We present the case of young female patient presenting with acute onset abdominal pain. Abdominopelvic CT revealed herniation through the foramen of Winslow. The patient was transferred to our hospital and underwent laparoscopic exploration. Though spontaneous reduction was detected, segmental resection of the impacted small bowel was inevitable due to ischemic change. Our case suggests that reducing the time until surgery is very important to lower the probability of bowel resection in case of small bowel herniation through the foramen of Winslow.
Abdominal Pain ; Female ; Humans ; Intestine, Small

PURPOSE: To investigate the pathways of radiation induced apoptosis and the effect of cysteamine (beta-mercaptoethylamine), as a radioprotector, on it. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HL-60 cells were assigned to control, irradiated, and cysteamine (1 mM, 10mM) pretreated groups, Irradiation was given in a single fraction of 10 Gy (6 MV x-ray) and cysteamine was administered 1 hour before irradiation. The activities of caspase-8 were measured in control and irradiated group to evaluate its relation to the radiation induced apoptosis. To evaluate the role of cysteamine in radiation induced apoptosis, the number of viable cells, the expression and activity of caspase-3, and the expression of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) were measured and compared after irradiation the HL-60 cells with cysteamine pretreatment or not. RESULTS: The intracellular caspase-8 activity, known to be related to the death receptor induced apoptosis, was not affected by irradiation (p>0.05). The number of viable cells began to decrease from 6 hours after irradiation (p>0.05), but the number of viable cells in 1 mM cysteamine pretreated group was not decreased afger irradiation and was similar to those in the control group. In caspase-3 analyses, known as apoptosis executioner, its expression was not different but its activity was increased by irradiation (p>0.05). However, this increase of activity was suppressed by the pretreatment of 1mM crysteamine. The cleavage of PARP, thought to be resulted from caspase-3 activation, occurred after irradiation, which was attenuated by the pretreatment of 1mM cysteamine. CONCLUSION: these results show that radiation induced apoptotic process is somewhat different from death receptor induced one and the pretreatment of 1 mM cysteamine has a tendency to decrease the radiation-induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells.
Apoptosis* ; Caspase 3 ; Caspase 8 ; Cysteamine* ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans

BACKGROUND: Recently, there has been an increase of emerging concerns between dietary fiber and diabetics. Increasing intake of dietary fiber leads to delaying absorption of glucose, and lowering of serum insulin levels. In the past studies, there were inconsistent glycemic control effect of beta-glucan. Our purpose was to assess the glycemic control effect of beta-glucan in adults. METHODS: Electronic searches (Cochrane, PubMed, EMBase), hand-searching and review of reference were done. The search term for beta-glucans [mh], "Avena sativa" [mh], "Hordeum" [mh], beta glucan* [tw], oat [tw], barley [tw], with no language restriction were used. All RCT that included available data of beta-glucan or that could impute dose of beta-glucan, at least one relevant outcome of glycemic control, run-in period more than 2 weeks, and intervention period of more than 2 weeks or greater were selected. A fixed-effect model was used to assess the summary effect of studies. RESULTS: A total of 43 articles were identified, 4 studies met our inclusion criteria and then analyzed. In pooled analysis, the effect size of fasting glucose level was 0.13 (95%CI: -1.25 to 1.51), and serum insulin level was -0.95 (95%CI, -2.37 to 0.47). It was impossible to adjust for sex and age owing to the lack of raw data. CONCLUSION: In this review, the results suggested that there were negative impacts of beta-glucan on fasting glucose and serum insulin level in adults, but we concluded that there was insufficient evidence to confirm about glycemic control effect. More powerful and well-designed RCT were required to confirm about glycemic control effect of beta-glucan.
Absorption ; Adult ; Avena ; beta-Glucans ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Dietary Fiber ; Electronics ; Electrons ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Hordeum ; Humans ; Insulin

