An appreciation of the normal variation of the Talar Tilt angle under stress roentgenogram on the ankle joint may throw some light on the diagnosis and treatment in an ankle joint injuries. The purpose of this study is to show the normal range of the Talar Tilt angleof the ankle joint under various circumstances and has been to compare the results of each angle. The author have undertaken the neutral ankle mortise view and inversion and eversion stress roentgenogram in all ankles and measured its Talar Tilt angle. The data were based on study of free chosen 50 normal Korean adult male 25 and female 25 respectively. The results were summerized as follows; 1. Talar Tilt angle was O degree in neutral ankle mortise view. 2. In inversion stress roentgenogram, Talar Tilt angle ranged from 0 to 15 degrees, 97% of cases were less than 10 degrees. 3. In eversion stress roentgenogram, Talar Tilt angle ranged from 0 to 7 degrees. 4. In inversion stress roentgenoram, the difference between right and left of same male and female ranged from 0 to 7 degrees. 5. It is very important to check accurately Talar Tilt angle under the same method and same conditions.
Adult ; Ankle Joint ; Ankle ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Methods ; Reference Values

Differential diagnosis of vertebral lesion by simple radiography is not so easy whether the lesion is benign or malignant. The purpose of this study is to evaluate that the magnetic resonance imaging characteristics can differentiate benign or malignant vertebral lesions. In this study, thirty-nine cases of signal change within the vertebral body by MRI was reviewed retrospectively and the followings are the summary of the results. It is difficult to differenciate benign or malignant lesions, only based on MRI signal changes or vertebral lesion patterns. But those cases of pedicle involvement, complete replacement of bone marrow in T1image and associated soft tissue mass or cord compression are strongly suggest the possibility of malignancy and need further study.
Bone Marrow ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Radiography ; Retrospective Studies ; Spine

At the beginning, researches on the biology of depression or affective illness have focused mainly on the receptor functions and neuroendocrine activities. And the studies of the past years did not break new theoretical background, but the recent advances in the research on the molecular mechanisms underlying neural communication and signal transduction do add some insights to many established ideas. This article will overview some of the more recent advances in the clinical researches of depression. Our major concerns to be presented here include the following : (1) alterations in the post-synaptic neural transduction ; (2) changes in the neurons of hypothalamic neuropeptides ; (3) decreased peptidase enzyme activities : (4) associations of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis abnormalities with serotonin neurotransmission ; (5) role of serotonin transporter ; (6) changes in the responsiveness of intracellular calcium ion levels ; (7) the inositol deficiency theory of lithium and depression ; (8) the transcription factors including immediate early genes ; (9) recent genetic studies in some families. This brief overview will suggest that changes in DNA occur during antidepressant therapy. These changes at the DNA level initiating a cascade of events underlying antidepressant modality will give us the insight on the molecular biological basis of the pathogenesis of depression and cues for a new class of antidepressants.
Antidepressive Agents ; Axis ; Biology ; Calcium ; Cues ; Depression* ; DNA ; Genes, Immediate-Early ; Humans ; Inositol ; Lithium ; Neurobiology* ; Neurons ; Neuropeptides ; Serotonin ; Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins ; Signal Transduction ; Synaptic Transmission ; Transcription Factors

No abstract available.
Emphysema* ; Tuberculosis*

Priapism is a relatively rare condition of persistent painful erection unaccompanied by sexual desire. We report two cases of priapism, one etiology is related to leukemia and the other is idiopathic. The former was treated with continuous Hemo-Vac drainage, the latter with corporal cavernosum spongiosum shunt, and the results were good.
Drainage ; Leukemia ; Priapism*

Luteal phase defect (LPD) is an ovulatory disorder of considerable clinical importance that leads to delayed endometrial maturation and inadequate endometrium for blastocyst implantation. This disorder is implicated in infertility and recurrent spontaneous abortion. We analyzed the endometrial histological maturation, and the estrogen receptor(ER) and progesterone receptor(PR) status in patients with unexplained delayed ovulation, and in patients with ovulation induction by clomiphen citrate. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the length of the follicular phase influences the endometrial histological maturation and the hormonal receptor status, and to know the effect of clomiphen citrate on the endometrium. In the delayed ovulation group, the endometrium was characterized by an irregular outpouching and dilated lumina of the glands, a decreased secretory activity and predecidualization, and a decreased number of granulocytes in the stroma. In the clomiphen citrate-ovulation induction group, glandular proliferation was markedly diminished with poorly convoluted and narrow glands, secretory activity was decreased, stroma was undecidualized, and there was an absence of granulocytes. ER expression was increased in the glandular epithelium in the delayed ovulation group, and both ER and PR expressions were markedly decreased in the glandular epithelium and stromal cells in the ovulation induction group. Endometrial maturation and differentiation may be diminished by increased estrogenic and relatively deficient progesterone effects in patients with delayed ovulation. The hormonal receptor status might also be influenced by hormonal changes. Clomiphen citrate successfully induced ovulation in patients with delayed ovulation, however, endometrial proliferation and maturation were markedly suppressed. This might be related to the lower pregnancy rate and higher abortion rate in patients with clomiphen citrate induced ovulation.
Pregnancy ; Female ; Humans

