No abstract available.
Colon* ; Fibromatosis, Aggressive*

This study aimed to explore the correlation between usual vitamin K intake and response to anticoagulant therapy among patients under warfarin therapy. We conducted a retrospective survey of patients (n = 50) on continuous warfarin therapy. Clinical information and laboratory parameters were sourced from medical records. Anticoagulant effect was evaluated by using the percent time in therapeutic range (TTR) and the coefficient of variation (CV) of International normalized ratio (INR). Dietary vitamin K intake was assessed using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire that has been developed for the purpose of assessing dietary intake of vitamin K. A total of 50 patients aged between 21 and 87 years were included in the study. The mean vitamin K intake was 262.8 +/- 165.2 microg/day. Study subjects were divided into tertiles according to their usual vitamin K intake. The proportion of men was significantly higher in second and third tertile than first tertile (p = 0.028). The mean percent TTR was 38.4 +/- 28.4% and CV of INR was 31.8 +/- 11.8%. Long-term warfarin therapy group (> or = 3 years) had a higher percentage of TTR as compared to the control group (< 3 years) (p = 0.046). No statistically significant correlation was found between usual vitamin K intake and percent TTR (p > 0.05). In conclusion, no significant association was observed between usual vitamin K intake and anticoagulant effects. Further studies are required to consider inter-individual variability of vitamin K intake. Development of assessment tools to measure inter-individual variability of vitamin K intake might be helpful.
Humans ; International Normalized Ratio ; Male ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies ; Vitamin K* ; Vitamins* ; Warfarin*

Acute gastric anisakiasis with multiple anisakid larvae infection is reported. A 68-year-old woman residing in Busan, Korea, had epigastric pain with severe vomiting about 5 hours after eating raw anchovies. Four nematode larvae penetrating the gastric mucosae in the great curvature of the middle body and fundus were found and removed during gasteroendoscopic examination. Another one thread-like moving larva was found in the great curvature of upper body on the following day. On the basis of their morphology, the worms were identified as the 3rd stage larvae of Anisakis simplex. This case is acute gastric anisakiasis provoking severe clinical problems by the multiple infection and the greatest number of anisakid larvae found in a patient in Korea.
Acute Disease ; Aged ; Animals ; Anisakiasis/*parasitology/surgery ; Anisakis/*growth & development ; Female ; Gastric Mucosa/parasitology/pathology/surgery ; Gastroscopy ; Human ; Stomach Diseases/*parasitology/pathology/surgery

OBJECTIVES: Recurrence of mood episodes associated with a specific season has been described in various mood disorders. Seasonal change in mood and behavior as a lifetime trait is also observed in healthy individuals. This study aimed at comparing the lifetime trait of seasonal variations of mood and behavior between bipolar disorder patients and controls as well as investigating associated factors of seasonality. METHODS: Subjects were ninety-four clinically stable patients with bipolar disorder and 188 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Seasonality of mood and behavior was assessed retrospectively on lifetime basis using Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire(SPAQ). RESULTS: The patient group showed a higher median global seasonality score(GSS) of SPAQ and a higher rate of seasonal affective disorder(SAD) compared to the control group(p < 0.0001). For subjects showing prominent seasonality, the seasonal symptom profile and seasonal pattern was similar in both patient and control groups. In addition to the diagnosis, female gender was shown to be a predictor of seasonality in the multiple linear regression analysis(p = 0.045). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that lifetime trait of seasonality may be related to the susceptibility of bipolar disorder.
Bipolar Disorder ; Female ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Mood Disorders ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Seasons

