Meningiomas, one of the most common neoplasms of the central nervous system, may be encountered incidentally during autopsy. Most of these tumors, however, are benign and hence, are not considered as the chief cause of death. Further, sudden unexpected death caused by meningioma is very unusual. Moreover, the diagnosis of an incidental meningioma as the cause of sudden death may sometimes be difficult. In the present report, we describe an autopsy case of a sudden, unexpected death due to a large olfactory groove meningioma accompanied by severe cerebral edema and tonsillar herniation.
Autopsy ; Brain Edema ; Brain Neoplasms ; Cause of Death ; Central Nervous System ; Death, Sudden ; Diagnosis ; Encephalocele ; Meningioma*

This is a retrospective clinical analysis of 27 cases of pancreatic pseudocysts that were treated at the Department of Surgery, Chung Goo Sung Sim Hospital, from 1988 to 1996. The results are as follows:1) The ratio of males to females was 12.5 :1, and the highest incidence was in the 4th decade. 2) Acute & Chronic Pancreatitis was most frequently associated with pancreatic pseudocysts (72.4%). 3) The most frequent symptom of patients with a pancreatic pseudocyst was abdominal pain (92.5%), and the most common site of the pancreatic pseudocyst was the tail of the pancreas (55.6%). 4) Of the 7 cases involving pseudocysts of less than 5 cm, 6 cases were managed conservatively and 1 case surgically . In the 15 cases with sizes from 5 cm to 10 cm, percutaneous catheter drainage was performed in 7 cases, with sizes larger conservative management in 5 cases and surgical management in 4 cases. In the 5 cases with sizes larger than 10 cm, percutaneous catheter drainage was performed in 3 cases and surgical management in 1 case. 5) Cases involving conservative management and percutaneous drainage (average:31 & 34 days), respectively had shorter hospital stays than surgical menagement (42 days). 6) Complications of pancreatic pseudocysts, such as intra-abdominal abscesses, cutaneous fistulas, pulmonary complications, wound infection, leakage or rupture, etc, were relatively common after surgery. In conclusion, we propose that conservative management and percutaneous catheter drainage are first-line treatment modalities for pancreatic pseudocysts if the clinical conditions of the patient can tolerate them.
Abdominal Abscess ; Abdominal Pain ; Catheters ; Cutaneous Fistula ; Drainage ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Pancreas ; Pancreatic Pseudocyst* ; Pancreatitis, Chronic ; Retrospective Studies ; Rupture ; Wound Infection

BACKGROUND: The aim of study was to confirm the clinical effectiveness and results of wide and single anterior approach for fractures occurring along length of humerus. METHODS: A total of 23 patients with humeral fracture were enrolled into our study who were able to participate in at least one year of follow-up. Seven patients had segmental comminuted humeral fractures and 16 patients had distal humeral fractures. We made various tractions of the muscles to expose the proximal and the middle third humerus between the biceps and brachialis and the distal humerus by partial splitting of lateral side of biceps through a single incision. Postoperatively, we measured the Mayo elbow performance index (MEPI). RESULTS: we achieved bone union in all 23 patients. Solid union of the bone was achieved at an average 13.9 weeks. Postoperatively, two complications were observed screw loosening and nonunion. Revision surgery was performed in both patients. The patient with bone nonunion was treated using bone grafts. No postoperative infections or peripheral neuropathies were observed. At the final follow-up (average 20 months), we found that the average MEPI functional score of the patients was 91.7 points regardless of the fracture site. CONCLUSIONS: Our whole humerus with a single incision was effective for the treatment of segmental comminuted and distal fractures. we believe it is a useful alternative to preexisting methods of fracture fixation.
Elbow ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fracture Fixation* ; Humans ; Humeral Fractures ; Humerus* ; Muscles ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Traction ; Transplants ; Treatment Outcome

