No abstract available.
Scalp*

Bone single photon emission computed tomography(SPECT) of the knees has been shown to be of diagnostic value for the investigation of intemal derangement of knees(IDK). This study compared bone SPECT and magnetic resonance image(MRI) with arthroscopic findings for the diagnosis of IDK. Fifty patients who had been performed arthroscopy in Seoul National University Hospital from January 1997 to September 1997 were studied with both the modalities preoperatively. There were 38 meniscal injuries, 26 cruciate ligament injuries and 8 cases of patellofemoral joint problems. In view of SPECT, the most remarkable results were from meniscal tears. In meniscal tears, the diagnostic values of SPECT were 89.5% of sensitivity, 66.7% of specificity, 84% of diagnostic accuracy, which were comparable to those of MRI, 97.4%, 91.7% and 96%, respectively. But SPECT showed inferior diagnostic values in cruciate ligament injuries. For anterior knee pain, SPECT was more sensitive than MRI for the detection of pathology. And for functionally related cases, such as ACL impingement to intercondylar notch, SPECT was far more valuable than MRI. Bone SPECT will not provide the anatomical detail of MRI but seems to be a useful tool for the detection of wide range of knee disorders including IDK. Further research is justified to investigate the precise role of bone SPECT in clinical practice and its value in relation to MRI.
Arthroscopy ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Knee* ; Ligaments ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Patellofemoral Joint ; Pathology ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Seoul ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

Brachial plexus block is frequently used for surgery on the upper extremity. Unsuccessful brachial plexus block is usually caused either by injection outside the neurovascular sheath or by incomplete blockade inspite of injection within the neurovascular sheath. Studied by Winnie and Collines suggested that the extent of blockade following injection in the sheath surrounding the brachial plexus also should be directly proportional to the volume of local anesthetic injected. We therefore investigated the extent of blockade using different volume of bupivacaine with supraclavicular approach. The results were as follows. 1) Complete analgesia was observed between the group of 15 ml and 30 ml. 2) The interval of complaint of pain after a single injection ranged from 14.3 to 16.4 hours. Insignifi-cant difference was found between the group of 15 ml and 30 ml (p> 0.1) 3) There was no hematoma, shivering, but there was Horner's syndrome in 13, phrenic N.paralysis in 2, pneumothorax in 1 cases. No general seizure or other side effects were observed. Therefore we come to the conclusion that above the volume of 15 ml is sufficient to brachial plexus block with supraclavicular approach.
Analgesia ; Brachial Plexus ; Bupivacaine* ; Hematoma ; Horner Syndrome ; Pneumothorax ; Seizures ; Shivering ; Upper Extremity

The present study represents an analysis of 96 patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) treated in Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea between 1990 and 1999. Twenty-two patients were treated by allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) from HLA identical sibling donors and 74 by immunosuppressive therapy (IS) with antithymocyte globulin (ATG) or antilymphocyte globulin (ALG). There was no statistical difference between the two treatment groups in age, sex, disease duration, and previous transfusion amount. In the BMT group, grade II-IV acute graft versus host disease (GVHD) develeped in 10% and chronic GVHD occurred in 33% of patient. Only one patient died from complication of transplantation (veno-occlusive disease). Of 74 patients who received IS treatment, 45% achieved a complete or partial response. Twenty patients died among IS treatment group. Major causes of death were hemorrhage (40%) and infection (55%). In the BMT group, the 5-yr overall survival (OS) was 95% after a median follow-up of 42 months. In the IS group, the 5-yr OS was 70% after a median follow-up of 49 months (p=0.04). In conclusion, the long-term survival rates of SAA in Koreans receiving BMT or IS were excellent compared with the Western data. Further evaluation on the prognosis of aplastic anemia in Asians should be done.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Anemia, Aplastic/mortality/*therapy ; Antilymphocyte Serum/*administration & dosage ; *Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Human ; Immunosuppressive Agents/*administration & dosage ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neutrophils/cytology ; Severity of Illness Index ; Survival Analysis

