Topical immunotherapy with diphenylcyclopropenone(DPCP) has been used for the treatment of alopecia areata. Due to the therapeutic principle of producing a contact eczema, itching, erythema and scaling are inevitable or even desired side effects. However, erythema multiforme-like reactions following topical DPCP treatment have been rarely reported with an estimated incidence of 1.2%. We present herein a case of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, the severe form of erythema multiforme as a side effect of topical DPCP. A 57-year old male patient visited us for the treatment of alopecia totalis. After sensitization with 0.2% DPCP in acetone, we applied DPCP on the scalp once a week for three weeks. Following the 3rd challenge of DPCP, iris-shaped lesions, erosions, vesicles, and bullae developed with fever. Also, he had vesicles and erosions in the oral cavity. The patient was treated with systemic antibiotics, steroids, and antihistamines. The cutaneous lesions were cleared with hyperpigmentation, and pronounced hair regrowth was observed.
Acetone ; Alopecia ; Alopecia Areata ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Erythema ; Erythema Multiforme ; Fever ; Hair ; Histamine Antagonists ; Humans ; Hyperpigmentation ; Immunotherapy* ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mouth ; Pruritus ; Scalp ; Steroids ; Stevens-Johnson Syndrome*

The skin functions to eliminate foreign substances through the epidermis to epidermal surface; this process is called transepidermal elimination(TEE). TEE has been observed in various skin tumors. A 71-year-old woman presented with a well-circumscribed, red-brownish, subcutaneous nodule, 1.3x1.0 cm in size, located on the left thigh. The histopathologic finding of the lesion shows trichilemmal cyst with transepidermal elimination.
Aged ; Epidermis ; Female ; Humans ; Skin ; Thigh

The association of classic Kaposi's sarcoma with other neoplasm(primary or secondary) may serve as a clinical indicator for altered immunologic surveillance mechanisms. The association have been discussed for several decades. But the association of Kaposi's sarcoma with pancreatic cancer has not been reported. We report a case of Kaposi's sarcoma associated with pancreatic cancer in a 79-year-old man, who had tender papules and plaques on the left hand. The histopathologic findings showed typical features of Kaposi's sarcoma as a dermal tumor composed of vascular proliferations, vascular slits, spindle cells, extravasated erythrocytes and deposits of hemosiderin.
Aged ; Erythrocytes ; Hand ; Hemosiderin ; Humans ; Immunologic Surveillance ; Pancreatic Neoplasms* ; Sarcoma, Kaposi*

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. PURPOSE: This study was conducted to compare vertebral body height restoration rate in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who had undergone percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty (KP) with that of control group who had matched age, sex, body mass index, and bone mineral density. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: There is no report on result of KP in RA patients. METHODS: Postoperative height restoration rate of RA group consisting of 15 patients (18 vertebral bodies) who had undergone KP due to osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture with a 30% or higher vertebral compression rate between May 2005 and January 2013 were compared to control group consisting of 38 patients (39 vertebral bodies) who had matched age, sex, body mass index, and bone mineral density. RESULTS: No statically significant difference in age (p=0.846), sex (p=0.366), body mass index (p=0.826), bone mineral density (p=0.349), time to surgery (p=0.528), polymethylmethacrylate injection time (p=0.298), or amount (p=0.830) was found between the RA group and the control group. However, preoperative compression rate in the RA group was significantly (p=0.025) higher compared to that in the control group. In addition, postoperative height restoration rate showed significant correlation with the RA group (p=0.008). Although higher incidence of recollapse occurred in the RA group compared to that in the control group, the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.305). CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the control group, RA patients showed higher compression rate and higher vertebral restoration rate after KP, indirectly indicating weaker bone quality in patients with RA. Higher incidence of recollapse occurred in the RA group compared to that in the control group, although it was not statistically significant.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Bone Density ; Fractures, Compression* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Kyphoplasty* ; Polymethyl Methacrylate ; Retrospective Studies

Porokeratotic eccrine ostial and dermal duct nevus is considered to be a rare congenital harmatoma derived from eccrine duct. It is not associated with other congenital anomalies, though the cooccurence with linear psoriasis has been noted. We report the case of a 38-year-old woman with congenital porokeratotic eccrine ostial and dermal duct nevus associated with milia. She had asymptomatic multiple keratotic papules with keratotic plugs on the right foot.
Adult ; Female ; Foot ; Humans ; Nevus* ; Psoriasis

Penicillamine dermatopathy refers to the characteristic hemorrhagic skin lesions found in persons receiving long-term penicillamine therapy for either Wilson's disease or cystinuria. These lesions are thought to develop as a result of faulty collagen and elastin synthesis. We described a 31-year-old woman with Wilson's disease who developed mild pruritic grouped matchhead-sized cream-colored papules on the dark reddish plaques on both knees and elbows.
Adult ; Collagen ; Cystinuria ; Elastin ; Elbow ; Female ; Hepatolenticular Degeneration ; Humans ; Knee ; Penicillamine* ; Skin

