No abstract available.
Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung*

OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: To determine correlations among ambulatory renin activity, ambulatory blood pressure and microalbumin excretion rate, 66 Korean essential hypertensives were studied after 4 week wash-out period. The ambulatory blood pressure was monitored every 30 minutes and mean BP were calculated automatically. Urinary microalbumin excretion rate(UAER) and ambulatory plasma renin activity(aPRA) collected at mid-day were measured by radioimmunoassays. Subjectives were divided into 2 groups by aPRA value(2ng/ml/hr). RESULT: 14 cases were high renin group and 52 cases low renin group. The mean BP were 148.83/94.69mmHg in low renin group, and 146.57/98.07mmHg in high-renin group without difference. UAER were not different also between both groups. 23.07%(4/14) of non-dippers were included in high renin group and 25.58%(12/52) in low renin group without statistical difference. The aPRA was significantly related to UAER and systolic and diastolic mean blood pressure. Also UAER was related significantly to day mean blood pressures. CONCLUSION: Thus aPRA is thought to be a meaningful indicator to predict hypertensive renal target organ damage as well as blood pressure measured with 24-hr ABPM.
Blood Pressure* ; Hypertension* ; Plasma* ; Radioimmunoassay ; Renin*

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to review the outcome of local control after the local excision for T1/T2 rectal cancers and, thus, to assess its effectiveness as an alternative to a more radical resection. METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed 23 patients with T1/T2 rectal cancer treated by local excision (LE), and their results were compared with the results for 22 patients with rectal cancer of the same stage treated by a radical resection (RR). All patients with pT2 lesions in the LE group received postoperative adjuvant chemoradiation. The outcomes were defined as 5-year local-recurrence-free survival (LRFS). The median follow-up was 72 (range, 40~92) months. RESULTS: Recurrence occurred in 4 patients (pT1, 1; pT2, 3) in the LE group and in 3 patients (all pT2) in the the RR group. One patient with vascular invasion (T2N1M0) in the RR group showed multiple liver metastases at 23 months postoperatively. The difference in 5-year LRFS was not statistically significant between the two groups. In the LE group, the 5-year LRFS for pT2 lesions was significantly less favorable than that for pT1 lesions (40% vs. 94%; P= 0.005). The 5-year LRFS for pT2 in the RR group was more favorable than that in the LE group, although the difference was not statistically significant (76.9% vs. 40%, P=0.138). CONSLUSIONS: Local excision provides a favorable local control for pT1 rectal cancers. A more radical resection, however, remains an effective surgical option for pT2 lesions because local excision, even combined with adjuvant chemoradiation, showed substantial local recurrences.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Liver ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Rectal Neoplasms* ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies

No abstract available.
Sympathectomy

High-resolution (HR) ultrasound, which has been progressing continuously in technology, has improved in aspect of spatial and contrast resolution. The HR ultrasonography is a noninvasive, readily applicable imaging technique, which could get static and dynamic image in real-time for various neuromuscular disorders, especially in entrapment neuropathy. It is also a reliable tool to detect dynamic muscle movements such as fasciculation as well as muscle atrophy in chronic myopathies or neuropathies. Although reliability of the HR ultrasonography has not been investigated in large series of patients, different neuromuscular disorders tend to show specific changes on the ultrasound, which can be helpful in differential diagnosis. The HR ultrasonography is an ideal tool for the clinical and research investigation of neuromuscular system complementary to electrodiagnostic studies. This review briefly describes applicability for various neuromuscular disorders with previous study results and the technical aspects of ultrasound and its physical principles.
Diagnosis, Differential ; Fasciculation ; Humans ; Muscles ; Muscular Atrophy ; Muscular Diseases ; Nerve Compression Syndromes

