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Fibroblast Growth Factor 2* ; Humans ; Pilot Projects*

Thymoma is the most common anterior mediastinal tumor in adults. Rarely, it is presented as the anterior neck mass, commonly located in the anterolateral aspect of the neck or adjacent to the thyroid. We experienced two cases of fine needle aspiration cytology of thymoma, mimicking thyroid mass. The first case was an ectopoic cervical thymoma in a 31-year-old female. The fine needle aspiration cytology was misinterpreted as reactive hyperplasia of lymph node. But the histologic diagnosis was thymoma, predominantly lymphocytic type. The second case was an invasive thymoma in a 66-year-old female, who complained a large anterior neck mass. The fine needle aspiration cytology revealed biphasic population of some clusters of epithelial cells and scattered lymphocytes. The cytologic diagnosis was thymoma and was confirmed as invasive thymoma after the biopsy. Therefore, when the cytologic feature of anterior neck mass shows the both lymphocyte and epithelial component, the differential diagnosis should include the possibility of thymoma.
Adult ; Aged ; Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Diagnosis* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Epithelial Cells ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphocytes ; Neck ; Thymoma* ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Nodule*

Hemangioma in the gastrointestinal tract rarely occurs especially in the stomach compared with the small and large intestine. A 45-year-old man was admitted with pneumonia. After hematemesis, the authors performed gastroscopy, which revealed active bleeding on the huge ulcer on the antrum of the stomach and multiple erosive lesions on the whole stomach. After multiple submucosal hypertonic saline injection and hemoclipping at the huge ulcerative lesion, ulcer bleeding stopped. Three days later, recurrent massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding occured at the same site of the stomach. To prevent futher recurrent bleeding, total gastrectomy with esophagojejunostomy and splenectomy was done. The histologic diagnosis of the ulcerative lesion was hemangioma of mixed type. We report this rare case with the brief literature review.
Diagnosis ; Gastrectomy ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage* ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Gastroscopy ; Hemangioma* ; Hematemesis ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Intestine, Large ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonia ; Splenectomy ; Stomach* ; Ulcer

Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia is a disorder of malignant proliferation of plasmacytoid lymphocytes and monoclonal immunoglobulin M. However, the patients occasionally present with malabsorption and diarrhea due to deposition of extracellular periodic acid-Schiff positive homogenous eosinophilic, amorphorous, and proteinaceous materials in the villi and/or lamina propria of the duodenum. We report a 62-year-old man who, despite involvement of the duodenal mucosa, presented only with fatigue, dypnea on exertion, and anemia. Characteristic duodenoscopic and pathologic findings of this patient are described.
Anemia ; Diarrhea ; Duodenum ; Eosinophils ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin M ; Lymphocytes ; Middle Aged ; Mucous Membrane ; Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia*

PURPOSE: Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) has been shown to inhibit airway inflammation, mucus production, and airway hyperresponsiveness in mouse model of asthma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of inhaled recombinant FGF2 in asthmatic patients. METHODS: Eight asthmatics were eligible for the study. All patients were admitted to a hospital, and recombinant FGF2 was administered using a nebulizer at a concentration of 4.5 ng/mL three times a day for one week. Pulmonary function test, methacholine bronchial provocation test, induced sputum analysis, asthma control test (ACT), and asthma quality of life questionnaire (AQLQ) were performed at the beginning of wash-out period, before and after the treatment, and at the end of study. And all these parameters were compared before and after FGF2 treatment. RESULTS: There were no serious adverse events associated with recombinant FGF2 during five-week study period. Daytime and nocturnal symptoms improved after the treatment (P=0.028 and P=0.012, respectively). AQLQ and ACT also improved after the treatment (P=0.017 and P=0.011, respectively). However, lung function, airway hyperresponsiveness, and airway inflammation showed no significant difference before and after the treatment. CONCLUSION: Inhaled recombinant FGF2 was safely used to eight asthmatics without any serious adverse events, and improved daytime and nocturnal symptoms, and quality of life in adult asthmatics. FGF2 may be a potential drug in the treatment of asthma.
Adult ; Airway Remodeling ; Animals ; Asthma ; Bronchial Provocation Tests ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2* ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Lung ; Methacholine Chloride ; Mice ; Mucus ; Nebulizers and Vaporizers ; Pilot Projects* ; Quality of Life ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Sputum ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Primary ovarian lymphoma is a rare malignancy whose symptoms or signs are usually nonspecific. In this article, we report a very rare case initially presenting as a rectal submucosal-tumor-like lesion with a defecation disturbance caused by primary ovarian lymphoma with bilateral involvement. A 42-year-old woman visited chungnam national university hospital complaining of persistent defecation disturbance for 6 months. Colonoscopy demonstrated compression of the rectum by an extrinsic mass mimicking a rectal submucosal tumor. Magnetic resonance imaging detected bilateral ovarian tumors, 9.3 cm and 5.4 cm each in diameter, compressing the rectum without enlarged lymph nodes. The diagnosis was established following a bilateral adnexectomy and histological studies of the excised tissue. The tumor was classified as a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The patient was prescribed six cycles of standard CHOP (cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone) regimen and is presently on treatment.
Adult ; Colonoscopy ; Defecation ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Rectum ; Vincristine