BACKGROUND: Traction has often been utilized to treat patients with a herniated lumbar disc. Currently, the most advanced type of traction therapy is non-surgical spinal decompression. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of decompression therapy in patients with a herniated lumbar disc based on clinical findings and symptoms. METHODS: Sixty patients with herniated lumbar discs were included in this study. The patients were randomly divided into two groups, a decompression group (n = 30) and a traction group (n = 30). To evaluate the impact of decompression and traction therapy on the herniated disc, the clinical symptoms for each group were evaluated prior to and after treatment using the visual analogue scale (VAS), straight leg raising (SLR), the herniation index, and the disc height. RESULTS: The VAS score was significantly lower in the decompression group (2.0 +/- 0.2) than the traction group (3.9 +/- 0.2) following treatment. In addition, the SLR angle was significantly higher in the decompression group (79 +/- 1.5) than the traction group (63.3 +/- 1.9). The herniation index was significantly lower in the decompression group (217.6 +/- 19.1) than the traction group (259.5 +/- 16.4). Finally, the disc height was not significant differences between pre-treatment and follow-up in two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that decompression therapy for the treatment of patients suffering from a herniated lumbar disc has an effect on the pain, SLR, and herniation indices, not disc heights.
Decompression ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; Leg ; Stress, Psychological ; Traction

The most frequently reported neurological complication of a wasp sting is ischemic stroke. We treated a patient with wasp sting with unusual complications. A 52-year-old man was hospitalized for anaphylactic shock after multiple wasp stings. Although the patient recovered consciousness after 2 days, he had global aphasia and right hemiparesis. Brain magnetic resonance imaging and angiography revealed high-intensity signals in the left basal ganglia and cerebral cortex and stenosis of the left middle cerebral artery. After 2 days, the middle cerebral artery stenosis improved. After 5 days, diffusion-weighted imaging showed an enlarged lesion in the left frontal cortex. The infarct in this case was due to a predominantly unilateral vasoconstrictive hypoxic brain injury from wasp stings.
Brain Injuries

Congenital Hyperextension of the Knee is a extremly rare deformity, in which the tibia is displaced anteriorly in relation to the femur. It is usually classified into three subtypes according to severity of the status: genu recurvatum, subluxation and dislocation. (Curtis and Fisher) We experienced a genu recurvatum type of congenital hyperextension of the knee in June, 1976.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Dislocations ; Femur ; Knee ; Tibia

PURPOSE: The respiratory tract infections including pneumonia have been the major contributing factor for bronchial asthma, and are frequently involved in hospitalization due to asthma attack. We studied clinical characteristics of hospitalized cases due to asthma attack with and without pneumonic infiltrates. METHODS: Over 5 years between January 1993 and December 1997, 628 patients were hospitalized due to asthma attack. 315 of them had pneumonic infiltrates on chest X-ray (defined as pneumonia group) and 197 patients had no pneumonic infiltrates (uncomplicated group). The clinical characteristics of both groups were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: The age on admission and first attack in pneumonia group were significantly younger than those of uncomplicated group (P<0.05). The incidence of male was higher than that of female in both groups. The interval from attack to admission and duration of hospitalization were much longer in pneumonia group (P<0.05). The bronchial asthma attack was most frequently occurred between September and November. The atopy-perennial type was predominant in the both groups, and the incidence of non-atopy type was higher in the pneumonia group. The mild asthma attack was predominant in the pneumonia group and moderate one was predominant in the uncomplicated group. The incidence of fever and inflammatory reaction (peripheral blood WBC count, serum CRP level) were higher in the pneumonia group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the serum IgE level between two groups. CONCLUSION: Frequency and duration of hospitalization due to asthma attack might be lessened by prevention against respiratory tract infection.
Asthma* ; Female ; Fever ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Incidence ; Male ; Pneumonia ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; Retrospective Studies ; Thorax