patients with craniopharyngioma who received RT should be reminded, during follow-up, about the risk of development of the moyamoya syndrome.
Cerebral Angiography ; Child ; Cranial Irradiation ; Craniopharyngioma ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Ischemic Attack, Transient ; Moyamoya Disease

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of radiation-sterilized allografts of iliac bone and fascia lata from cadaver specimens to repair skull base defects after transsphenoidal surgery. METHODS: Between May 2009 and January 2010, 31 consecutive patients underwent endonasal transsphenoidal surgery and all patients received sellar reconstruction using allografts following tumor removal. The allografts were obtained from the local tissue bank and harvested from cadaver donors. The specimens used in our approach were tensor fascia lata and the flat area of iliac bone. For preparation, allografts were treated with gamma irradiation after routine screening by culture, and then stored at -70degrees C. RESULTS: The mean follow-up period after surgery was 12.6 months (range, 7.4-16 months). Overall, postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks occurred in three patients (9.7%) and postoperative meningitis in one patient (3.2%). There was no definitive evidence of wound infection at the routine postoperative follow-up examination or during re-do surgery in three patients. Postoperative meningitis in one patient was improved with the use of antibiotics and prolonged CSF diversion. CONCLUSION: We suggest that allograft materials can be a feasible alternative to autologous tissue grafts for sellar reconstruction following transsphenoidal surgery under selected circumstances such as no or little intraoperative CSF leaks.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Cadaver ; Fascia Lata ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Meningitis ; Skull Base ; Tissue Banks ; Tissue Donors ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Transplants ; Wound Infection