Primary intracranial choriocarcinoma is a extremely rare neoplasm since the case was reported by Askanasy, in 1906, there have been 35 reported, even if germinal neoplasms containing chorocarcinoma-like tissue are added. But pure choriocarcinoma was rarely reported. The purpose of this paper is to report a case of 18-year-old boy with tumor in subependymal region around left frontal horn, which was present with high level of serum beta chain of chorionic gonadotropin(B-HCG) and was verified as germine choriocarcinoma by biopay.
Adolescent ; Animals ; Choriocarcinoma* ; Chorion ; Female ; Horns ; Humans ; Male ; Pregnancy

No abstract available.
Brain ; Brain Neoplasms ; Demyelinating Diseases ; Multiple Sclerosis

Noninvasive prediction of pulmonary arterial pressure is of paramount importance in heart disease. To estimate pulmonary arterial pressure, several echocardiographic techniques, including abnormal pulmonary valve motion, prolongation of RV preejection period/RV ejection time ratio and contrast echocardiography have been proposed. Recently Doppler echocardiography has been known to detect intracardiac blood quantitatively. For assessment of the benefit of several indices by Pulsed Doppler echocardiography for mean pulmonary arterial pressure, 22 patients(mean pulmonary pressure> or =20mmHg; 11, <20mmHg; 11) were compared with the mean pulmonary arterial pressure by cardiac catheterization. In comparison of mean pulmonary arterial pressure(MPAP); 1) Right preejection period / RV ejection time RPEP/RVET;r=0.278 2) Right preejection period / Acceleration time RPEP/AT : r=0.654 3) Acceleration time(AT) AT=-1.55(MPAP)+154.37(r=-0.763) AT=-92.99(log MPAP)+239.41(r=-0.752) AT is less than 105 msec in 9 or 11 pulmonary hypertension and one of 11 normal individual. 4) Acceleration time/ RV ejection time AT/RVET=-136.36(MPAP)+83.31(r=-0.817) AT/RVET=-0.29(log MPAP)+0.81(r=-0.803) 5) (Right preejection period+Decceleration time) / AT (RPEP+DT)/AT=9.6(MPAP)-0.16(r=0.806) (RPEP+DT)/AT=3.86(log MPAP)-2.46(r=0.789) In conclusion AT/RVET, (RPEP+DT)/AT and Acceleration time of 105 msec are valuable indices to estimate mean pulmonary arterial pressure by Pulsed Doppler echocardiogram.
Acceleration ; Arterial Pressure* ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Echocardiography, Doppler, Pulsed* ; Heart Diseases ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Pulmonary Valve

PURPOSE: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is one of the most common surgical emergencies during the neonatal period. The aim of this study was to identify and assess the factors affecting the postoperative mortality in infants with NEC that require surgical treatment. METHODS: The authors retrospectively reviewed 37 infants surgically treated, at the Department of Surgery, Pusan National University Hospital, between Jan. 2000 and Dec. 2004. The patients were divided two groups according to the clinical outcomes; the survival and non-survival groups. Eight variables, i.e., sex, gestational age, weight at birth and at the time of the first operation, weight change between birth and the time of the first operation, degree of clinical manifestations (as a modified Bell's stage), interval between the onset of symptoms and the time of the first operation, the extent of necrotic intestine and associated anomalies, were analyzed. RESULTS: Among 37 infants, 6 expired (a mortality rate of 16.2%). The postoperative mortality was not affected by sex, gestational age, and the weight at birth and at the time of the first operation, weight change between birth and at the time of the first operation, degree of clinical manifestations and the interval between the onset of symptoms and the time of the first operation. However, the extent of necrotic intestine was associated with a significantly increased mortality (P=0.046). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the extent of necrotic intestine is the only statistically significant factor affecting the postoperative mortality in infants with NEC that require surgical treatment.
Busan ; Emergencies ; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing* ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Intestines ; Mortality* ; Parturition ; Retrospective Studies

No abstract available.
DNA* ; Flow Cytometry* ; Gestational Trophoblastic Disease*