This study was performed to establish a radiological indication and contraindication of indirect decompression in the thoracolumbar burst fracture as well as to clarify an acceptable degree of the canal constriction to enhance neurologic recovery and to prevent the spinal stenosis. The canal diameter ratio (CDR) of the constricted level was determined using pre-and post-operative CAT images of 31 thoracolumbar burst fractures, decompressed indirectly. The acceptable CDR was decided by the lower limit of the 95% confidence interval of the post-operative CDR in cases without neurologic deficit associated with the canal constriction. A radiological indication and contraindication of indirect decompression was establish based on the calculation of the discriminant equation and linear regression equation respectively. The results were as followings. 1. The acceptable CDR was 46% at the cauda equina level and 37% at the conus medullaris level. 2. According to the result of calculation of the regression equation, the radiological contraindication of indirect decompression was the pre-operative CDR of 13% or less at the cauda equina level and 27% or less at the conus medullaris level. In conclusion, the radiological indication of indirect decompression was the pre-operative CDR of 34% at the cauda eqbina level and 42% at the conus medullaris.
Animals ; Cats ; Cauda Equina ; Constriction ; Conus Snail ; Decompression* ; Linear Models ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Spinal Stenosis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate Fragile histidine triad (Fhit) and p53 expression pattern in cervical intraepithelial neoplasm (CIN) and invasive cervical cancer, and to verify the correlation between the loss of Fhit and clinicopathological parameters of invasive cervical carcinoma and the relationship between Fhit and p53 expression. METHODS: 10 low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), 16 high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL), and 21 invasive cervical carcinomas were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining for Fhit and p53 primary antibody. Their expression patterns in CIN and invasive cervical cancer were analysed semiquantitatively as positive and negative by the staining area and intensity. Clinicopathological data were obtained by review of patients' hospital records. RESULTS: Compared with CIN (LSIL and HSIL), invasive cervical carcinoma showed significantly loss of Fhit expression (p<0.05). P53 expression did not show the significant difference between CIN and invasive cervical cancer. There was no relationship between loss of Fhit and p53 expression in CIN and invasive cervical cancer. But loss of Fhit expression in invasive cervical cancer was also significantly associated with FIGO stage (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that loss of Fhit expression may play an important role in the malignant transformation of CIN to invasive cancer. However, further molecular studies are needed to elucidate the role of Fhit gene in the carcinogenesis of cervical cancer.
Carcinogenesis ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia* ; Histidine ; Hospital Records ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

OBJECTIVE: To verify the pattern of p53 and TGF-beta protein expression in benign and malignant epithelial ovarian tumors. METHODS: An immunohistochemical technique was applied to formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples of 22 benign and 9 malignant epithelial ovarian tumors using p53 monoclonal antibody and TGF-beta polyclonal antibody. Expressions of p53 and TGF-beta protein in two histological types were compared, and correlated with clinico-pathologic findings of the respective cases. RESULTS: p53 immunoreactivity of high or intermediate degree was detected in 2 out of 22 benign (9%) and 5 out of 9 malignant (55%) cases. On the other hand, intermediate to high TGF-beta expression was found in 17 out of 22 benign (77%), and 3 out of 9 malignant (33%) cases. The prevalence differences of p53 and TGF-beta expression between benign and malignant groups were statistically significant (p<0.05). In addition, the prevalence of immunoreactivities of p53 and TGF-beta in malignant tumor didn't show any association with age, tumor size, histologic types and stage. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that p53 expression and loss of TGF-beta expression may play an important role in the malignant transformation of ovarian epithelial cells. However further studies seem to be necessary to know the exact relationship between their roles.
Epithelial Cells ; Hand ; Prevalence ; Transforming Growth Factor beta*

Actinomycosis is a subacute-to-chronic infection caused by gram-positive, anaerobic bacteria. Actino- mycetes reside in oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract, female genital tract as normal flora, but may provoke an opportunistic infection under certain circumstances, resulting in contiguous spread, suppurative and granu- lomatous inflammatory reaction, and formation of multiple abscesses. Abdominal and pelvic actinomycosis in women are related to a history of abdominal surgery or intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD) insertion and have variable nonspecific symptoms that make an initial diagnosis difficult. We experienced a case of pelvic actinomycosis related to IUD that diagnosed pathologically after laparotomy.
Abscess ; Actinomycosis* ; Bacteria, Anaerobic ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Intrauterine Devices* ; Laparotomy ; Mouth ; Opportunistic Infections

The incidence of the femoral neck fracture is increasing, and the mechanism of the injuries is quite different in the young and elderly groups (high energy injury and osteoporosis, respectively). In the young group, early anatomical reduction and rigid fixation by such measures as multiple cannulated screws are mandatory to decrease the complications. In the elderly group, hip arthroplasty is recommended to decrease the complications due to early mobilization.
Aged ; Arthroplasty ; Early Ambulation ; Femoral Neck Fractures ; Femur Neck ; Hemiarthroplasty ; Hip ; Humans ; Incidence ; Osteoporosis

PURPOSE: We wanted to investigate the grip and pinch strength of hands and establish the clinical normative data for Korean people. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 234 Korean males and 281 Korean females (age: 10 to 84) were tested. Grip strength and pinch strength were tested twice with 5 minute interval between tests. RESULTS: Generally, hand strength peaked at 30 to 39 of age for both males and females. The average grip strength was 48.8 kg for males and 28.23 kg for females and they were 11% stronger than 12 years before in both groups. Tip pinch strength peaked in the forties, but key pinch and tripod pinch peaked in the thirties. All the peak hand strength was obtained in the 30 to 39 age group of females. Among the pinch strengths, key pinch was the strongest. For the right-handed people, the grip and pinch strengths of the right hand were stronger than those of the left hand. However, for the left-handed people, the left hand was stronger than the right hand only for the tripod pinch (p<0.005). CONCLUSION: The hand strength of Koreans peaked in the 30 to 39 age group. Key pinch was the strongest among the three pinch strengths. Right-handed people have a stronger right hand than the left hand, but the left-handed people have almost the same hand strength in both hands, except for the tripod pinch.
Female ; Hand ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Male ; Pinch Strength

Sarcoidosis is a rare systemic disorder with unknown cause that is characterized pathologically by non-caseating granuloma. The lung and mediastinal lymph nodes are almost always involved, and most patients experience acute or insidious respiratory symptom. Because sarcoidosis is an interstitial lung disorder involving the alveoli and bronchioles, the most common radiological finding is a reticularnodular lesion with lymphatic distribution. However, cavitation is quite rare. Sarcoidosis is also a major cause of hepatic granuloma in Western countries, accounting for 12% to 30% of cases. In most patients, the course of hepatic sarcoidosis is benign. However, chronic intrahepatic cholestasis or portal hypertension may develop in some patients. We report a case of sarcoidosis with cavitation and hepatic involvement.
Bronchioles ; Cholestasis, Intrahepatic ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Hypertension, Portal ; Lung ; Lymph Nodes ; Sarcoidosis*