PURPOSE: In Korea, the number of laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomies for early gastric cancer patients has been increasing lately. Although minimally invasive surgery is more beneficial, no reported case of a totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy has been reported because of difficulty with intracorporeal anastomosis. This study attempts, through our experiences, to determine the feasibility of a totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy using an intracorporeal gastroduodenostomy in treating early gastric carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated surgical results and clinicopatholgic characteristics of eight(8) patients with an early gastric carcinoma who underwent a totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy at the Department of Surgery, Our Lady of Mercy Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, between June 2004 and September 2004. The intracorporeal gastroduodenostomy was performed with a delta-shaped ananstomosis by using only laparoscopic linear staplers (Endocutter 45 mm; Ethicon Endosurgery, OH, USA). RESULTS: The operative time was 369.4+/-62.5 minutes (range 275~65 minutes), and the anastomotic time was 45.1+/-14.4 minutes (range 32~0 minutes). The anastomotic time was shortened as surgical experience was gained. The number of laparoscopic linear staplers for an operation was 7.1+/-0.6. The number of lymph nodes harvested was 31.9+/-13.1. There was 1 case of transfusion and no case of conversion to an open procedure. The time to the first flatus was 2.8+/-0.5 days, and the time to the first food intake was 4.1+/-0.8 days. There were no early postoperative complications, and the postoperative hospital stay was 10.0+/-3.9 days. CONCLUSION: A totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy using an intracorporeal gastroduodenostomy with a delta-shaped anastomosis is technically feasible and can maximize the benefit of laparoscopic surgery for early gastric cancer.
Conversion to Open Surgery ; Eating ; Flatulence ; Gastrectomy* ; Humans ; Korea ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Lymph Nodes ; Operative Time ; Postoperative Complications ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Surgical Procedures, Minimally Invasive

PURPOSE: Paraffin-embedded tissue samples from the gastrointestinal tract, which had been diagnosed as tumors of a mesenchymal origin, were reviewed by an immunohistochemical staining method. The prognostic significances of the immunohistochemical subtypes and anatomical locations were also investigated. GIST, as a new grading system, was compared with the pre-existing system for its useful prognostic significance. METHODS: 122 cases were evaluated and classified by immunohistochemical staining for KIT, CD34, actin, desmin, vimentin, S-100 protein and NSE. RESULTS: Positivity for both KIT and CD34 of 92.6 and 73.8%, respectively, indicated that KIT was more effective for the diagnosis of GISTs. The stomach (62.3%) and small bowel (23.7%) were most common organs of GIST. There was no difference in the prognosis between these two organs. Immunophenotypically, the uncommitted, myoid, combined and neural types were 37.7, 23.7, 20.2 and 7%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the prognosis between these types. The old grading system showed no difference between the borderline and malignant groups (P=0.14), whereas, the new grading system showed a significant difference between the intermediate and high risk groups (P=0.01). CONCLUSION: KIT is more useful for the diagnosis of GOSTs. The immunophenotypical classification and anatomical location showed no prognostic significance in GISTs. Therefore, the new grading system might be more useful than older system.
Actins ; Classification ; Desmin ; Diagnosis* ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors* ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Immunohistochemistry* ; Prognosis ; S100 Proteins ; Stomach ; Vimentin

PURPOSE: The p21(Waf1/Cip1) protein inhibits the cell cycle by inhibiting the phosphorylation at the G1-->S check point, and the p27(Kip1) protein similarly performs the suppressor function by controlling the p27-mediated G1 arrest. In this study, we analysed the clinical status and survival rates in correlations with p21 and p27 expression patterns in gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 1993 and 1997, 192 patients who underwent surgeries in Catholic Medical Center were analysed retrospectively in this study. Immunohistochemical staining was performed and if the nuclei of the tumor cells were stained, we assumed those as positive results. Statistical analysis was based on clinicopathological findings and differences in survival rates. RESULTS: The expression rate of p27 was 28.1% and 15.6% in p21 each. The ratio of T1-2(80.0%) was significantly high in p21 (+), but the ratio of T3-4 (50.6%) was slightly high in p21 (-). There was no statistical significance regarding other factors. The results in p27 was not much different from expression rate of p21 in T-stage. In addition, p27 expression in diffuse type (91.3%) was higher than in intestinal type (62.7%) by Lauren's classification (P <0.05). Also, there was no statistical significance in other factors. In the correlation of p21 and p27, p27 was positive when p21 was positive (53.5%). Conversely, p27 was negative when p21 was negative (76.5%, p <0.05). In the p21 and p27 combination test, there was higher rate of T1-2 (87.5%) in p21 (+)/p27 (+), and higher rate of T3-4 (58.1%) in p21 (-)/p27 (-) (P <0.05). Results showed higher rate of intestinal type (100%) in p21 (+)/p27 (+), and diffuse type (87.0%) was dominant in p21 (-)/p27 (-) (P <0.05) by Lauren's classification. Moreover, there was no statistical significance in the 5-year survival rate in the expression of p21 and p27, and the 5-year survival rate was highest in the case of p21 (+)/p27 (+) without statistical significance. CONCLUSION: In our study, p21(Waf1/Cip1) and p27(Kip1) expressed similar patterns. The expression of p21(Waf1/Cip1) and p27(Kip1) affected the degree of invasiveness of the tumor, and. Combined examination result revealed the correlation of p21(Waf1/Cip1) and p27(Kip1) with Lauren's classification and depth of invasion of the tumor. However, we assumed that little difference between the survival rates depending on expression of p21(Waf1/Cip1) and p27(Kip1) has limited their value as predictable prognostic indicators.
Cell Cycle ; Classification ; Humans ; Phosphorylation ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Survival Rate

