We report here on a case of an ependymoma arising from the pelvis in a 25-year-old woman. She had no evidence of abnormality in her brain and bilateral ovaries. The diagnosis was based on light microscopic, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural features of a typical ependymoma, including the patterns of pseudorosette or true ependymal rosette, the strong immunopositivity for glial fibrillary acid protein and intermediate filaments, and cilia of tumor cells. The mass was over 20 cm in maximum diameter, and it was located between the uterus and rectum without any connection to bilateral ovaries. There were many metastatic nodules in the pelvis and omentum. In addition, the proliferation index in the most active area was 10% by immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibody MIB-1. Although the prognosis of the pelvic ependymoma is known to be difficult to evaluate, this case may serve to illustrate the poor prognostic course, according to the size of the tumor, the evidence of metastasis, and the MIB-1 labelling index.
Adult ; Brain ; Cilia ; Diagnosis ; Ependymoma* ; Female ; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Intermediate Filaments ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Omentum ; Ovary ; Pelvis* ; Prognosis ; Rectum ; Uterus

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to evaluate the overall effectiveness and tolerability of adjunctive quetiapine in the long-term treatment of bipolar disorder as a continuation therapy. METHODS: Twenty-three bipolar I patients participated and required to have quetiapine add-on treatment in combination with existing or new mood stabilizers. Clinical assessment was carried out using Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Clinical Global Impression (CGI), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 item, Simpson-Angus Rating Scale and Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale at baseline, 1, 4, 12 and 24 weeks. RESULTS: The YMRS and CGI decreased significantly from baseline to endpoint by 89.7% and 78.3%, respectively (p<0.0001 ; p<0.0001). Twenty-two patients exhibited at least 50% improvement on YMRS score by the end of the study. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that quetiapine may hold a promise as an adjunct in the long-term treatment of bipolar disorder.
Bipolar Disorder* ; Depression ; Humans ; Prospective Studies* ; Psychomotor Agitation ; Quetiapine Fumarate

OBJECTIVE: Impaired processing of working memory is one of the cognitive deficits seen in patients with schizophrenia. This aimed at corroborating the differences in the brain activities involved in the process of working memory between patients with schizophrenia and the control subjects. METHOD: Fourteen patients with schizophrenia and 12 healthy volunteers were recruited in this study. Functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) was used to assess cortical activities during the performance of a 2-back visual working memory paradigm using the Korean alphabet as mnemonic content. RESULTS: Group analysis revealed that left lateral prefrontal cortex and right parietal lobule showed decreased cortical activities in the patient group. On the other hand, an increased activation in left superior and middle frontal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, right cuneus, both occipital lobes, right fusiform gyrus and right cingulate gyrus. The activation in left anterior lobe and both declive of cerebellum was also increased. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a decreased activation in left lateral prefrontal and right parietal neural networks from the patient group and confirmed the earlier findings on the impaired working memory of patients with schizophrenia using fMRI investigation. The regions implicated in our study suggest an abnormal functioning of the fronto-parietal cortical areas that are critical to the information processing stream, which might be correspondent to common pathophysiology rather than a common etiology in schizophrenia.
Automatic Data Processing ; Brain ; Cerebellum ; Gyrus Cinguli ; Hand ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Memory, Short-Term* ; Occipital Lobe ; Prefrontal Cortex ; Rabeprazole ; Rivers ; Schizophrenia*

PURPOSE: Acute alcohol intoxication (AAI) causes various complications such as electrolyte imbalance, alcoholic ketoacidosis (AKA), rhabdomyolysis, and acute kidney injury (AKI). Although there have been some reports about AKA and rhabdomyolysis, AKI due to acute alcohol intoxication is rarely reported. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the medical records of 371 patients with AAI between January 2004 and May 2010 in Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital. We compared the clinical findings, morbidity and mortality rate between AKI and normal kidney function (NKF) groups. RESULTS: Of the total 371 patients with AAI, AKI occurred in 107 patients (28.8%). The peak serum creatinine level in AKI patients was 2.9+/-1.9 mg/dL. Thirteen of the 107 patients (12.1%) received renal replacement therapy. AKI group had higher incidence of decreased mentality (29.0% vs 16.3%, p=0.006), dyspnea (11.2% vs 4.9%, p=0.029) and hypotension (66.0% vs 41.7%, p<0.001), and lower incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding (22.4% vs 34.8%, p=0.019), compared to NKF group. The AKI group also had higher incidence of ketoacidosis (78.5% vs 28.8%, p<0.001), rhabdomyolysis (19.6% vs 4.2%, p<0.001), and pneumonia (22.4% vs 8.0%, p<0.001), compared to NKF group. The length of ICU stay was longer (7.4+/-10.8 vs 4.1+/-6.1 days, p=0.003) and the mortality rate was higher (17.8% vs 2.3%, p<0.001) in AKI group. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that incidence of AKI in patients with AAI was 28.8% and AKI was associated with high morbidity and mortality. And multivariate analysis demonstrated that independent risk factors of AKI were ketoacidosis and increased serum osmolality.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Alcohol-Induced Disorders ; Alcoholics ; Creatinine ; Dyspnea ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Incidence ; Ketosis ; Kidney ; Medical Records ; Multivariate Analysis ; Osmolar Concentration ; Pneumonia ; Renal Replacement Therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhabdomyolysis ; Risk Factors