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate characteristic computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings of granulocytic sarcomas of the head and neck. METHODS: The CT (n=11) and MR (n=1) images obtained from 11 patients (7 males and 4 females; mean age, 23.5 yr; age range, 1 to 69 yr) with histologically-proven granulocytic sarcomas of the head and neck were retrospectively reviewed. Histological confirmation was done by bone marrow biopsy in 9 patients, and/or local biopsy in 4 patients. The imaging findings were analyzed with particular attention to location, size, shape, margin, bone destruction, internal architecture, pattern and degree of enhancement, and multiplicity of the lesions. RESULTS: The masses were most commonly located in the orbital cavity (n=8); other locations included lymph nodes (n=5) and palatine/pharyngeal/lingual tonsils (n=3). The mass sizes varied from a mean diameter of 1.3 to 5.8 cm (average, 2.6 cm). Multiple lesions were found in 6 patients. The shapes of the tumors were ovoid in 12 patients and irregular in 4 patients. Most lesions had poorly-defined margins (13/16) and invaded adjacent bony structures (5/16). On the pre-contrast CT images, the masses were iso- (5/8) or low-density (3/8) in comparison with muscle. The MRI, which was obtained in one patient in this study, showed that the mass was iso-signal intensity on T1-weighted images and iso-signal intensity on T2-weighted images compared to the gray matter of the brain. On the post-contrast CT images, there was homogenesous (n=12) or heterogeneous (n=4) enhancement, with mild (n=10), moderate (n=4), and marked (n=2) enhancement in the solid portions of the lesions. CONCLUSION: Although rare, granulocytic sarcomas arise in various locations in the head and neck area (most commonly in the orbit) in the form of well-demarcated, and mildly- and homogenously-enhancing masses with adjacent bony invasion.
Biopsy ; Bone Marrow ; Brain ; Head ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Male ; Muscles ; Neck ; Orbit ; Palatine Tonsil ; Retrospective Studies ; Sarcoma, Myeloid

PURPOSE: We performed invasive thermometry to verify the elevation of local temperature in the liver during hyperthermia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three 40-kg pigs were used for the experiments. Under general anesthesia with ultrasonography guidance, two glass fiber-optic sensors were placed in the liver, and one was placed in the peritoneal cavity in front of the liver. Another sensor was placed on the skin surface to assess superficial cooling. Six sessions of hyperthermia were delivered using the Celsius TCS electro-hyperthermia system. The energy delivered was increased from 240 kJ to 507 kJ during the 60-minute sessions. The inter-session cooling periods were at least 30 minutes. The temperature was recorded every 5 minutes by the four sensors during hyperthermia, and the increased temperatures recorded during the consecutive sessions were analyzed. RESULTS: As the animals were anesthetized, the baseline temperature at the start of each session decreased by 1.3degrees C to 2.8degrees C (median, 2.1degrees C). The mean increases in temperature measured by the intrahepatic sensors were 2.42degrees C (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.70-3.13) and 2.67degrees C (95% CI, 2.05-3.28) during the fifth and sixth sessions, respectively. The corresponding values for the intraperitoneal sensor were 2.10degrees C (95% CI, 0.71-3.49) and 2.87degrees C (1.13-4.43), respectively. Conversely, the skin temperature was not increased but rather decreased according to application of the cooling system. CONCLUSION: We observed mean 2.67degrees C and 2.87degrees C increases in temperature at the liver and peritoneal cavity, respectively, during hyperthermia. In vivo real-time thermometry is useful for directly measuring internal temperature during hyperthermia.
Anesthesia, General ; Animals ; Fever* ; Glass ; Liver* ; Peritoneal Cavity ; Skin ; Skin Temperature ; Swine ; Thermometry ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that coffee consumption has an influence on kidney function. This study investigated the relationship between habitual coffee consumption and renal impairment in Korean women, in consideration of diabetic status. METHODS: This study involved 2,673 women aged 35 to 84 years who had participated in the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, conducted in 2008. Habitual coffee consumption was classified into three categories: less than 1 cup per day, 1 cup per day, and 2 or more cups per day. Renal function impairment was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 by the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation. RESULTS: The prevalence of diabetes and renal function impairment was higher in women who drank < 1 cup of coffee per day. Compared with drinking < 1 cup of coffee per day, the odds ratio (OR) for renal function impairment was significantly lower (OR, 0.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.37 to 0.95; P = 0.03) in those who habitually drank > or = 2 cups per day after adjusting for multiple confounding factors. When data were stratified according to the presence of diabetes, coffee consumption > or = 2 cups of coffee per day showed an inverse association with renal function impairment in only diabetic women (OR, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.88; P = 0.04), compared with consumption < 1 cup of coffee per day. CONCLUSION: In a representative sample of Korean women, coffee consumption was significantly associated with a decreased risk of renal impairment especially in middle and elderly-aged diabetic women.
Aged ; Coffee ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diet ; Drinking ; Female ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Humans ; Kidney ; Korea ; Nutrition Surveys ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence