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The TIMI myocardial perfusion (TMP) grade is known as one of the methods to assess the viability of the myocardium in ischemic heart disease. This study was designed to assess the value of TMP grade itself and to evaluate the correlation with coronary flow reserve (CFR) in the prediction of left ventricular remodeling and functional change after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We measured CFR and TMP grade after successful elective PCI (diameter stenosis <0%, and TIMI flow 3) in 83 patients (mean age 55+/-1 years, 18 females) with AMI within 7 days of symptom onset. Left ventricular end diastolic volume index (LVEDVI), left ventricular end systolic volume index (LVESVI), ejection fraction (LVEF), and left ventricular regional wall motion score index (LVRWMSI) were assessed by echocardiography just before and at 9 months after angioplasty (mean 9+/-5 months). RESULTS: Although they had achieved (TIMI 0.021) TIMI 3 flow after successful intervention, 27 of 83 patients (32.5%) had impaired myocardial perfusion. After PCI, angiographic TMP grade was well correlated with CFR measured using Doppler wire (TMP 0/1;1.4+/-0.3, TMP 2;1.9+/-0.6, TMP 3;2.2+/-0.4, rs=0.618, p=0.000). Post-PCI TMP grade was significantly related to the change of LVEDVI (r=0.452, p=0.000), LVESVI (r=0.435, p=0.000), LVEF (r=0.281, p=0.010) and LVRWMSI (r=0.328, p=0.036). CONCLUSION: The TMP grade, a simple angiographic method, might be useful as a predictor of LV volume and functional change in AMI. In the cardiac catheterization laboratory, it could simply replace CFR for the assessment of myocardial viability in patients who receive an elective PCI within 7 days of AMI onset.
Angioplasty ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Circulation ; Echocardiography ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Myocardium ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Perfusion* ; Stents ; Stroke Volume ; Thymidine Monophosphate ; Ventricular Remodeling

