Although gastroesophageal damage is commonly induced by accidental drinking of a strong acid or alkali, damage due to the consumption of a vinegar beverage is not well known. We report a case of corrosive esophageal ulcer found in an adolescent consuming a vinegar drink daily. A 15-year-old male visited the emergency room presenting with hematemesis and severe epigastric pain. Multiple longitudinal ulcers, concurrent mucosal hemorrhage, and denuded mucosa were noted in the whole of the esophagus via an endoscopic examination. He had been drinking a vinegar beverage daily without sufficient dilution. The patient was treated with corticosteroid, antibiotic therapy, and mucosa protecting alginate medication and was asked to fast for a week. The follow-up endoscopy showed improvement of the esophageal injuries. Overall, continuous consumption of a vinegar beverage can result in acidic burns and destruction of the surface of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, vinegar beverages should be considered as corrosive agents.

BACKGROUND: Angiogenesis plays an important role in determining the fat graft survival. However, clinical preconditioning techniques that target angiogenesis during fat grafting have not been established so far. Adenosine has emerged as a regulator of angiogenesis under hypoxic conditions; therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of adenosine prefabrication on fat graft survival. METHODS: In the first animal study, a total of 32 mice were transplanted with fat prefabricated with vehicle (Control, N = 16) or adenosine (Adenosine, N = 16). In the second animal study, 24 mice were divided into three groups based on the type of fat graft: Control (N = 8), Adenosine (N = 8), and Axitinib (cotreatment of adenosine with axitinib, N = 8). At 1- and 4-weeks post-transplantation, grafts were evaluated by histopathological and biochemical assessment. Adenosineinduced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production and angiogenesis were determined using cell cultures. RESULTS: The retention volumes of fat grafts in the adenosine group were significantly increased until 4 weeks. Fat grafts from the adenosine group exhibited greater structural integrity, reduced fibrosis, and increased blood vessels. The expression levels of angiogenesis-related genes, Vegfa, Vegfr1, Vegfr2, and Vwf, were elevated in the adenosine group. Furthermore, adenosine upregulated VEGF production in preadipocytes, thereby enhancing the migration of endothelial cells. Treatment with the axitinib, VEGF receptor inhibitor, abrogated the adenosine-induced angiogenesis in the fat grafts. CONCLUSION Adenosine prefabrication in fat improved the graft survival by enhancing angiogenesis through the VEGF/VEGFR axis in the preadipocytes and endothelial cells. Therefore, this method may be used as a novel strategy to increase the retention rate in fat grafts.

We report a case of cardiac lymphoma in a 40-year-old man, who had a mediastinal mass which was diagnosed as sclerosing mediastinitis pathologically. The mediastinal mass caused right pulmonary arterial stenosis. The patient developed myocardial hypertrophy and echocardiography showed restrictive physiology and severely decreased left ventricle ejection fraction, 6 months later. MRI showed global left ventricular myocardial hypertrophy and diffuse late gadolinium hyperenhancement after administration of contrast material. Thus, non-ischemic cardiomyopathy was suspected on MRI. However, pathology confirmed the myocardial abnormality as lymphoma after myocardial biopsy. Because a basal part of the left ventricle and global subendocardial myocardium were not involved on contrast-enhanced delayed MRI, the MRI abnormalities could be differentiated from amyloidosis and other myocardial diseases. The peculiar non-mass forming diffuse hypertrophy pattern of cardiac lymphoma has not been known in the MRI literature.
Adult ; Amyloidosis ; Biopsy ; Cardiomyopathies ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Echocardiography ; Gadolinium ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Lymphoma ; Mediastinitis ; Myocardium ; Sclerosis

Most solitary gastrointestinal (GI) polyps in children are either inflammatory or hamartomatous. Solitary hyperplastic polyp, sentinel polyp and solitary adenomatous polyp have been occasionally diagnosed in adults, but very rarely reported in Korean children. We recently came across a case with adenomatous polyp in the colon, a case with hyperplastic polyp beneath the gastroesophageal junction, a case with hyperplastic polyp in the prepyloric area, and a case with sentinel polyp in the distal esophagus, which are unusual pathologic types in children. These mucosal lesions were diagnosed incidentally during elective endoscopic examinations for GI symptoms. Most polyps do not cause significant symptoms, so the diagnosis might be delayed, especially in children, in whom GI endoscopy is not commonly performed for screening purpose as in the adults.
Adenomatous Polyps ; Adult ; Child* ; Colon ; Diagnosis ; Endoscopy ; Esophagogastric Junction ; Esophagus ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Polyps*

Cryptococcus neoformans is a fungus that primarily causes opportunistic infections in immunocompromised hosts. It can also cause various infections in immunocompetent patients. Pulmonary cryptococcosis involving the lymph node is relatively rare in immunocompetent patients. In this report, a previously healthy 17-year-old girl presented with high-grade fever and persistent cough. Chest X-ray and computed tomography (CT) scan revealed an anterior mediastinal conglomerate mass that expanded to the right supraclavicular area. Ultrasound-guided gun biopsy revealed histological evidence of cryptococcosis. Immunological screening tests did not identify immunodeficiency. She recovered completely with a combination therapy of amphotericin B and flucytosine for 2 weeks, followed by fluconazole for 8 months. The characteristics of cryptococcosis involving the mediastinal lymph node and the lung should be understood, and the possibility of cryptococcosis even in immunocompetent hosts should be considered.

