Subcutaneous panniculitic T-cell lymphoma(SPTCL) is a rare subtype of peripheral T-cell lymphoma that clinically and histologically mimics benign panniculitis. SPTCL is characterized by subcutaneous nodules on the extremities and trunk. It has a tendency to occur mainly in female adults with eosinophilia, pruritus or hemophagocytic syndromes. Histopathologically, typical lesions of SPTCL show moderate to dense lymphocytic infiltrates in the subcutaneous fat, primarily involving the lobules. Early lesions may show only focal lymphocytic atypia: later lesions display karyorrhexis, necrosis and cytophagia. A 34-year-old woman presented with multiple, recurrent, tender subcutaneous nodules on the abdomen and extremities which she had had for 13 years. There was no hepatosplenomegaly or lymphadenopathy. Skin biopsy specimens revealed atypical small and large lymphocytic infiltrations in the subcutaneous tissue. Occasionally, histiocytes contained erythrocytes and lymphocytes in their cytoplasm. Immunohistochemical staining showed positive reactions to CD45RO and CD43. Negative reactions were seen to CD20, Leu-7 and lysozyme antigen. On the basis of the clinical & histological findings, we established the diagnosis of SPTCL.
Abdomen ; Adult ; Biopsy ; Cytoplasm ; Diagnosis ; Eosinophilia ; Erythrocytes ; Extremities ; Female ; Histiocytes ; Humans ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Lymphocytes ; Lymphohistiocytosis, Hemophagocytic ; Lymphoma, T-Cell* ; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral ; Muramidase ; Necrosis ; Panniculitis ; Pruritus ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Fat ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; T-Lymphocytes*

PURPOSE: Chitin and chitosan are nontoxic natural chelators that chelate radiostrontium effectively. The purpose of this study was to compare radiostrontium chelation of chitin and chitosan with that of well known chemical chelators, namely EDTA and DTPA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The chelaton rates of chitin, chitosan, EDTA and DTPA were compared using a column chromatography method (Sephadex G-25M, Sweden). Three kinds of chitins and four kinds of chitosans were used. All of them were water soloble. RESULTS: Phosphated chitosan showed the highest chelation yield of more than 97% at pH 7. All of chitins, chitosans, EDTA and DTPA showed chelation yield of more than 90% independent of varing pH level. CONCLUSION: Chitin and chitosan have similar chelation rate as compared with EDTA and DTPA.
Chelating Agents ; Chitin* ; Chitosan* ; Chromatography ; Edetic Acid* ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Pentetic Acid*

PURPOSE: To evaluate the usefulness, patterns and appearances of false positive lesions, and technical problems of CTAP(CT Arterioportography). MATERIALS AND METHODS: CTAP was done in 45 patients in whom hepatic lesions were suggested on other radiologic studies. CTAP findings were compared with the informations obtained by operations, biopsies, and follow-up imagings. Additional findings, which were not detected in other radiologic studies, false positive manifestations, and technical errors were analyzed. RESULTS: CTAP detected 51 additional hepatic lesions which are not detected in other imaging studies. Of the 51 lesions, ten were true positive hepatic tumors, 2 were inflammatory lesions and 39 were false positive .lesions. False positive lesions included perfusion defects of periportal and perifissural areas, subcapsular perfusion defects and nonlobar, nonsegmental geographic perfusion defects. In 2 cases, CTAP aided in deciding the surgical strategy. On the other hand, there were 4 cases causing interpretational confusion and 6 cases of improper imaging due to technical errors. CONCLUSION: CTAP was valuable in detection of additional hepatic cancer lesion as well as in making the treatment plan. However, since many false positive lesions and improper imaging due to technical error occur during the examination, the understanding of such problems is essential for correct interpretation of CTAP.
Biopsy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hand ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; Perfusion

We report a case of para.psoriasis variegata in a 19 year-old male patient wha has brownish flat scaly papules that are confluent in a retiform pattern characterized by symmetrical distribution on trunk and upper extremities. A skin biopsy specimen showed hyperkeratosis, focaI parakeratosis, hyperpigmentation of basal cell layer, and a mild lymphocytic perivascular infiltrate. No evidence was found for a relationship to lymphoma.
Biopsy ; Humans ; Hyperpigmentation ; Lymphoma ; Male ; Parakeratosis ; Parapsoriasis* ; Skin ; Upper Extremity ; Young Adult

The retinoic acid and retinoid(Ro 11-1430) were alternately applied topically on forty patients with acne vulgaris. Therapeutic effects and side reactions of this regimen were compared with our previous studies of the treatment with retinoic acid alone and with retinoid alone. Compared with the treatment with retinoic acid alone, the therapsutic effect of the alternating treatment was relatively superior as indicated by the markedly reduced severity of local side reactions.
Acne Vulgaris* ; Humans ; Tretinoin