BACKGROUND: In acute leukemia patients, several successful methods of expression profiling have been used for various purposes, i.e., to identify new disease class, to select a therapeutic target, or to predict chemo-sensitivity and clinical outcome. In the present study, we tested the peripheral blood of 47 acute leukemia patients in an attempt to identify differentially expressed genes in AML and ALL using a Korean-made 10K oligo-nucleotide microarray. METHODS: Total RNA was prepared from peripheral blood and amplified for microarray experimentation. SAM (significant analysis of microarray) and PAM (prediction analysis of microarray) were used to select significant genes. The selected genes were tested for in a test group, independently of the training group. RESULTS: We identified 345 differentially expressed genes that differentiated AML and ALL patients (FWER < 0.05). Genes were selected using the training group (n=35) and tested for in the test group (n=12). Both training group and test group discriminated AML and ALL patients accurately. Genes that showed relatively high expression in AML patients were deoxynucleotidyl transferase, pre-B lymphocyte gene 3, B-cell linker, CD9 antigen, lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1, CD79B antigen, and early B-cell factor. Genes highly expressed in ALL patients were annexin A 1, amyloid beta (A4) precursor protein, amyloid beta (A4) precursor-like protein 2, cathepsin C, lysozyme (renal amyloidosis), myeloperoxidase, and hematopoietic prostaglandin D2 synthase. CONCLUSION: This study provided genome wide molecular signatures of Korean acute leukemia patients, which clearly identify AML and ALL. Given with other reported signatures, these molecular signatures provide a means of achieving a molecular diagnosis in Korean acute leukemia patents.
Amyloid ; Antigens, CD79 ; Antigens, CD9 ; B-Lymphocytes ; Cathepsin C ; Diagnosis ; DNA Nucleotidylexotransferase ; Gene Expression* ; Genome ; Humans ; Leukemia* ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Lymphoid Enhancer-Binding Factor 1 ; Muramidase ; Peroxidase ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Precursor Cells, B-Lymphoid ; Prostaglandin D2 ; RNA ; Transcriptome*

Ethanol has various effects on male sexual activity under the influence of direct and indirect, in acute and chronic alcohol ingestion. However, whether acetaldehyde, a principal metabolite of ethanol, may affect penile erection directly has still not been elucidated. This present study was, therefore, designed to clarify the pharmacologic effects of the acetaldehyde on corpus cavernosal smooth muscle. Corpus cavernosal strips were prepared from rabbit penises. Isometric tension changes of rabbit corpus cavernosal strips to various drugs and electrical field stimulation (EFS) in an organ chamber were recorded with a pressure transducer after active muscle tone had been induced by phenylephrine (10(-5) mol/L). At the concentrations employed, acetaldehyde had no effect on the pH of the bathing medium. Acetaldehyde in each concentration did not significantly affect resting tone of the smooth muscle during 30 min incubation. Acetaldehyde suppressed contractility induced by phenylephrine and KCI at 10(-4) mol/L, and relaxation induced by EFS and bethanechol at 10(-3) mol/L and 10(-4) mol/L respectively, but acetaldehyde enhanced relaxation induced by ATP at high acetaldehyde level. Sodium nitroprusside-induced relaxation was not affected at any employed acetaldehyde concentration. This suggests that increasing the acetaldehyde level may contribute to male erectile dysfunction mainly by the inhibition of nitric oxide formation.
Acetaldehyde/pharmacology* ; Animal ; Bethanechol/pharmacology ; In Vitro ; Male ; Muscle Contraction/drug effects ; Muscle Relaxation/drug effects ; Muscle, Smooth/physiology ; Muscle, Smooth/drug effects* ; Nitroprusside/pharmacology ; Penis/physiology ; Penis/drug effects* ; Phenylephrine/pharmacology ; Potassium Chloride/pharmacology ; Rabbits

