PURPOSE: To determine the characteristics of benign breast calcifications on mammogram. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Benign breast calcifications on mammograms of 25 patients, which were confirmed by needle localization and excisional biopsy(15 cases), cytology(1 case), or follow-up study(9 cases), were retrospectively analysed according to size, shape, number, distribution, and density. RESULTS: The size of benign breast calcifications was uniform in 4 cases (16%), and variable in 21 cases (84%). The shape of calcifications was round or oval in 18 cases(72%), linear or branching pattern in 6 cases (24%), and irregular in 1 case(4%). The number of calcifications was 2-5 in 7 cases(28%), and over 6 in 12 cases(48%). The distribution of calcifications was focal in 13 cases(52%) and diffuse in 12 cases(48%). The density of calcification was homogenous in all 25 cases(100%). CONCLUSION: Analysis of number, shape, size, and distribution is helpful for the diagnosis of benign breast calcifications. However the homogenous density of the calcification is suggested to be the most helpful criterion for the diagnosis of benign breast calcifications.
Breast* ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Needles ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: To report a case of IgG4-related sclerosing disease involving the eyelid in an idiopathic sclerosing myositis patient. CASE SUMMARY: A 51-year-old woman presented with swelling, redness, and tenderness of the left lower eyelid of 1 month duration had taken an immunosuppressant for idiopathic sclerosing myositis. Eye movements showed limitation all directions but there was no exophthalmos. A palpable mass was noted in the left lower eyelid. The left extraocular muscles were hypertrophied but the lacrimal gland was normal on orbital magnetic resonance imaging. IgG4-related sclerosing disease was confirmed by immunostained biopsy from the left lower eyelid, showing infiltration of IgG4-positive lymphoplasmacytic cells. The patient was given oral steroids and an immunosuppressant and the symptoms did not recur for at least 7 months. CONCLUSIONS: IgG4-related sclerosing disease involving ocular adnexa usually consists of bilateral lacrimal gland involvement. Additionally, the orbital soft tissue involvement without dacryoadenitis is rare. The authors of the present study report a case of IgG4-related sclerosing disease involving the left lower eyelid in an idiopathic sclerosing myositis patient and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of eyelid masses.
Biopsy ; Dacryocystitis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Exophthalmos ; Eye Movements ; Eyelids* ; Female ; Humans ; Lacrimal Apparatus ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Muscles ; Myositis* ; Orbit ; Steroids

Patients tend to return to normal pronunciation patterns after fitting new dentures. However, for some patients, it takes a long time to adapt the new complete denture. In this case, the patient came to the hospital at the address of wanting to remake dentures due to wear and tear. After diagnosis through clinical and radiological examination, the maxillary complete denture and mandibular removable partial denture were remade. The patient complained whistling /s/ sound at the first check-up after placement of the new denture. The anterior palatal area of polished surface of the new maxillary complete denture was concave comparing to old denture, and this was the cause of the whistling /s/ sound. A tissue conditioning material was applied to the maxillary complete denture and patient made /s/ sound. The tissue conditioning material was replaced with self-curing type denture base resin, and the patient was immediately satisfied with clear /s/ sound. As an objective assessment, palatogram and speech analytics software was applied. In this case, a patient who received denture treatment complaining of difficulty in pronunciation underwent immediate denture repair, which resulted in patient satisfaction and improved pronunciation through objective evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of reversing the coiling direction of nickeltitanium closed-coil springs (NiTi-CCSs) on the force-deflection characteristics. METHODS: The samples consisted of two commercially available conventional NiTi-CCS groups and two reverse-wound NiTi-CCS groups (Ormco-Conventional vs. Ormco-Reverse; GAC-Conventional vs. GAC-Reverse; n = 20 per group). The reverse-wound NiTi-CCSs were directly made from the corresponding conventional NiTi-CCSs by reversing the coiling direction. Tensile tests were performed for each group in a temperature-controlled acrylic chamber (37 ± 1℃). After measuring the force level, the range of the deactivation force plateau (DFP) and the amount of mechanical hysteresis (MH), statistical analyses were performed. RESULTS: The Ormco-Reverse group exhibited a significant shift of the DFP end point toward the origin point (2.3 to 0.6 mm), an increase in the force level (1.2 to 1.3 N) and amount of MH (1.0 to 1.5 N) compared to the Ormco-Conventional group (all p < 0.001), which indicated that force could be constantly maintained until the end of the deactivation curve. In contrast, the GAC-Reverse group exhibited a significant shift of the DFP-end point away from the origin point (0.2 to 3.3 mm), a decrease in the force level (1.1 to 0.9 N) and amount of MH (0.6 to 0.4 N) compared to the GAC-Conventional group (all p < 0.001), which may hinder the maintenance of force until the end of the deactivation curve. CONCLUSIONS The two commercially available NiTi-CCS groups exhibited different patterns of change in the force-deflection characteristics when the coiling direction was reversed.