Background: This study aims to examine the association between alcohol consumption and the risk of pre- or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by alcohol-induced flushing response in Korean male adults, particularly based on their body mass index (BMI). Methods: This study selected 1,030 (158 non-drinkers, 364 flushers, and 508 non-flushers) male adults who had medical checkups. A logistic regression analysis was used to compare the association between alcohol consumption and the risk of pre- or T2DM. Results: In both the normal-weight group (BMI <23 kg/m2) and the overweight group (BMI ≥23 kg/m2 and <25 kg/ m2), the flushers had a higher risk of pre- or T2DM (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval) when consuming more than 8 drinks of alcohol per week than the non-drinkers (normal-weight group: 3.43, 1.06–11.07; overweight group: 4.94, 1.56–15.67). But in the non-flushers among the normal-weight group and the overweight group, there was no significant difference compared to non-drinkers regarding the risk of pre- or T2DM. Obese flushers had a significantly higher risk of pre- or T2DM when consuming more than 4 drinks of alcohol per week than the non-drinkers (>4 and ≤8 drinks: 2.64, 1.10–6.36; >8 drinks: 2.42, 1.11–5.27). However, obese non-flushers had only a significant higher risk of pre- or T2DM when consuming more than 8 drinks of alcohol per week than the non-drinkers (2.72, 1.39–5.30) Conclusion These results suggest that obese flushers have an increased risk of developing pre- or T2DM even with less alcohol consumption.

This study investigated advantages and potential risks associated with drinking alcohol in Koreans based on the alcohol flush reaction. Our investigation reviewed published studies and examined moderate-drinking levels for Koreans based on modified National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism guidelines. Fourteen articles out of a total 198 publications were searched using PubMed, EMBASE, KoreaMed, and RISS (Research Information Sharing Service) databases and selected for review. Individuals without alcohol flush reaction (non-flushers) exhibited lower risks associated with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and hyperhomocysteinemia and their 10-year cardiovascular disease risk when alcohol consumption was ≤8 drinks/wk. Conversely, risks associated with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, prediabetes or type-2 diabetes, and high intraocular pressure and increases in carbohydrate-deficient transferrin, gamma glutamyl transferase, and blood glucose levels were present when >8 drinks were consumed. For individuals with flushing reaction (flushers), advantages were reported in relation to risks of hyperhomocysteinemia when alcohol consumption was ≤4 drinks/wk, whereas consumption of >4 drinks/wk increased the risk of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, pre-diabetes or type-2 diabetes, high-risk colorectal adenoma, and high intraocular pressure and increased carbohydrate-deficient transferrin, gamma glutamyl transferase, and blood glucose levels. The moderate drinking level for Koreans is ≤8 drinks/wk for men aged ≤65 years and ≤4 drinks/wk for men aged over 65. For women, these limits should be half of those for men. Furthermore, individuals with flushing reaction should maintain an alcohol consumption level half of that for non-flushers.
Adenoma ; Alcohol Drinking ; Blood Glucose ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Drinking ; Female ; Flushing ; Humans ; Hyperhomocysteinemia ; Hypertension ; Information Dissemination ; Insulin Resistance ; Intraocular Pressure ; Male ; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (U.S.) ; Prediabetic State ; Transferases ; Transferrin

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine the relationship between alcohol consumption and intraocular pressure (IOP) according to facial flushing in Korean men with obesity. METHODS: The study included 479 Korean men with a body mass index of ≥25 kg/m² (75 non-drinkers, 174 with drinking-related facial flushing, and 230 without facial flushing) who underwent health check-ups between October 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between alcohol consumption and high IOP (≥21 mm Hg). RESULTS: Flushers consuming ≤16 drinks per week had a significantly higher risk of high IOP than non-drinkers, depending on alcohol consumption (≤8 standard drinks: odds ratio [OR], 4.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05–19.25; >8 but ≤16 standard drinks: OR, 8.14; 95% CI, 1.37–48.45). However, when the consumption was >16 drinks per week, the high IOP risk did not significantly increase (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.05–10.69). In addition, there was no significant relationship between alcohol consumption and high IOP among non-flushers consuming ≤8 drinks per week (OR, 2.07; 95% CI, 0.52–8.19). However, a significantly increased risk of high IOP was observed among non-flushers consuming >8 drinks per week, depending on alcohol consumption (>8 but ≤16 standard drinks: OR, 4.84; 95% CI, 1.14–20.61; >16 standard drinks: OR, 4.08; 95% CI, 1.02–16.26). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that obese men with alcohol flush reactions may have an increased risk of high IOP with the consumption of smaller amounts of alcohol than non-flushers.
Alcohol Drinking ; Body Mass Index ; Flushing ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Obesity ; Odds Ratio

There are some reports of renal vein thrombosis associated with acute pyelonephritis, but a case of renal artery thrombosis in acute pyelonephritis has not been reported yet. Here we report a case of renal artery thrombosis which developed in a patient with acute pyelonephritis complicated with sepsis-induced disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). A 65-year-old woman with diabetes was diagnosed with acute pyelonephritis complicated with sepsis. Escherichia coli was isolated from both blood and urine cultures. When treated with antibiotics, her condition gradually improved. She suddenly complained of severe right flank pain without fever in the recovery phase. A computed tomography scan revealed right renal artery thrombosis with concomitant renal infarction. Prophylactic anticoagulation therapy was not suggested because of sustained thrombocytopenia and increased risk of bleeding. Flank pain resolved with conservative treatment and perfusion of infarcted kidney improved at the time of discharge. To our knowledge, this is the first case of renal artery thrombosis related to acute pyelonephritis with sepsis-induced DIC.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Dacarbazine ; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation ; Escherichia coli ; Female ; Fever ; Flank Pain ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Infarction ; Kidney ; Perfusion ; Pyelonephritis ; Renal Artery ; Renal Veins ; Sepsis ; Thrombocytopenia ; Thrombosis