Perineuriomas are composed of differentiated perineurial cells. Perineuriomas have been recently recognized by the immunoreactivity for epithelial membrane antigen (EMA). Microscopically, perineuriomas show proliferation of spindle cells with wavy nuclei and delicate elongated bipolar cytoplasmic processes. The tumor cells are usually negative for the S-100 protein. Ultrastructurally, perineurial cells reveal slender, nontapered processes containing pinocytic vesicles and discontinuous basal lamina. Interestingly, hybrid tumors of benign peripheral nerve sheath tumor (PNST) have been recently reported by using immunohistochemical and ultrastructural investigations. Herein, we report a case of soft tissue perineurioma arising in the skin of a 56-year-old female; another case of a hybrid tumor of perineurioma and schwannoma in the posterior mediastinum occurred in a 53-year-old male, which is the first case of the hybrid PNST tumor reported in Korea.
Basement Membrane ; Chimera ; Cytoplasm ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Mediastinum ; Middle Aged ; Mucin-1 ; Nerve Sheath Neoplasms ; Neurilemmoma ; Peripheral Nerves ; S100 Proteins ; Skin

A free-floating ball thrombus in the left atrium is a rare complication of the mitral valvular disease. A 53-year-old man was admitted for pain and paresthesia on both legs. On admission he had auscultatory sign of mitral stenosis and mitral regurgitation, and the roentgenogram of his chest revealed a slight pulmonary ve..ous congestion, enlargement of the pulmonary conus and cardiomegaly. Laboratory findings including complete blood counts, coagulation studies and blood chemistry were normal. An echocardiographic examination revealed a mitral stenosis and a free-floating ball thrombus in the left atrium. We performed the emergent open heart surgery for removal of the ball thrombus and mitral replacement successfuly with Duromedics 29 mm valve. The size of thrombus was 39 X 32 X 30 mm.
Blood Cell Count ; Cardiomegaly ; Chemistry ; Conus Snail ; Echocardiography ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Heart Atria ; Humans ; Leg ; Middle Aged ; Mitral Valve Insufficiency ; Mitral Valve Stenosis* ; Paresthesia ; Thoracic Surgery ; Thorax ; Thrombosis*

Peripheral scalp T-cell lymphoma is a very rare disease. We report a case of a 22-year-old man who presented an indolent large scalp mass in the right frontal scalp region. The patient’s physical examination demonstrated no palpable mass in the chest, abdomen, and extremities. The brain CT revealed a high-density large scalp mass of the subgaleal layer in the right frontal and a small scalp mass of the subgaleal layer in the left frontal. The brain MRI showed multifocal enhancing masses in the bilateral dura, the subgaleal layer of the scalp, and the skull. The patient underwent removal of the tumor found in the right frontal scalp. The histologic diagnosis was peripheral T-cell lymphoma. Bone marrow aspiration showed the involvement of T-cell lymphoma. The patient received chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and prednisolone (CHOP protocol) for 3 cycles. The patient was discharged without neurological deficit. The patient showed no evidence of recurrence 15 months after surgery. We report a rare case of peripheral T-cell lymphoma mimicking benign scalp tumors.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Otitis media with effusion (OME) is the most common bacterial infection and the most frequent otologic indication for antimicrobial or surgical therapy in young children. It is also the leading cause of hearing disturbance in children. There have been few reports about the prevalence rate of OME in preschool children in Seoul. So, we investigated the prevalence of OME among kindergarten and elementary children in Song Buk Gu, Seoul, Korea. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Tympanometry and pneumatic otoscopic examination were performed on 3,364 children aged 3-7 years, from March to June of 1999. RESULTS: A total of 11.74% of the subjects had unilateral or bilateral OME. The prevalence rate of OME in 3 year-old children was 30.0% and that of 7 year-old children was decreased to 8.9%. The prevalence rate in March was 18.5% and that in June decreased to 6.5%. The majority of the cases were free of subjective symptoms, but some of significant symptoms were ear fullness, otalgia, tendency to increase the TV volume and autophonia. CONCLUSION: Significant risk factors are seasonal variation, age and the history of OME. There should be more attention paid to OME in children aged 7 years and younger, because its high prevalence and less symptoms.
Acoustic Impedance Tests ; Bacterial Infections ; Child* ; Child, Preschool ; Ear ; Earache ; Epidemiology ; Hearing ; Humans ; Korea* ; Music* ; Otitis Media with Effusion* ; Otitis Media* ; Otitis* ; Prevalence* ; Risk Factors* ; Seasons ; Seoul*