PURPOSE: While E-cadherin in normal cells induces calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion, in malignant cell, it plays a role in invasion and metastasis with a reduction of adhesion. Serum soluble E-cadherin is a result of the reduction of the cellular E-cadherin molecule and is found in the circulation of normal individuals, but it is particularly known to be increased in patients with malignancies. Accordingly, through checking the level of serum soluble E-cadherin in patients with gastric cancer and analyzing it in the view of clinicopathology, we investigated whether serum soluble E-cadherin could be translated into a clinicopathologic esult and used as a tumor marker. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The investigation targeted 88 patients who had been diagnosed as having gastric cancer by the Department of Surgery, St. Mary's Hospital, from October 1, 2002, to July 30, 2003, and who had under gone performed surgery. We measured the level of preoperative serum E-cadherin in the 88 patients by unsing ELISA. Among them, we collected gastric cancer tissues from 54 patients and executed immunohistochemistry for E-cadherin. The samples were compared with normal tissues in terms of both serum E-cadherin level and immunohistochemistry level, as well as with other clinicopathologic factors. RESULTS: The mean serum E-cadherin level of the 88 patients was 4368.7 ng/ml and was significantly higher than the level in 12 normal control patients, 3335.5 ng/ml (P=0.016). In terms of clinicopathology, the serum level of E-cadherin was significantly correlated with increasing age (P=0.0006) and was higher in positive venous invasion patients (P=0.0005). When the E-cadherin immunohistochemical stain was compared with the serum E-cadherin level in 54 patients, no significant statistically meaningful result was obtained (P=0.2881). However, 4 patients with serum E-cadherin levels about 6000 ng/ml were classified into the lower expression group (<80%) of E-cadherin immunohistochemicals stain. In the analysis for 36 patients who were early gastric cancer patients, the serum E-cadherin level in lymph-node-metastatic patients was higher than it was in the other patients (P=0.0442). CONCLUSION: The serum E-cadherin level in gastric cancer patients was higher than the level in normal control patients. In advanced gastric cancer patients, that the difference was increased. Also, since the E-cadherin level correlated with the serum E-cadherin level with venous invasion, it can be used as an effective tumor marker for gastric cancer. Particularly, in that the serum E-cadherin level correlated with lymph node metastasis in early gastic cancer, it can be used when a therapeutic method for early gastric cancer is selected.
Cadherins* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Stomach Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: In this study, the level of expression of p14(ARF), p16(INK4a), p53 and pRb was immunohistochemically examined according to the stage of gastric cancer, lymph node metastasis, cell differentiation and Lauren's classification. The effect on survival rate and the associations between the components were examined as well. METHODS: One hundred and fourteen patients who underwent surgery for gastric cancer were studied retrospectively using their paraffin embedded tissue and medical records. Using antibodies of p14(ARF), p16(INK4a), p53 and pRb, immunohistochemical stain was applied and their level of expression examined. RESULTS: The level of p53 expression was high when the stage of gastric cancer was more progressed, the invasiveness higher, lymph node metastasis present and cell differentiation poorer. In contrast, the level of p14ARF expression tended to be lower as the stage was more progressed, but this was not statistically significant. Expression of p16 and pRb did not show any association with stage or other pathologic findings. Expression of p53 and p14(ARF) also had a significant association with survival rate. Survival rate was lower in patients who expressed p53 than in those who did not, but it was higher in who expressed p14ARF than in those who did not. When these two were combined, patients with p14(ARF)(+)/p53(-) had the highest survival rate, whereas those with p14(ARF)(-)/p53(+)had the lowest. This demonstrated that the expressions of p14ART and p53 have value as prognostic indicators. CONCLUSION: From these results, p53 seems closely related to stage and other pathologic findings. Furthermore, p14(ARF) and p53 showed a statistically significant relationship with survival rate, making them valuable as prognostic indicators after surgery. In combination, it would be possible to predict a more accurate prognosis.
Antibodies ; Cell Differentiation ; Classification ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16* ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Medical Records ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Paraffin ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Survival Rate ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p14ARF*

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficiency of the electronic foot function index (eFFI) through a prospective, random based, multi-institutional study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 227 patients ranging in age from 20 to 79 years, visited for surgery in different 15 institutes, and agreed to volunteer. The patients were assigned randomly into a paper-based evaluated group (n=113) and tablet-based evaluated group (n=114). The evaluation was done on the day of hospital admission and the method was changed on the second day of surgery and re-evaluated. PADAS 2.0 (https://www.proscore.kr) was used as an electronic evaluation program. RESULTS: There were no differences in age and sex in both groups. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) evaluation revealed an eFFI ICC of 0.924, showing that both results were similar. The evaluation time was shorter in the tablet-based group than the paper-based group (paper vs tablet, 3.7±3.8 vs 2.3±1.3 minutes). Thirty-nine patients (17.2%) preferred to use paper and 131 patients (57.7%) preferred the tablet. Fifty-seven patients (25.1%) found both ways to be acceptable. CONCLUSION: eFFI through tablet devices appears to be more constant than the paper-based program. In addition, it required a shorter amount of time and the patients tended to prefer the tablet-based program. Overall, tablet and cloud system can be beneficial to a clinical study.
Academies and Institutes ; Ankle ; Clinical Study ; Foot ; Humans ; Methods ; Prospective Studies ; Volunteers