The Fas (TNF receptor superfamily, member 6) (FAS)/FAS ligand (FASLG) interaction plays a central role in the regulation of programmed cell death. FAS and FASLG polymorphisms in promoter regions affect transcriptional activities. To investigate whether FAS and FASLG polymorphisms are associated with the development and clinical phenotypes of stroke, 2 promoter single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in FAS (rs1800682, -670C/T) and FASLG (rs763110, -844C/T) were selected and genotyped by direct sequencing in 220 stroke patients [107 ischemic stroke (IS), 77 intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and 36 subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)] and 369 control subjects. For the analysis of clinical symptoms, all stroke patients were divided into 3 clinical phenotypes according to the respective results of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Survey (NIHSS) and the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) and the presence or absence of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The SNPStats, SNPAnalyzer, and Helixtree programs were used to analyze the genetic data. Multiple logistic regression models (codominant, dominant, and recessive) were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs), 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and p-values. The promoter SNP rs1800682 was associated with stroke in the codominant (OR=0.48, 95% CI=0.25-0.94, p=0.04) and dominant models (OR=0.51, 95% CI=0.30-0.87, p=0.011). However, a FASLG SNP (rs763110) was not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p<0.05). In the analysis of stroke types, rs1800682 was associated with IS in the codominant (OR=0.30, 95% CI=0.12-0.74, p=0.025), dominant (OR=0.44, 95% CI=0.23-0.88, p=0.018), and recessive models (OR=0.45, 95% CI=0.21-0.99, p=0.042). The genotype frequencies of rs1800682 were different between ICH and controls in the dominant model (OR=0.49, 95% CI=0.26-0.94, p=0.031) but not between SAH and controls. In the analysis of clinical symptoms, however, rs1800682 was not related to the 3 clinical phenotypes (NIHSS, MBI, and CRPS). These results suggest that a promoter SNP (rs1800682, -670C/T) in FAS may be associated with the development of stroke in the Korean population.
Cell Death ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Genotype ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ; Odds Ratio ; Phenotype ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Stroke ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

BACKGROUND: The information on nasal transport and the metabolism of peptides have been obtained from pharmacokinetic investigations in experimental animals. However, there are no transport and metabolic studies of human nasal epithelial cells. In this study, the permeability characteristics and the metabolic properties of in vitro human nasal cell monolayers were investigated. Material and METHODS: Normal human inferior nasal conchal tissue samples were obtained from patients undergoing endoscopic nasal cavitary surgery. The specimens were cultured in a transwell using an air-liquid interface (ALI) culture, and the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) value of the blank filter and confluent cell monolayers were measured. To determine the % leakage of mannitol, 4µmol 14C-labelled mannitol was added and the % leakage was measured every 10 minute for 1 hour. RESULT: Human nasal epithelial cells in the primary culture grew to a confluent monolayer within 7 days and expressed microvilli. The tight junction between the cells was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The TEER value of the blank filter, fifth day and seventh day reached 108.5 ohm.cm2, 141 ohm.cm2 and 177.5 ohm.cm2, respectively. Transcellular % leakage of the 14C-mannitol at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 minutes was 35.67±5.43, 34.42±5.60, 32.75±5.71, 31.76±4.22, 30.96±3.49 and 29.60±3.68 %, respectively. CONCLUSION: The human nasal epithelial monolayer using ALI using techniques is suitable for a transcellular permeability study. The data suggests that human nasal epithelial cells in as ALI culture technique shows some promise for a nasal transport and metabolism study.
Animals ; Culture Techniques* ; Electric Impedance ; Epithelial Cells* ; Humans* ; Mannitol ; Metabolism ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Microvilli ; Peptides ; Permeability ; Tight Junctions

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to evaluate whether the differences of PG concentration in follicular and peritoneal fluid during preovulatory phase exist between the women with and without endometriosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-three patients with endometriosis, 8 were stage I-II and 15 were stage III-IV, and another 23 patients without endometriosis were undergone laparotomy during late follicular phase. Peritoneal fluid from 46 patients and follicular fluid from 42 patients were obtained, and these samples were analyzed double times for PGF2alpha, PGE2 and estradiol. RESULTS: The mean level of PGF2alphain the peritoneal fluid was significantly higher in the group with endometriosis than in the control(P=0.0293), especially more significant in stage I-II endometriosis. Although there was no significant difference of PGF2alphaconcentration in the follicular fluid between the groups, the stage III-IV endometriosis group showed slightly higher PGF2alphalevel than both the stage I-II group and the control(P=0.0604). And also, there was significant positive correlation with the level of PGF2alphaand estradiol in the follicular fluid only in the endometriosis group(r=0.4988, P=0.0154), not in the control. However, there was no difference in the level of PGE2 and estradiol in the peritoneal or follicular fluid between the groups. CONCLUSION: Some alterations of PGF2alphalevel exist in the women with endometriosis. These are significantly higher PGF2alphalevel in peritoneal fluid with mild endometriosis and slightly higher PGF2alphalevels in follicular fluid with extensive endometriosis during preovulatory phase, which suggest that PGF2alphamay play some roles in subfertility associated with endometriosis.
Ascitic Fluid* ; Dinoprost* ; Dinoprostone ; Endometriosis* ; Estradiol ; Female ; Follicular Fluid ; Follicular Phase* ; Humans ; Infertility ; Laparotomy