No abstract available.
Cartilage*

PURPOSE: p53 and p21 act as a cell cycle regulator. p21 has been thought to be an important mediator of p53-induced cell cycle arrest. p53 alterations can induce the uncontrolled growth of tumor cells by loss of p21 expression in cancer patients. The objective of this study was to characterize the alterations of p53 and p21 expression and to assess the relationship between p53 and p21 in bladder cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: p53 and p21 expressions were evaluated immunohistochemically in 97 patients of bladder cancer according to grade, stage and recurrence. We compared p53 expression with p21. Nuclear expression was scored as negative, patchy(<20%), heterogeneous(20-75%) or homogeneous(>75%). RESULTS: p53 was expressed in 34(35.1%) of 97 patients and p21 in 23 patients(23.7%). p53 expression was significantly related with grade(18.2% in lower grade vs. 71% in higher) and stage(18.2% in superficial vs. 57.1% in invasive). p21 was not expressed in 74(76.3%) of 97 patients and not correlated with grade and stage. Recurrence in superficial bladder cancer was lower for patients with p53-negative(27%) than patients with p53-positive(64.3%). There was no correlation between loss of p21 expression and recurrence. Inverse expression of these two proteins was seen in 39 patients(40.2%). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that p21 is induced by p53-dependent pathway, but that there may also indicate p53-independent pathways of induction. p53 could be a reliable indicator of recurrence in superficial bladder cancer.
Cell Cycle ; Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Recurrence ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms* ; Urinary Bladder*

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to reveal the health effects of air pollution on the residents living near waste treatment plant. METHODS: We sampled 190 residents as the hogh exposed group, 192 residents as the moderate group, and 139 residents as the low exposed group according to the geographical distances from the waste treatment plant. Self-administered questionnaires for prevalence of respiratory disease, irritation symptoms of mucous membrane (eye, nose, thoat, skin, and respiratory tract), gastrointestinal symptoms, other nonspecific symptoms were conducted. We measured the concentrations of total suspened partcles, Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Cd and As in 3 exposed area. RESULT: Airborne concentrations of total suspended particles measured in exposed area were 485, 365, and 332 micro gram/m(3) which excees the limit value. Airborne concentrations of Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Cd and As were not excees the limit value. The prevalence of respiratory disease of high exposed group (16.8%) was significantly higher than that of moderate group (3.6%) and low exposed group (5.0%). The sysptom score of irrtation sysptoms of mucous membrane, gastrointestinal sysptoms, and other nonspecific sysptoms were increased with exposed level. In multiple linear regression, exposure level was related to all sysptom scores significantly. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the air pollution of waste treatment plant would influence prevalence of respiratory disease, induce irritation of mucous membrane, gastrointestinal symptoms, and other nonspecific sysptoms.
Air Pollution ; Linear Models ; Mucous Membrane ; Nose ; Plants* ; Prevalence ; Skin ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: To evaluate the spherical aberrations of the anterior and posterior surfaces of normal corneas using Pentacam in a Korean sample population and determine their ranges and changes with age. METHODS: We used Pentacam (Oculus Inc.,Germany) to measure the anterior and posterior corneal spherical aberrations of 240 eyes in 240 patients with normal corneas who visited our clinic. The means and ranges of spherical aberrations and their changes with age were determined. We examined both eyes of 90 patients to confirm the inter-ocular symmetry in spherical aberration. RESULTS: The mean age of the 240 patients (M:F=103:137) was 49.8 years (range: 20-79), and the mean spherical aberrations of the anterior and posterior surfaces of the cornea were 0.230+/-0.078 micrometer, and -0.04+/-0.021 micrometer, respectively. The mean total corneal spherical aberration was 0.19+/-0.087 micrometer. There were no differences between males and females, and inter-ocular symmetry was observed in all tested patients. There was a tendency for the values of anterior, posterior and total corneal spherical aberration to increase with age. Ranges of spherical aberrations were from -0.177 micrometer to 0.423 micrometer in the anterior cornea, from -0.083 micrometer to 0.034 micrometer in the posterior cornea, and from -0.238 micrometer to 0.410 micrometer in the total cornea. CONCLUSIONS: In a Korean population, the mean total corneal spherical aberration was 0.19 micrometer, which was shown to increase with age. Some patients were shown to have an extreme value. Based on these results, a preoperative analysis for corneal spherical aberration may be helpful when selecting aspheric intraocular lenses.
Cataract ; Cornea ; Eye ; Female ; Humans ; Lenses, Intraocular ; Male