Nevus cell inclusion in the lymph node is an uncommon histologic finding and usually is an incidental finding in the capsule, fibrous trabeculae, perinodal adipose tissue, and parenchyma of the axillary, inguinal, or cervical lymph nodes which are removed as part of cancer diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. The aggregated pigmented nevus cells in the lymph node resemble the cells of the cutaneous nevi. It is important to differentiate them from metastatic carcinoma or malignant melanoma. The characteristic features of nevus cell inclusions are presence of nevus cells within the capsule and supporting stroma, without presence in the marginal sinus of the lymph node, and the absence of cytological atypia or mitosis of nevus cells. We report two cases of nevus cell inclusions, in the axillary lymph nodes in a patient with breast carcinoma and in an enlarged inguinal lymph node in a patient without a malignant tumor.
Adipose Tissue ; Breast Neoplasms ; Humans ; Incidental Findings ; Lymph Nodes* ; Melanoma ; Mitosis ; Nevus* ; Nevus, Pigmented

Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich syndrome(HWWs) is a rare variant of Mullerian ductal anomalies characterized by the presence of a hemivaginal septum, a didelphic uterus, and ipsilateral renal agenesis. It usually presents after menarche with progressive pelvic pain, and palpable mass due to hemihematocolpos. If a cystic mass is detected behind the urinary bladder in children, in association with the absence of a kidney, the diagnosis of uterus didelphys with imperforate vagina and hydrocolpos should be considered. When renal agenesis is found in asymptomatic children, the small size and the tubular shape of the uterus makes it almost impossible to evaluate uterine anomalies, so follow-up should be performed until the end of puberty. Appropriate preoperative diagnosis and treatment will prevent unnecessary procedures and offer relief of symptoms. We report one case of didelphic uterus with blind hemivagina and ipsilateral renal agenesis with biopsy-proven thin glomerular basement membrane disease which is not related to the above syndrome.
Adolescent ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glomerular Basement Membrane* ; Humans ; Hydrocolpos ; Kidney ; Menarche ; Pelvic Pain ; Puberty ; Unnecessary Procedures ; Urinary Bladder ; Uterus* ; Vagina

Pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) is a group of genetic disorders in which the kidneys fail to respond to parathyroid hormone. Genetic defects in the GNAS complex locus lead to reduced Gsalpha (alpha-subunit of the heterotrimeric stimulatory G protein) activity in PHP type Ia patients. These patients exhibit characteristics of Albright hereditary osteodystrophy (AHO) and hypocalcemia, increased parathyroid hormone, and resistance to other Gsalpha protein-coupled hormones. AHO has a wide range of manifestations such as short stature, obesity, round face, subcutaneous ossification, and bone shortening in the hands and feet. In this study, we present the case of a 47-yr-old woman who was diagnosed with PHP type Ia with AHO. She showed tetany, dizziness, irritability to light, decreased visual acuity, cognitive impairment, and motor dysfunction. Direct sequencing identified a heterozygous missense mutation in exon 6 (c.466G>A, p.Asp156Asn) in GNAS1. To our knowledge, this case is the first report in Korea of PHP type Ia caused by a heterozygous missense mutation in exon 6 (c.466G>A, p.Asp156Asn) in GNAS1.
Dizziness ; Exons ; Female ; Foot ; Hand ; Humans ; Hypocalcemia ; Kidney ; Korea ; Mutation, Missense ; Obesity ; Parathyroid Hormone ; Pseudohypoparathyroidism* ; Tetany ; Visual Acuity