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies worldwide. The risk of developing pancreatic cancer increases with age. Pancreatic cancer is seen mostly in the elderly; patients under the age of 30 years are rare. Known risk factors for pancreatic cancer include genetic mutations, smoking, chronic pancreatitis, and diabetes mellitus. We report a case of pancreatic cancer in a 27-year-old man without the PRSS1 mutation. Chronic pancreatitis and smoking may have contributed to the development of pancreatic cancer in this patient. We also conducted a literature review on early onset pancreatic cancer.

Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disorder in which lymphocytes infiltrate the exocrine glands, resulting in the development of sicca symptoms. Lymphocytes may also invade various other organs and cause diverse symptoms. Interstitial pneumonia has been observed frequently in SS patients. Typically, the pneumonia responds well to systemic steroids, and fatal cases are rare. We experienced a case of lymphocytic pneumonia accompanied by SS and treated with cyclophosphamide pulse therapy, and we present details of the case herein.
Adult ; Humans ; Lung/*pathology ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial/drug therapy/*pathology ; Lymphocytes/*pathology ; Male ; Plasma Cells/pathology ; Sjogren's Syndrome/*pathology

BACKGROUND: The number of patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction is on the increase in Korea due to the westernization of life style. Recent improvement of therapeutic stratigies have shown early mortality benefits in acute myocardial infarction. But we don't have data how many patients died and what's the cause of death in these patients. This study aimed to find out the mortality rate, cause of death and it's relevant prognostic factors of myocardial infarction (MI) patients who admitted alive, and to construct a database which will be used to develop a risk stratification strategy for the implementation of new preventive therapeutic modalities, such as implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). METHODS: Seven hundred and forty two MI patients admitted to our hospital from March, 1999 to August, 2002 were included in this study. The risk factors and survivals were evaluated by medical record searching and telephone survey in these patients. RESULTS: The average age was 64 years-old and 67% was male. During the mean follow up 20.7+/-15.4 months, total 105 cardiac death (14.2%) was occurred and cumulative mortality rate at 1 year and 2 year was 5.69% and 10.80%, respectively. Of the total 129 death, in-hospital death was 68 (cardiac death 48, non-cardiac death 20) and out of hospital death was 60 (cardiac death 57, non-cardiac death 4). When it comes to cause of death, most common cause of cardiac death was malignant arrhythmia. The proportion of malignant arrhythmia in cardiac death was 81.3% and 72% of in-hospital and out of hospital death, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that old age, low LV ejection fraction and no percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) treatment were independent risk factors for cardiac mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Myocardial infarction shows still high mortality rate despite the recent development of therapeutic strategy. As post-MI patients with low LVEF or no PCI shows high mortality, the early reperfusion therapy should be encouraged. Additionally, because malignant arrhythmia was one of the most in cause of cardiac death, ICD therapy to prevent sudden cardiac death should be considered in an active manner.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Cause of Death* ; Death ; Death, Sudden, Cardiac ; Defibrillators, Implantable ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Male ; Medical Records ; Middle Aged ; Mortality* ; Multivariate Analysis ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Reperfusion ; Risk Factors ; Telephone

Behcet's disease is multi-systemic vasculitis affecting all sizes of arteries and veins. The prevalence of coronary involvement in Behcet's disease is extremely rare. A 35-year-old woman with one-year history of Behcet's disease was in hospitalized with pseudoaneurysm of left anterior descending coronary artery, which was detected by echocardiography. The patient was successfully treated by implantation of an endovascular graft-stent.
Adult ; Aneurysm, False* ; Arteries ; Coronary Vessels* ; Echocardiography ; Female ; Humans ; Prevalence ; Vasculitis ; Veins