PURPOSE: To determine the enhancing patterns of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) and the difference of enhancing patterns according to the tumor size, using spiral CT. MATERIALS & METHODS: We reviewed 213 lesions in 76patients who had been clinically or histopathologically diagnosed as HCC sufferer. The tumors were divided into three groups, according to size(&3 cm, 3-5cm and >5 cm). The enhancing patterns of tumor and capsule in the earlyand delayed phase were analysed. The enhancing patterns of the tumor were divided into five types(high, peripheralhigh, mixed, iso and low attenuation) in the early phase and four types(central high, mixed, iso, and low attenuation) in the delayed phase. The enhancing patterns of the capsule were divided into three types such asiso, low and high attenuation. RESULTS: High attenuating lesions in the early phase were as follows : below 3cm 72% ; 3-5cm., 60% ; above 5cm., 49%. Mixed attenuating lesions in the early phase were as follows : below 3cm., 1%; 3-5cm., 22% ; above 5cm., 36%. Thus, most HCCs were high attenuation type in the early phase, but as the tumorbecame larger, less high attenuation and more mixed attenuation was demonstrated(p<0.01). There was no difference of enhancing patterns according to the tumor size in peripheral high, iso and low-attenuating lesions. In the delayed phase most of the hepatomas appeared as totally hypodense lesions. For capsules, the results were as follows : below 3cm., 20% ; 3-5cm.,58% ; above 5cm., 73%. As the tumors became larger, more capsules were demonstrated(p <0.01). The capsules were visualized as iso or low attenuating rim in the early phase and high attenuating rim in the delayed phase. CONCLUSIONS: To determine the enhancing patterns of HCC using spiral CT is considered to be helpful in the diagnosis of HCC.
Capsules ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Diagnosis ; Tomography, Spiral Computed*

Mandible defects could be caused by congenital malformations, trauma, osteomyelitis, tumor resection. If large areas are included for reconstruction, those are primarily due to tumor resection defects. The large jaw defect results in a problem about mastication, swallowing, occlusion and phonetics, and poor esthetics causes a lot of inconvenience in daily life. It is almost impossible to be a part underwent mandibular resection completely reproduced, should be rebuilt artificially. This case is of a patient who was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma pT1N0M0, stage I in February 2004 and received surgery (combined mandibulectomy and neck dissection operation (COMMANDO) in oromaxillofacial surgery) in March 2004, by implant assisted removable partial denture. We could obtain good retention and stability through sufficient coverage and implant holding. Follow up period was about four years. Mandibular left third molar regions have been observed to have resorption of surrounding bone, and periodic check-ups are necessary conditions.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Deglutition ; Denture, Partial, Removable* ; Esthetics ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Jaw ; Mandible ; Mastication ; Molar, Third ; Mouth Neoplasms* ; Neck Dissection ; Osteomyelitis ; Phonetics

PURPOSE: This purpose of this report was to study trends in cataract and refractive surgeries conducted during the past twelve years and to compare results to previous reports from the ASCRS and New Zealand (NZ) in order to forecast future medical services. METHODS: We surveyed members of the Korean Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (KSCRS) every year from 1995 to 2006, and studied changes in cataract and refractive surgeries (RS). RESULTS: The duration of hospitalization has been gradually decreasing to the point that a one day hospitalization following surgery has become common. The rate of topical anesthesia use has significantly increased since 1998. Sutureless incision methods are now commonly practiced. The use of acryl IOL as an optic material has been gradually increasing for cataract surgeries. KSCRS members showed an interest in the special intraocular lenses as multifocal IOL. While Excimer laser PRK was the most popular refractive surgery during the first stage, KSCRS members increasingly prefer LASIK to the Excimer laser PRK. Regression of the corrected visual acuity, dry eye, night halo, and flashes were the most common complications following refractive surgeries. Medical disputes related to PRK and LASIK have been gradually increasing throughout the study period. CONCLUSIONS: We confirm that the KSCRS practice styles for cataract and RS are similar to those of the ASCRS and NZ. We infer a world-wide trend from the comparison of these three societies.
Adult ; Cataract Extraction/statistics & numerical data/*trends ; Humans ; Keratomileusis, Laser In Situ/statistics & numerical data/trends ; Laser Therapy/statistics & numerical data/trends ; Lasers, Excimer ; Lenses, Intraocular/statistics & numerical data/trends ; Middle Aged ; Ophthalmology/statistics & numerical data/*trends ; Photorefractive Keratectomy/statistics & numerical data/trends ; Professional Practice/statistics & numerical data/*trends ; Questionnaires ; Refractive Surgical Procedures/statistics & numerical data/*trends ; Republic of Korea ; Societies, Medical