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical outcomes of aspheric hydrophilic acrylic EYELIKE® (Koryo Eyetech Co., Seoul, Korea) intraocular lenses (IOLs). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of 176 consecutive eyes of 160 patients who underwent cataract surgery with implantation of aspheric EYELIKE® IOLs. The following preoperative measurements were collected: slit-lamp examination, uncorrected distance visual acuity (UCDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), automatic and manual keratometry, fundus examination, corneal topography, and specular microscopy. The UCDVA, CDVA, IOP, refraction, and slit-lamp examination were evaluated postoperatively at 1 week and at 1, 3, and 6 months. Specular microscopy was also postoperatively conducted at 1 month. RESULTS: At the 6-month postoperative visit, the mean UCDVA was 0.15 ± 0.23, and the mean CDVA was 0.03 ± 0.07 logarithm of minimal angle of resolution (logMAR). No statistically significant differences were observed among the four groups (postoperative 1 week, postoperative 1 month, postoperative 3 months, and postoperative 6 months) in the manifest spherical equivalent. In total, 74% of IOL Master700 and 54% of A-scan measurements were within ± 0.5 diopters (D) difference from the target refraction, and 95% and 77%, respectively, were within ± 1.0 D from the target refraction. With regard to complications, one case of CME and posterior capsule opacification with decreased visual acuity was detected at month 3 postoperatively; in this case, the CDVA recovered to 0 logMAR with conventional treatment and yttrium aluminium garnetlaser posterior capsulotomy after postoperative 6 months. CONCLUSIONS Domestically produced EYELIKE® IOLs had high refraction predictability and stability.

We calculated the age specific Proportionate Morbidity Ratio(PMR)' for different areas as the outcome index by using the national cancer registry data(1988 1991) to assess the patterns of stomach cancer and bladder cancer. Also, we calculated 'Manufacturing workers Concentration Index(MCI)' for different areas as the exposure index by using the census data reported in 1980 to assess the relationship between cancer site specific PMRs and MCIs. As a result, we found the significant correlation(r=0.61, p=0.002) between the bladder cancer in the age of 40s and the industrial exposure indicator. Future analytic studies should be fruitful in identifying more occupational risk factors for bladder cancer. Investigation of cancer incidence including geographic variations and difference by age may identify patterns suggesting occupational exposures.
Adult* ; Censuses ; Fruit ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Male* ; Occupational Exposure* ; Risk Factors ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms* ; Urinary Bladder*

PURPOSE:To report 2 cases of corneal melting and corneal melting with descemetocele that occurred in users of cosmetic contact lenses. CASE SUMMARY: A-12-year-old and a 13-year-old female who used cosmetic contact lenses were referred to our clinic under the preliminary diagnosis of keratitis and corneal melting. The patients had purchased the lenses from an optician and had worn the lenses for approximately 1 month without being educated on their proper use. The signs and symptoms improved after 2 weeks of treatment with oral steroid and 1% topical prednisolone acetate. However, descemetocele occurred in the 12-year-old patient. Reepithelization of the cornea had been completed within the treatment period. However, corneal thinning with mild opacity remained in the lesions, and the best corrected visual acuities on the Snellen chart were 20/30 in both patients.
Adolescent ; Child ; Contact Lenses ; Cornea ; Cosmetics ; Female ; Freezing ; Humans ; Keratitis ; Prednisolone ; Visual Acuity