Cryptococcus neoformans is a fungus that primarily causes opportunistic infections in immunocompromised hosts. It can also cause various infections in immunocompetent patients. Pulmonary cryptococcosis involving the lymph node is relatively rare in immunocompetent patients. In this report, a previously healthy 17-year-old girl presented with high-grade fever and persistent cough. Chest X-ray and computed tomography (CT) scan revealed an anterior mediastinal conglomerate mass that expanded to the right supraclavicular area. Ultrasound-guided gun biopsy revealed histological evidence of cryptococcosis. Immunological screening tests did not identify immunodeficiency. She recovered completely with a combination therapy of amphotericin B and flucytosine for 2 weeks, followed by fluconazole for 8 months. The characteristics of cryptococcosis involving the mediastinal lymph node and the lung should be understood, and the possibility of cryptococcosis even in immunocompetent hosts should be considered.

In this paper, the ACKNOWLEDGMENT was given incorrectly.

BACKGROUND: Human epidermal gammadelta T cells are known to play crucial roles in the defense and homeostasis of the skin. However, their precise mechanism of action in skin inflammation remains less clear. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we analyzed the cytokine expression profile of human epidermal gammadelta T cells and compared it to that of peripheral blood gammadelta T cells to investigate the specific activity of epidermal gammadelta T cells in modulating skin inflammation. METHODS: We isolated gammadelta T cells from epidermal tissue or peripheral blood obtained from healthy volunteers. Isolated gammadelta T cells were stimulated using immobilized anti-CD3 antibody and interleukin-2 plus phytohaemagglutinin, and were then analyzed using a cytokine array kit. RESULTS: Both epidermal and peripheral blood gammadelta T cells produced comparable levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, I-309, interferon-gamma, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha, and chemokine (C-C) ligand 5. The epidermal gammadelta T cells produced significantly higher levels of interleukin-4, -8, -13, and macrophage inflammatory protein-1beta than the peripheral blood gammadelta T cells did. Notably, the epidermal gammadelta T cells produced several hundred-fold higher levels of interleukin-13 than interleukin-4. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the epidermal gammadelta T cells have a stronger potential to participate in the Th2-type response than the peripheral blood gammadelta T cells do. Furthermore, epidermal gammadelta T cells might play an important role in the pathogenesis of Th2-dominant skin diseases because of their active production of interleukin-13.
Epidermis ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; Healthy Volunteers ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interferon-gamma ; Interleukin-13 ; Interleukin-2 ; Interleukin-4 ; Macrophages ; Skin ; Skin Diseases ; T-Lymphocytes

PURPOSE: This clinical pilot study was performed to determine the effectiveness of dual-energy cone-beam computed tomography (DE-CBCT) in measuring bone mineral density (BMD).MATERIALS AND METHODS: The BMD values obtained using DE-CBCT were compared to those obtained using calibrated multislice computed tomography (MSCT). After BMD calibration with specially designed phantoms, both DE-CBCT and MSCT scanning were performed in 15 adult dental patients. Three-dimensional (3D) Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine data were imported into a dental software program, and the defined regions of interest (ROIs) on the 3-dimensional surface-rendered images were identified. The automatically-measured BMD values of the ROIs (g/cm³), the differences in the measured BMD values of the matched ROIs obtained by DE-CBCT and MSCT 3D images, and the correlation between the BMD values obtained by the 2 devices were statistically analyzed.RESULTS: The mean BMD values of the ROIs for the 15 patients as assessed using DE-CBCT and MSCT were 1.09±0.07 g/cm³ and 1.13±0.08 g/cm³, respectively. The mean of the differences between the BMD values of the matched ROIs as assessed using DE-CBCT and calibrated MSCT images was 0.04±0.02 g/cm³. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the BMD values of DE-CBCT and MSCT images was 0.982 (r=0.982, P<0.001).CONCLUSION: The newly developed DE-CBCT technique could be used to measure jaw BMD in dentistry and may soon replace MSCT, which is expensive and requires special facilities.
Adult ; Bone Density ; Calibration ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Dentistry ; Humans ; Jaw ; Methods ; Miners ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; Pilot Projects

A 12-year nationwide survey (2008-2019) was performed to investigate the prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis infection among preschool children in Seoul, 4 large cites (Busan, Incheon, Daegu, and Ulsan), and 9 provinces (grouped into 5 localities) in the Republic of Korea (=Korea). The survey was carried out once a year by 16 regional offices of the Korea Association of Health Promotion. The cello-tape perianal swab method (1 smear per child) was applied to detect eggs of E. vermicularis and other helminths. According to the results, the egg positive rate of E. vermicularis infection in 2008-2009 was 1.8-2.0%, but it decreased gradually to 0.6% in 2019 (P<0.05). The prevalence was significantly higher in boys (0.7-5.0%, mean 1.8%) than in girls (0.5-2.8%, mean 1.3%) (P<0.05). The 2 most southern localities, Jejudo (Province) and Jeolla-do (inclusive of Jeollabuk-do and Jeollanam-do) and a mid-western province, Gyeonggi-do, revealed higher prevalences, whereas Seoul and Gangwon-do showed lower prevalences. The results indicate that a low-grade prevalence of E. vermicularis infection (less than 4%) has been maintained for the recent 12 years among preschool children in Korea. Continuous monitoring of enterobiasis in the child age group is necessary in Korea.