Ethanol has various effects on male sexual activity under the influence of direct and indirect, in acute and chronic alcohol ingestion. However, whether acetaldehyde, a principal metabolite of ethanol, may affect penile erection directly has still not been elucidated. This present study was, therefore, designed to clarify the pharmacologic effects of the acetaldehyde on corpus cavernosal smooth muscle. Corpus cavernosal strips were prepared from rabbit penises. Isometric tension changes of rabbit corpus cavernosal strips to various drugs and electrical field stimulation (EFS) in an organ chamber were recorded with a pressure transducer after active muscle tone had been induced by phenylephrine (10(-5) mol/L). At the concentrations employed, acetaldehyde had no effect on the pH of the bathing medium. Acetaldehyde in each concentration did not significantly affect resting tone of the smooth muscle during 30 min incubation. Acetaldehyde suppressed contractility induced by phenylephrine and KCI at 10(-4) mol/L, and relaxation induced by EFS and bethanechol at 10(-3) mol/L and 10(-4) mol/L respectively, but acetaldehyde enhanced relaxation induced by ATP at high acetaldehyde level. Sodium nitroprusside-induced relaxation was not affected at any employed acetaldehyde concentration. This suggests that increasing the acetaldehyde level may contribute to male erectile dysfunction mainly by the inhibition of nitric oxide formation.
Acetaldehyde/pharmacology* ; Animal ; Bethanechol/pharmacology ; In Vitro ; Male ; Muscle Contraction/drug effects ; Muscle Relaxation/drug effects ; Muscle, Smooth/physiology ; Muscle, Smooth/drug effects* ; Nitroprusside/pharmacology ; Penis/physiology ; Penis/drug effects* ; Phenylephrine/pharmacology ; Potassium Chloride/pharmacology ; Rabbits

A pulmonary embolism and cerebral infarction are the second and third most common acute cardiovascular diseases after a myocardial infarction. Early diagnosis and appropriate management are important clinical challenges. In this case, a fatal pulmonary embolism and extensive cerebral infarction caused cardiac arrest during spinal anesthesia for total hip replacement surgery. Transesophageal echocardiography indicated a pulmonary embolism and brain CT showed large area of acute infarction at right middle cerebral artery territory. Pulmonary CT angiogram revealed massive pulmonary embolism findings. This paper reviews this case and suggests other preventive modalities.
Anesthesia, Spinal ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; Brain ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cerebral Infarction ; Early Diagnosis ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; Heart Arrest ; Infarction ; Middle Cerebral Artery ; Myocardial Infarction ; Pulmonary Embolism

BACKGROUND: The nose plays an important aesthetic, functional role and is located at the center of the face. Due to the characteristics of its anatomical location, the nose is easily exposed and damaged due to weathering, trauma, and inflammation. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide information on the most common benign and malignant tumors according to their location on the nose. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 217 patients who visited the Department of Dermatology at Chosun University Hospital and underwent biopsy for suspected skin tumors in the past 6 years. The tumor was classified as benign, pre-cancerous, and malignant. Differences in the distribution of the anatomical locations of each disease group were analyzed according to the eight anatomical locations of the nose. RESULTS: Based on the external nose anatomy, the most common site where skin tumors usually occurred was the nasal alar (29%), followed by the nasal dorsum and nasal sidewall (23.5% and 20.2%, respectively). The most common skin tumor was malignant tumor (72.3%), followed by benign tumor (21.1%) and premalignant disease (6.4%). CONCLUSION: I In this study, among patients who underwent biopsy for suspected tumor in the nose, the most common neoplasm was malignant skin tumor and the most common anatomical location was the nasal alar. Therefore, a rapid diagnosis and treatment of skin tumors that occur in the nasal alar wound be necessary.
Biopsy ; Dermatology ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Nose ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin ; Weather ; Wounds and Injuries

No abstract available.
Antilymphocyte Serum ; Humans ; Leukemia ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; Tissue Donors