BACKGROUND: Fixed drug eruptions(FDE) are a cutaneous reaction characterized by one or more circumscribed lesions that recur at the same site in response to a given medication. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to find the clinical and histopathological characteristics of FDE and to compare early FDE with late FDE histopathologically. METHOD: We clinically investigated 54 cases of FDE that visited the department of dermatology at the Kyunghee medical center from January 1993 to December 1996. Among them, 31 patients had skin biopsies and were evaluated histopathologically on the basis of duration. RESULTS: The results were summarized as follows: 1. Development of FDE did not show any difference according to sex and was evenly distributed over all the ages. 2. The latent periods of FDE were diverse in appearance from 30 minutes to 10 days, but mostly, the skin lesions erupted within 4S hours. 3. The most common skin lesions were erythematous macules. 4. Distribution of the lesions came out as solitary: 20.4%, multiple: 79.6%. S3.7% of the multiple lesions were localized to a part of body, and 16.3% were distributed over the whole body. 5. The areas in which the eruptions developed were (in descending order): upper extremity(37.0%), hand(31.5%), trunk(24.1%), face(24.1%). 6. In most cases(68.6%), the size and the number of lesions were greater in recurrente, rather than in first attacks. 7. The histopathological findings commonly showed perivascular mononuclear cell(MNC) infiltration (100%), pigmentary incontinence(77.4%), basal hydrophic degeneration(71.0%), eosinophil infiltration in dermis(61.3%), etc. 8. The epidermal histopathological findings such as spongiosis, exocytosis of MNC, basal hydrophic degeneration, keratinocyte necrosis and subepidermal vesicles could be seen more frequently in early lesions than in late ones. CONCLUSION: In our study, we were able to obtain meaningful results based on data from the combination of clinical and histopathological investigations. This study may give help to understand the characteristics of fixed drug eruptions and to plan future studies.
Biopsy ; Dermatology ; Drug Eruptions* ; Eosinophils ; Exocytosis ; Humans ; Keratinocytes ; Necrosis ; Skin

Monilethrix is a rare hereditary disorder of hair which was described by smith in 1879. The scalp hair is most frequently affected but the body or sexual hair are rarely affected. The affected hair shows periodic constrictions that break easily, so the hair could not grow more than a few millimetere long. It is thought that the node of the affected hair is normal and the thin internodal segment is deficient in hair matrix. Keratosis pilaris is generally an associated feature. We experienced a case of monilethrix with keratosis pilaris. The 4 years old male patient with monilethrix affected only scalp hair with keratosis. The family history was non-contributory.
Child, Preschool ; Constriction ; Hair ; Humans ; Keratosis* ; Male ; Monilethrix* ; Scalp

Since Whitehead had described a circular hemorrhoidectomy in 1882, many surgeons adopted it for decades for patients with protruding anal deformity. After a few decades of performing Whitehead operation, devastating complications such as anal stricture, fecal incontinence, and wet anus with mucosal eversion had been reported on the literatures and then it was buried as an abandoned procedure by surgeons for a long period. Recently, a few prominent anal surgeons reported that they could avoid such devastating complications by introducing diverse modifications of the original Whitehead's operation. The authors analyzed 22 patients who had undergone original Whitehead circular hemorrhoidectomy with the technique of preserving most of the perianal skin and W-shaped circular incision during the period from 1991 to 1996, with special regard to the com plications such as anal stricture and anal mucosal eversion which have been debated on so far and reviewed the articles about these issues. In immediate postoperative period, suture failure and resultant non-surgery requiring, mild anal stricture were documented in 3 of the 22 cases(13.6%). On long-term follow-up with the mean period of 44 months (18~79 months) in 14 cases, except those 8 cases that were lost, with phone-call questionaire, 13 patients(93%) had quite normal anal functions. The authors would like to suggest that the original Whitehead's circular hemorrhoidec tomy is a valuable surgical technique to manage the protruding anal deformity if surgeons can avoid well known complications such as anal stricture and anal mucosal eversion by choosing a correct location of initial W-shaped incision to preserve as much perianal skin as possible.
Anal Canal ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Fecal Incontinence ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhoidectomy* ; Humans ; Postoperative Period ; Skin* ; Sutures

Amidarone hydrochloride, benzofuran derivatives, particularly effective for the treatment of arrythmias by prolong the duration of the action potential in all cardiac-conducting tissues. We studied the 25 patients with typical amiodarone keratopathy, retrospectively. In 25 patients, ten patients developed grade 1, eleven patients developed grade 2, and four patients developed grade 3 keratopathy. They complained of decreased best corrected visual acuity(1 patient), halos(1 patient), hypothyroidism(3 patients), pulmonary toxicity(2 patients), thpatic dysfunction(5 patients) and sleep dusturbance(3 patients). Therefore ophthalmologists should be alert for the complications of amiodarone and regular careful slit-lamp examination will be helpful in minimizing amidarone toxicity.
Action Potentials ; Amiodarone* ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies